This past weekend, Barb and I watched the movie, Lion on Netflix. Great movie and I highly recommend. No spoiler alerts, so no worries. The only mention of the movie is that the protagonist in the story used Google Earth to do his research on searching his family in India. It was 2008 and at the time, Google Earth was a new concept, and thought to be remarkable. While it was and is still today remarkable, it’s also now become pretty commonplace a decade later. It’s lost it’s initial appeal of wonder and awe.
The same has been true of a lot of technological advances in my lifetime. In listening to music, I’ve gone from vinyl record, to cassette tape, to compact disc, to iPod, to streaming on a mobile device. At each jump in technology, the same wonder and awe existed, soon to be replaced by normalcy. You can see the same sequence in video games, computers, and mobile phones. The “thrill” of each new discovery when it comes to technology is fleeting, with anticipation of the next iteration.
I wonder if the average person’s career – both business owner and employee – doesn’t go through the same process. In the examples I gave, we go from wonder; to excitement; to normal use; to impatience and agitation; to anticipation for the next level of wonder. Any time we start a new adventure, it’s easy to fall into that same trap if you’re not careful. My professional mentor, Alan Weiss refers to it as “the success trap.” Over time, one ends up being so good at what they do that without change boredom, complacency, animosity, and dreaming of greener grass takes hold.
If you’re the business owner and the process looks familiar for you personally, it’s likely that you’ve gone from loving what you’re doing, to doing work that you no longer want to do but feel you’re supposed to. It’s time to start delegating, training others, and focusing in on what you do best and enjoy the most so that you don’t get caught in the quicksand of bitterness. If this is happening to your employees, then the consequences will be poor productivity, low morale, and high turnover.
If you’re a professional that starts feeling like you’re hating your job and just going through the motions for a paycheck, I’ve got news for you….life’s too short for that. It’s time to assess whether the problem is the job or you. Mindset is a crucial component to enjoying your life, and if you’re spending a large part of your life working, you’d better find a way to love it or find a new adventure to love.
For everyone, you need to find that thrill in life every day or else it makes for very long and distasteful ones. The process starts with your own self-assessment and continues on to making implementation of positive changes. Before you know it, your next personal iteration is better than ever.
Quote of the Week:
”Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
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