A Quantitative Approach To Job Satisfaction

QUANTITY

adjective

1. relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.

When I’m applying for a job, I take into consideration salary, commute, office environment, and job description.  The one thing I never really thought about was quantity.

I’ve always fancied myself a quality over quantity type of gal and just this morning, like a bolt of lightning it hit me:  I’m a quality gal!  (Not much of a realization, right?  Hear me out).

Thrive, Don’t Just Survive

It’s pretty empowering when you can just throw your hands up in the air and yell “I QUIT” as you exit your office, leaving everyone with their mouths agape.  But, chances are you can’t (or don’t want to).  And, if you want my opinion, that’s not a graceful way to make an exit.

So.  Here you are.  You can’t (or don’t want to) quit.  At least not right now.  What do you do?  Based on my MANY experiences with different places of employment, I’ve put together a list that I hope you will find helpful.

“Job” has become a four letter word

Time for a little motherly advice.

I’m guilty of this.  I would complain and complain and complain (and complain) about my job.  And complain.

It got to the point where it seemed like the only conversation I could have with anyone started off like this:  “I hate my job.  I can’t stand this or that . . ..”  And, as we all know, like attracts like.  Eventually, any and all conversations that someone had with me started off the same way.

That’s draining.  It physically sucks all the positive energy right out of you.  I was drained and in a bad mood.  All.  The.  Time.

The bottom line is that most of us need a way to earn money.  Jobs are the most common way to earn money.  Jobs come with obligations, responsibilities, and expectations.  Whenever anything (no matter how much you love it) becomes an obligation, and even further, an obligation tied to money, the joy starts to slip away.

So how we can change that?

Hobby, Job, Career, or Vocation?

Elizabeth Gilbert.  She’s been first and foremost on and in my mind lately.  I finished reading her book “Big Magic” and fell in love with her all over again.  Moments later, she, yet again, put beautiful words to my thoughts with her post about hobby, job, career, or vocation.  You can read her entire post here.

As an Accidental Lawyer turned Success Coach, I support women with this very issue.  In fact, it is this very issue that led me to want to coach others.  Ms. Gilbert states, “For anyone out there who is seeking purpose and meaning and direction in their lives, I thought it might be useful today to define and differentiate four very important words that relate to HOW WE SPEND OUR TIME IN LIFE.”

Let’s take some time to really figure out how we spend our time in our life.  Most of us don’t really stop to think about this; and why would we?  Our days are FULL of errands, tasks, quick coffee breaks, lists, pick-ups, drop-offs, meal preparation, and on and on.  It’s rare to find a quiet moment to breathe, let alone analyze how we spend our time in life.

I concur with Ms. Gilbert, however.  Making the time to figure out how and where we spend our energy and our time in life will bring with it some incredible awareness of how we can change things to feel more fulfilled and on purpose.  I will excerpt for you the basic definitions of these four words; while used interchangeably at times, as Ms. Gilbert points out, they do not mean the same thing.

1) HOBBY — A hobby is something that you do for pleasure, relaxation, distraction, or mild curiosity. A hobby is something that you do in your spare time. Hobbies can come and go in life — you might try out a hobby for a while, and then move on to something new. [ . . . ] The stakes are SUPER low with hobbies. Sometimes you might make a bit of money out of your hobby, but that’s not the point — nor does it need to be.

2) JOB — You may not need a hobby, but you do absolutely need a job. Unless you have a trust fund, or just won the lottery, or somebody is completely supporting you financially…you need a job.  [ . . .]  I believe there is great dignity and honor to be found in having a job. A job is how you look after yourself in the world. I always had a job, or several jobs, back when I was an unpublished, aspiring writer. Even after I’d already published three books, I still kept a regular job, because I never wanted to burden my creativity with the responsibility of paying for my life.  [ . . . ] Now, here’s the most essential thing to understand about a job: IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE AWESOME.  You don’t need to love your job; you just need to have a job and do it with respect. [ . . . ] Of course, if you absolutely hate your job, by all means look for another one, but try to be philosophical about why you have this job right now. (Some good philosophical reasons for staying in a crappy job right now include: You are taking care of yourself; you are supporting your beloved family; you are saving up for something important; you are paying off debts. The list of reasons to have a job — even a bad job — goes on and on, and honor abides within all those reasons.)  

3) CAREER — A career is different from a job. A job is just a task that you do for money, but a career is something that you build over the years with energy, passion, and commitment. You don’t need to love your job, but I hope to heaven that you love your career — or else you’re in the wrong career, and it would be better for you to quit that career and just go find yourself a job, or a different career.  [ . . . ] Let me make something very clear about careers: A career is a good thing to have if you really want one, but YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A CAREER. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going through your entire life having jobs, and enjoying your hobbies, and pursuing your vocation, but never having “a career”. A career is not for everyone.

4) VOCATION — The word “vocation” comes to us from the Latin verb “vocare” — meaning “to call”. Your vocation is your calling. Your vocation is a summons that comes directly from the universe, and is communicated through the yearnings of your soul. While your career is about a relationship between you and the world; your vocation is about the relationship between you and God. Vocation is a private vow. Your career is dependent upon other people, but your vocation belongs only to you.

Excerpts taken from Elizabeth Gilbert’s post, found here.

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I’ve tried to make hobbies into careers, and careers into jobs, and vocations into hobbies.  It wasn’t until I sat down and made sense out of the way I spend my time, aided by these definitions, that I brought some clarity into my life.  

I invite you to take these definitions, a cup of tea or coffee (or wine, whatever floats your boat), and a good hour or two of quiet time.  Spend some time writing out how you spend your time.  Decide if those activities are a hobby, job, career, or vocation.  Decide if activities can be rearranged under a different category to bring you more joy and fulfillment.  For example, once I moved “attorney” from the career category to the job category, I lifted a huge burden off my shoulders.  I then moved “coach” from the hobby category to the “vocation” category.  Joy began filling my heart.  Much like Ms. Gilbert, I know that even if my vocation doesn’t always pay the bills, it will always bring me immense joy and fulfillment.  And that is how I am choosing to fill my time in life.

How will you spend yours?

#TheNewFirm

“Badassery”

If you haven’t yet heard of Brené Brown, I truly encourage you to check her out.  I’ll make it easy, check out one of her TED Talks here.  (Over 22 million views.  Yep, she’s a badass.)

As I’ve come to embrace my #1 reason for diving head first into entrepreneurship (creative control), I’m consistently reminded of Brown’s words about being in the arena.  Brown has spent countless hours studying vulnerability and shame and refers to the arena on many occasions.

Let me explain.

“I’m not good enough.”  Heard that one before?  I sure have.  In fact, that statement kept me from fully embracing my desire for creative control for many years.

“Who do you think you are?”  That was next.  After realizing my worth, my value, embracing my fears and jumping in, that little voice told me I shouldn’t dare.  When that is the record that has been playing in your head for years and years, it’s easy to give up.

Then, the critics.  Brown describes them as the people sitting in the stands looking down into the arena.  They are not actually in the arena, but they are commenting, criticizing, and making suggestions about what the man in the arena should do.  She goes on further to say that 90% of the time, when the man in the arena looks up into the crowds to view his critics, all he sees is himself.  We are our biggest critics.

Truly sounds like a formula for failure.  But see, here’s the thing.  Those who dare to try will fail.  That’s a given.  Brown urges, however, that at least you will have been in the arena.  You will have had mud on your face and sweat in your eyes, but you would have been there: courageous, brave, vulnerable.  No matter who the critics are, push open the door to the arena and be prepared to have your ass handed to you.  You’ll fall over and over again, but guess what?  Do it anyway.

Why?  Because the credit will always go to man in the arena, for he is the true badass.

There is so much to her research that I cannot even begin to scratch the surface, nor do I choose to try.  If you’d like to devour her books like I have been lately, please do.  And let me know what you think!

Brown was inspired by Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena“.  Click on the link above to read the full excerpt.

#TheNewFirm

“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear”

Lately, I’ve been attracted to a certain type of book.  The Big Leap, Rising Strong, Sacred Choices . . ., etc.

Most recently I picked up “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert from the local library.  I fell in love with her (as most of us did) throughout her journey in “Eat, Pray, Love”.  She has now re-entered my life just when I’ve decided that having creative control is the reason + motivation behind my work.

The rest of the title reads like this:  Big Magic:  Creative Living Beyond Fear.

Go on, Ms. Gilbert.  You have my attention.

I was captured, almost immediately, by the following passage:

But I will never forget what the real Jack Gilbert told somebody else–an actual flesh-and-blood person, a shy University of Tennessee student.  This young woman recounted to me that one afternoon, after his poetry class, Jack had taken her aside.  He complimented her work, then asked what she wanted to do with her life.  Hesitantly, she admitted that perhaps she wanted to be a writer.

He smiled at the girl with infinite compassion and asked, “Do you have the courage?  Do you have the courage to bring forth this work?  The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”

Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert, p. 7

I wish I had known Jack Gilbert.  I wish more mentors like him existed.  Here’s the magic.  Through this book, I feel as though Jack Gilbert is speaking to me, as well.  Through this book, those of us who are choosing to have creative control, to have courage, and to take that plunge are being inspired to release those treasures that are hidden inside each and every one of us.

Now that’s some Big Magic.

#TheNewFirm

 

 

What is Creative Control?

As a lawyer, I appreciate the fine art of words.  I don’t always stop and think about the definition of a word, but today, I’m going to define “creative control” in two ways.  The first, by looking up the words in the dictionary.  The second, my interpretation.

My Why and Creative Control

Over the last two years, I have been hearing a lot about identifying my WHY.  See, when you walk the plank and dive into the sea of entrepreneurship, you have to have a really strong reason to keep you motivated.  Unlike a traditional job where you are paid consistently, earning money as an entrepreneur is much seeing like seeing a double rainbow:  it exists, you don’t know when you’ll see it, but when you do, WOWZA.

Money cannot be my why.  Otherwise, I would have cut and run ages ago.  I kept hearing about “time freedom” and “residual income”.  I tried those out for a while, but they really didn’t motivate me enough.

Then, I explored my family, my children, and ME as my whys.  It worked for a little while, but it still wasn’t the real reason why I plunged into my own business.  (Although these three reasons are fundamentally woven into my desire to be better, every day.)

Then, like most magical things do, it hit me like a ton of bricks:  CREATIVE CONTROL.

Just like that, it all made sense to me.  Everything that I struggled with about the traditional employee/employer model, everything that irritated me about a M-F, 9-5 kind of job came down to a lack of CREATIVE CONTROL.

I’ll dive deeper into what creative control means to me in my next post.  For now, I invite you to explore your WHY.  Try on a few different reasons.  See how they feel.  If they stick, keep them.  If they don’t, explore other ones.  Once you identify your WHY, you’ll experience a spine-tingling, hair raising, jump-up-on-the-couch experience that will overwhelm you with joy.

Keep at it.  It’s worth it.

#TheNewFirm

Me vs. Immigration Law

Immigration Law and I go way back.  When I first started law school, I was seeking an internship or summer job in trademark law.  However, all I could get hired for was immigration law . . . mostly because of my language skills.  I took the internship because, hey, it is better to be employed than unemployed.

This battle has raged on for several years, with immigration law always winning out in the end.  This week, immigration law has taken the crown again, or has it?  Let me explain.

A couple of months ago, I was asked to apply for a first ever diversity leadership program.  As luck would have it, the leadership program was scheduled for the exact same weekend as the Immigration Bar’s annual conference.  I really wanted to attend the diversity conference, but my boss felt that I really should attend the annual conference, but of course, it was my choice.  Of course it was.  As a young associate eager to do well, I put aside my desire to attend the leadership program and convinced myself that it was necessary that I attend the immigration conference instead.  I was very disappointed, but, I was trying to do my best to grow and learn in this field and to be a good employee.

How was the conference you ask?  Well, as fate would have it, the immigration conference was never in my future.  I developed a nasty cold that lasted over a week and any travel past the end of my couch was cancelled.

So, immigration law won again.  Or did it?  I feel that I have made myself a slave to this area of law because it seems to be the only area of law in which I can get hired.  Somehow, I lose track of what I really want whenever I get a (good) job in immigration.  I instantly believe that it is my destiny, my path, my duty even to be an immigration attorney, and I no longer have the strength to stand up for myself and choose what I really want to do.

I feel pigeon-holed into this area of law.  The longer I do it, the more my resume reads “immigration attorney and nothing else”.  No matter how hard I try to get out, I just keep sinking deeper and deeper into the quicksand.

I have to believe that each step I take in this area of law is advancing me towards something better.  I have also learned (again) that I need to take a step back and assess what I want, what will further my career, and what will make me happy in the end. THAT is why, maybe, just maybe, immigration law did not win this time.  I am growing “pelotas” and growing more and more confident.  Sure, I did not get to attend the leadership program this year, but there will be another next year.  And, mark my words, I will be there next year.  I will not permit immigration to stand in the way of that.

I hope the answer will become really clear as to why immigration law always seems to win.  For now, the world is helping me fight back, teaching me to stand up for what I believe in.  In the end, only I know what is best for me, with a little help from the Universe.

Sad and Confused

On Monday I got a very nice phone call sharing some very bad news.  I did not get a job I wanted really badly.  I was in a state of numbness for the rest of the afternoon at work.  As soon as my husband picked me up from work, tears poured out of my eyes.  It didn’t seem real, but it was.

Now, a couple days later, the feelings are much more intense.  It is very real.  I did not get the job.  Even more real, I am stuck, if you will, at my current job, that we all know I am not fond of.  So where do I go from here?

As my mom told me, I am not an indentured servant, I have the freedom to chose whether to stay at my current job.  That definitely made me feel better.  But what happens when the real world collides with my freedom to choose my line of employment?

For example, we are closing on our first home at the end of April.  Is it wise to switch jobs now?  Probably not.  But, from where I am sitting, it seems almost impossible to make it another 5-6 weeks at my current job.  The feelings in the pit of my stomach are telling me to just cut and run, and just hope that things will work out for the best.  But, I must be responsible.

I take a moment to wonder, is it really that bad or have I just built it up in my head?  It is probably a bit of both.  How do I overwhelm the feelings of desperation, the feelings of dread, to just hold on a little longer?  How do I surround myself in armor that will deflect all the negativity that I am surrounded by at my job?  It exhausts me to be someone I am not from the hours of 7-6 every day.  It exhausts me to think about getting up in the morning and getting myself ready to face the day.  It exhausts me to deal with every client, every phone call, every problem that arises.  I’m exhausted.

So, when is enough enough?  I’m searching for the right answer.  I’m trying to keep a positive attitude . . . just need a to keep the faith and keep hoping that the right change will be coming soon.

Please hurry up.