So, you’re stuck doing work you really don’t enjoy, but you can’t risk making a change because you need the money. And you don’t really know what you would rather be doing anyway.
Getting some clarity
And that’s the problem. Because you don’t have a clear compass on what your brilliance is, and why it makes your working life a joy, the only criteria you can use to decide on what work to take is “How much are they gonna pay me?”
No wonder you’re stuck doing crap work!
It’s time to fix that.
Finding your spark
OK, so your current work may not be exactly a joyful experience, but at least it’s bringing in an income. For now, until they realise you’re not bringing your whole self to it. Nobody wants someone working for them who doesn’t want to be there, so you’d better find out what it is that you really do love to do.
A very good way to do that is to think back over your career and identify those times when you just knew you were at the top of your game (and so did your bosses, colleagues, and clients, by the way). Somewhere in your working past is the spark that can ignite your brilliance on this next step of your journey.
What customers value
If you want to discover what your best customers or your favourite co-workers really value about the way you work, a really great way to find out is to … ASK THEM! And then you can compare what they say with what you love doing.
Where there’s an overlap between what people value and what you love and are good at, that’s where your Joyful Genius resides – you’re great at it (you probably already know, but it’s nice to have it confirmed), you love doing it, AND people value it enough to pay you well for it – they just said so!
That’s what you “should” be doing.
Getting properly paid
If you want to get paid properly for your life’s work, it’s not all about the money. It’s nice to be financially comfortable, and that can come from doing the work that pays best. But when you end up working just for the pay, that can lead to dissatisfaction and even burn-out.
When it’s all about the money, you miss out on actually having some meaning and fun in your work, and you can end up wasting your potential. The people who seem to get the most out of their work and get the furthest in life are generally the ones who actually like to be there.
Where would you love to be?
.
Photo by Jordan Madrid on Unsplash
.
[widget id=”custom_html-6″ title=”0″]