The Non-Linear Path to Happiness at Work

by Ronnie Ann ~ January 30th, 2008 · No Comments ·

Hardly anyone finds the perfect job on day one of his or her career. Sometimes it takes many jobs to get to where we want to go. (In my case many MANY.) And not every job feels like us. Some jobs don’t even feel like anyone we know! But that doesn’t mean we aren’t getting something from it – in addition to a paycheck, of course.

On that thought, I just wrote about Fatima the Spinner on my other blog. Fatima spent many years railing against the universe for all the disasters she had to face and all the different jobs she had to learn. I think it’s a great story for Work Coach.

Here’s an excerpt from my other post to help explain why:

My life has been like Fatima’s in many ways. She goes from land to land and job to job (in essence) always wondering why she must move on, why she hasn’t found the one place she truly belongs yet. Each time she learns a new skill, but always something happens that causes her to move on. And then one day, after surviving yet another disaster, she lands in China, where they desperately need someone with ALL the skills she’s acquired. And it is here, finally, she finds love and happiness.

I just love this story. Believe me…I’ve turned to it many times when life got rough and I needed to remember that today is just a small piece of the whole picture. And that whatever is happening to me in any given moment may actually be helping build me up for what I need to do one day. It’s my way of putting moments in time into perspective.

Some people find their life’s calling early in life, but others (like me) follow Fatima’s path of gathering knowledge and experiences year after year and even decade after decade, until one day, at long last, all those pieces fit together perfectly, like a giant jig-saw puzzle. Or better yet, as I like to think of it, all the threads of our life’s tapestry come together and at last we see the whole beautiful picture.

So if you ever feel like Fatima at your current job, I hope you will think of her story and remember that even a stupid job that drives you crazy may give you one skill or one small piece of knowledge or even contact with a person that may one day hold the key to your happiness at work.

We just can’t see the whole picture from where we stand now. But I can tell you from personal experience, one day the pieces may fit together in a way you never could have imagined. I wish you all that “aha!” moment.

In the meantime, I hope this offers a little helpful perspective – or at least gives you something to smile about when your current job starts to bug you big time!

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More from Work Coach: Of course this isn’t the whole key to happiness at work. In case you’d like to read more, here are some other posts on the topic:

How Can I Find a Job that Makes Me Happy?

Finding Passion in Your Work: One Man’s Solution

Thinking of Changing Careers for that Dream Job? Be Creative!

I Want a New Job! (When You Just Can’t Take It Any More)

A Way to Try Out Your Dream Job

Stumbling into Success: Stories of Serendipitous Careers – Chapter 1: Sherman Alexie

I Want a Job I Love!

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