Last week I was doing some work with people that had been in the organisation for years. Some since the age of 17 and had never been anywhere else, others had experienced other industries but had ‘ended up here’ and never left.
They were institutionalised and had given up on the thought of making a difference. This was their lot….
There was a lot of “them & they” followed by excuses and reasons and an apathy to do anything different.
I found this a hard pill to swallow and, of course, challenged them to control and influence, what they could, and let go of they things they couldn’t control or influence. Some of the group actually opened their eye wider, took a breath and sighed as the realisation hit them.
They had been moaning about things they couldn’t change and it had a negative affect on them and the people they managed. Life (at work) was flat and not enjoyable, they just turned up and did the job. They did a great job, but didn’t enjoy the prospect of going to work to do the same thing every day.
One particular person described a previous job, that he had when he was 18, and you could see, and hear, the passion as he explained how much he enjoyed it. His circumstances changed so he chose to do something with a bit more security and “Ended up here”
I felt sorry for him as his ‘sparkle’ disappeared again.
I appreciate that life throws us challenges, and we do, sometimes, have to make decisions that we would rather not make. To do a job, that you don’t like doing, for 35 years, is not something anyone should endure. There has to be a better way! We spend far too much time working, so not to enjoy it, must be so demotivating.
When I set up my personal training business, in 1994, I was so passionate about helping people, changing lives and making a difference. I was motivated, hungry and creative, for the first couple of years, but after 3 years, I was depleted. It had become a job and the passion had disappeared.
I had become a councillor, listening to problems and people moaning about how bad their lives were. (Not everyone but a few too many!) It was draining all my energy, mentally and physically and I didn’t look forward to ‘work’ so I decided to change my job.
I know that makes it sound easy but it wasn’t, I had to plan things as I couldn’t just stop earning, I needed something to replace my income. Strangely enough, as soon as I lifted my head up, and looked for opportunities, I started seeing things, other possibilities and eventually I changed jobs.
I didn’t share that with the group last week as I wasn’t paid to get people to leave the organisation, but it did make me wonder how many people just put up with life and assume they can’t do anything else, so don’t try.
I did want to shout “Dream big, it’s never too late, go for it” but it wasn’t the right time or place to do that.
If you wanted to tell someone to go for it, who would it be? What is it that you want to go for, but haven’t yet?
Maybe now is the time!