Our feelings about the work that we do and how we carry out
our professional duties goes a long way in determining whether we are in the
right profession/work place or not. Young or old, as long as you are not in
school and you are not retired, you are mandated to work to earn a living.
Officially and unofficially, we all engage in one activity
or the other that gives us our daily bread. Even the so-called house-wives have
to take care of the household and the children; which qualifies as work also.
Now that I have established the fact that we all work in
one way or the other, I will like to establish the fact that for our work to give
us the satisfaction we need to flourish as human beings, we must love what we
do and where we do it.
A lot of us think work is to be done mechanically since it
is meant to be a “Labour” and we are “Labourers”. We think it is not possible
or necessary to link the work that we do and our personal enjoyment together.
Our mentality is that work and enjoyment are not related and that we can experience
one and not the other at the same time.
There is no truth in this assumption.
Even though our work demands commitment, dedication, focus,
hard-work and perseverance before we can become a force to be reckoned with, it
is impossible to give all these attributes to our work without us loving the
work that we do and our work place.
For you to be distinguished in your chosen profession, it
must be more than a career and a means of earning a living. It must be a source
of inspiration and motivation to you.
I remember how as a newly qualified lawyer I will go to
court and have to wait for ages before my case is called (In the Nigerian Legal
System, cases are usually called out of turn based on the seniority of the
counsel in the courtroom).
I found the waiting and the whole adjudication process so
boring and frustrating that before I knew it, I was always sleeping in court
till my case is called and I am dragged awake by my colleagues in the
courtroom! It was so embarrassing. I will not only sleep but I will be snoring
as if I was in my bed at home; to the point that counsel sitting close to me
take it upon themselves to call me to order!
I was highly disappointed in myself. I became disillusioned
and discouraged. I had believed so strongly that I will be a successful Lawyer,
but here I was sleeping away in court, totally bored out of my wit! I knew
there and then that I was not cut out to be an advocate in court.
But if not in court, where else? Will I throw away my
training of seven (7) years just like that? What about my love and passion for
the Legal Profession? Have I been mistaken all along? All these questions and
more ran through my mind for a long time before I was shown the light by a
senior colleague.
She opened my eyes to another aspect of law that I fell in
love with, Commercial and Corporate Law. Immediately I discovered these aspects
of Law, my feelings of failure and frustration left me and it was as if I was
given a new lease of life. My blood stirred with joy and excitement. I became
eager to know and learn.
Instead of waking up in the morning dreading the day’s work
ahead, I started looking forward to all I have lined up for the day. The more I
learned, the more ideas I got on how to use my newly acquired knowledge to
improve people’s lives and earn a living in the process.
If you are not enjoying the job you are doing presently, it
might be because you are not in the right profession, or like me you are not in
the right field in your profession.
Sometimes, the problem might not be your profession or your
area of specialization in it. The problem might be your work environment / work
place and the people you work with.
I once worked in a Law firm that specializes in all the
areas of Law that I am passionate about. I loved the work and the opportunity
given to learn. The first few months of my stay there, I was always eager and
excited to get to work and start the day. I relished the hard-work and long
hours since I was doing what I love.
But after sometime, despite my optimistic enthusiasm and
friendly nature, the negative and unhealthy energy at my work place started
getting to me. There was so much back-stabbing, rivalry, bitterness and jealousy
that it became impossible for me to function at my optimal level. I lost all
form of peace and tranquility with myself and my environment until I left the
firm. It was as if a huge load was lifted off me when I removed myself from the
poisonous environment.
I have found out that to live a healthy, happy and balanced
life, one must be happy and at peace with one’s chosen career and work place;
especially for women that closes from one work to resume another round the
clock! (I mean house work and official/professional work).
Loving your job is a necessity to prevent constant sickness,
stress, anxiety disorder, mental and physical exhaustion and unhappy homes.
You might think half a loaf of bread is better than none,
that you are at least making some money from the job you hate with every fiber
of your being but if only you can sit back and take note of the negative
effects the job / work place is having on your mental well-being, physical
health, and spiritual state, you will realize you are doing yourself a great
disservice by staying on.
You can do better. Take time out to find out your area of
strength and passion. We all have them. Find out how you can turn these
strengths and passion into valuable commodity to serve people and earn a living
at the same time. Then you will derive two satisfactions from your labour.
The first is that you will meet the needs of people (which will
make you a blessing). The second is that you will earn a living thereby and meet
your own needs (which makes you blessed). Not to talk of the fulfillment you
will get from doing what you love doing and call it “work” at the same time!
Also, be mindful of your work environment. Protect yourself
from any environment that drains you of positive energy and leaves you dry and
abused.
Whatever needs to be done for you to love and enjoy your
work, do it. I assure you it will be worth your effort at the end of the day.
Life is to be enjoyed and not to be endured!
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