I’m a big fan of history shows (documentaries and / or fiction). I love seeing how our world has been shaped by kingdoms, governments, inventions, and the people involved. It’s fascinating to see how cultures develop and how their ideas of fulfillment compares to ours today. Even some of the current shows depict what it was like when people finally had more choices for a career besides being a farmer, blacksmith, or laborer. People were saying “I can be THIS now” or “I have the opportunity to be THAT instead of just THIS.” They could finally dream! They could finally find their fulfillment.
Do you feel fulfilled in your job / career today?
Here’s a little experiment for you: ask one of your grandparents (or someone you know of that generation) if they felt fulfilled in their career. Their answers may come as a surprise. When you look at the diagram below, from an article by Pew Research Center, you will see that 65% of workers 65+ found their job to be enjoyable and only 14% of them found their jobs to be overwhelming. Compare those numbers to the group ages 18-29 who feel less fulfilled, more stressed, and more overwhelmed and you’ll ask yourself, “Why the big difference? What’s the secret sauce to their job contentment?”
What would make you feel fulfilled?
For many in the older generations, fulfillment was focused on providing for the four main walls of life: Food, Utilities, Shelter, and Transportation. If you had those four things down, you were living a GOOD life and for that reason was their driving factor for how they worked. Baby Boomers tend to stay in their jobs longer, work longer hours, and are very loyal to their employers. Even though they had less opportunities than workers today, they knew if they worked hard, life at home would be good.
Unfortunately, current workforce generations don’t have that same feeling or assurance. They feel overworked, undervalued, underpaid, and their work – life balance is all out of whack! And because of those feelings, they are constantly looking for “better” opportunities that “might” give them the life they want. They’re constantly moving around and fishing for better opportunities. That’s exhausting!!
What to do to better your job situation and find fulfillment…
If you’re currently in a situation where you don’t feel fulfilled in your job, you feel lost, and you can’t make ends meet, there is something you can do about it. You CAN do something to change your future.
- Look at your current job and make an honest evaluation of where you are:
- Pros and Cons.
- Current pay and benefits.
- Does this pay cover MORE than your 4 walls? If so, what are they?
- What is this pay not covering?
- What are your growth opportunities?
- There is always room for growth, if you want to work for it.
- Books and YouTube are a great start when you want to carve out time to learn new skills
- Will continuing education classes get you a promotion?
- To become more marketable, what new skills could you learn?
- What kind of life do you want?
- What are your career goals?
- What are your personal / life goals?
- What are your financial goals?
- Know what your current skills (and possible future skills) are worth.
- To see what your skillset is worth, research the job market.
- In addition, if you find people getting paid more, look at their credentials and see if there’s a skillset you can learn.
- Focus on the future.
- If you focus on the frustrations of today, I guarantee that you will be frustrated tomorrow…and, additionally, the next day.
- Focus on what went well each day and write it down.
- For example, if you learned a new skill or piece of information, write it down and smile that you made a self-improvement.
- Above all, do NOT compare yourself to others.
- If you do, you’re robbing yourself of the person you are meant to be.
- If you try to be more like “Bob”, your true self will never materialize. Only a really weird second version of “Bob” will emerge. No one needs that!
There is hope for everyone!
If you’re feeling lost in your job or it’s not covering your basic expenses, there is hope! Every generation had two things in common: they had to grab opportunities and work for their dreams. You can get there too! I know the struggle. I know what it’s like to work for people you don’t get along with, or work crazy hours with little respect, or work 5 jobs just to afford the basics. I’ve been there. I’ve cried, and I was determined to make my life better. You can do that too!
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