A Choice...

I spent the better part of the morning contemplating… ok, complaining would be a better word for what I did… I had a little pity party. I set out all focused on my work woes. You see, I am barely treading water these days. I seem to have lost what I love most about my job.

I love to build relationships and bring people together to solve problems (a result of middle child syndrome!)
I love the flexibility to create my own goals and define my successes.
I love the freedom I am given to find my own opportunities to add value.
I love how I can take company and department goals and develop my own strategies to support the overall vision.
I love to focus on the end goal and set my own objectives to exceed expectations.
I love the empowering sense of accomplishment when I deliver beneficial results.

As of lately I have simply been so overwhelmed with the day-to-day support and I feel like I am losing touch with what I love to do and what I add the most value doing.

I am simply overwhelmed with the mundane. I can recognize the root causes of issues and I know what I need to do to provide real benefits but I just can’t find my way to focus on the end results. I simply do what needs to be done (because there is SO much to be done) and I hate the ordinary routine of it all. I am a thinker… a dreamer… I have big visions and even bigger goals that must be met to feel a sense of accomplishment, to measure up to my definition of success.

This is what I deliberated on all morning. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t find a way to break the mundane streak – even though I have devised and discussed many brilliant plans to get back into my comfortable role – A role that I have defined and hold myself accountable for; A role where I make big decisions and turn ideas into accomplishments; But also a role that simply cannot be accommodated right now due to the shift in our economy and the reactions that we all must take to ensure survival.

I was making myself so miserable with my negative thoughts when my heart and mind were finally opened. It was then, in the midst of my commiserating, when I remembered I had a choice. I recalled a message that has saved the day (and probably my life) a thousand times over. A message that I don’t always remember in the moment but that I always come back to in the end. A message that my dearest Mother taught me: Happiness is a choice and that choice is ours to make.

I ultimately realized that my definition of success doesn’t always have to be grand. Accomplishments can take many forms and sometimes it’s just about stepping up to the plate, taking on the mundane tasks as needed to ensure a team’s success. So, I will temporarily rewrite my definition of success. I have a job – a job I have almost always loved. A job that I know will open up many future opportunities that fit within my grand visions. A job that pays the bills and supports my lifestyle… and, almost supports my desired lifestyle. Ok, sometimes my desired lifestyle doesn’t fit anywhere in (or even near) the realm of reality because I am a dreamer... But that’s a whole different post for another day.

So for all you out there wallowing in your own misery of the day remember this message and always choose happiness. The grass is always greener on the side of blissfulness.