Taylor Swiftโs latest album has this line:
โTell me something awful, like you are ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฒ.โ
The lady is a poet herself.
Just 10 words to capture the struggle many face at work. Are we in the wrong job, team, company etc?
Ms Swift is right: this work stuff is tough.
My take?
- Itโs ok to be in a job we tolerate; we all have bills to pay.
- It’s common to know what we donโt want, and not know what we want.
- Every job in life โ even those we merely tolerate โ gives us greater clarity.
In my own case, I was trained as an engineer and ended up in sales/marketing. Until I was almost 50, I didnโt know where my (a) passions and (b) strengths overlapped with (c) what industry at large would pay for. For a long time, I made do with just (b) and (c).
Looking back however, Iโm grateful that I took the slow train to clarity. Every part of my journey in sales/marketing โ even if it didnโt ignite a passion in me โ helped hone an essential life skill to understand the aspirations, fears and insecurities of the people around me: my clients, bosses and colleagues.
So are you a poet in finance, an artist in the boardroom or an entrepreneur in civil service?
If you are โฆ be like the duck, keep paddling/hustling towards your dream role.
And while youโre at it, it’ll help to reframe how you view your current station in life: as long as you keep learning a life skill, youโre moving forward.