St Mark's ELCA: Failure and a Wonderful Life

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Shary Raske

Failure and a Wonderful Life

January is one of the most optimistic months of the year, a fresh slate and new beginnings. Yet for some reason I want to talk about failure. Every year in December some of us watch the same movie about a guy who failed at getting his career launched, never got to travel as he had hoped, and was in such agony he nearly killed himself.

As a career strategist I work with people who are stuck, dissatisfied, or feeling ineffective at work. They urgently want and need their career to have a different trajectory. Some of the trajectories they seek? Changing to a different career....launching a job search....finding ways to make more money or improving their current work situation. Whatever their source of discontent, I am here to get them to where they want to be, and get a better outcome from where they were before.

Yet every year I watch this movie, and I doubt that someone like me could have gained the desired result this guy wanted, despite the fact that he knew where he wanted to be, had a great work ethic, and a wonderful network of supportive people. Why? For him, the needs of his family were greater than any personal achievement he could have attained by himself. He was part of something that was greater than the American Dream. Family came first over a satisfying career.

The concept of sacrifice for the greater good is not a particularly popular one. It flies in the face of our assumption that our needs should always come first. And it flies in the face of our assumption that we can have it all - both a satisfying career and a strong connection to family. I suspect we all know people who chose to care for an elderly parent rather than advance in career, or people who chose not to relocate because their disabled child had a better chance by staying put. We honor our limits on what we can do, and where we can succeed.

Ultimately the guy in the movie did succeed, with a little help from a divine (yet clumsy) intervener. But our hero didn't succeed because he got what he wanted. He succeeded because he accepted what he had.

When people come to me yearning to leave a job, my first assignment is to have them come up with three things that they can do immediately to improve their job satisfaction. It seems contradictory that I would ask career changers to act as if they are going to stay. And initially it may seem untenable to ask them to give their current work situation their best, even as I help them prepare to leave. Yet with acceptance comes inklings of gratitude, and with gratitude comes increased energy to take action, and with greater energy comes the courage to make a positive change.

Ah, yes, it is A Wonderful Life after all. And if you can't find your wonderful life, call me.

Ideas for Improvement Job Satisfaction

Here are some ideas from past clients to immediately improve their current situation:

Get up and take a walk around the building twice a day. Actually take a lunch. Bring a cactus to work to ward off negative energy. Smile. Forgive. Hide in the bathroom. Bring a paint brush to work. Meditate for ten minutes. Take six deep breaths and relax. Volunteer after work. Do something fun after work. Exercise more. Get more sleep.

What are your ideas?

Shary Raske, Career Strategist,
Courage to Change Enterprises
shary@courageouschange.net
(314) 560-1088

Living the life you want, in the career you love!

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