09 Jun What if your job isn’t fulfilling you?

Earlier this week I went to lunch with a girlfriend and we talked about work. Fun right? Well for us it is. We are those rare humans that have a) created a job for ourselves and b) absolutely love the work we do.

But what happens if you don’t love your work?
Or feel fulfilled by it? What if your job allows you to do so many things you want to do but you just aren’t passionate about the work?

Guess what? Most people are not satisfied with their work. Actually, according to Gallup, 48% of women are actively looking for new positions. And in addition, Gallup says 70% of Americans are not engaged at work.

To me, that is terrible. But I think we can solve this with a simple reframing:

Your paid gig doesn’t have to be the thing that fulfills your purpose. 

Whaaaaaaat?

Yes. Sometimes your J.O.B. isn’t going to be the thing that fulfills you. Maybe your job is actually quite perfect for this season of your life. Maybe it checks off most things on the list. Maybe you can treat the job like a paid internship and gain as much knowledge as you can. Or maybe its just a means to make money for the real things you really want to be doing.

The real things would be outside your job.  

For example, I met this woman who can sing… and I mean SING. Like chills down your arms sing. BUT she works in marketing all day and sings at night and in her church band. Singing is her life-line to a fulfilled life. She does marketing because she is great at it, but her true passion lies in what she does after work.

People get way too wrapped up in this idea that your job MUST be your passion or that your passion MUST become the work.

Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book Big Magic you should never try to make your passion your job because it then becomes pressured and not fun anymore. She believes if you have the time and energy to refine your passion and truly understand there is a market for it, then go for it. Before Eat Pray Love, she had plenty of J.O.B.s so she could pursue her passion after work.

If you are feeling like you are one of the 70%, what can you do outside of work to fulfill your purpose?
Can you volunteer in your community or an organization in the field you want to be in? What about applying to programs to learn, network and grow? What about joining a sport or club? If you love animals can you volunteer to work in a shelter, train a dog who will be assisting the blind, or help the shelter with paperwork?

What can you do outside of your day job to find fulfillment?

Years ago I learned my job was not going to fill all the buckets on the fulfillment meter. So I went and volunteered for an organization. I met tons of women, got thrown into one of the largest projects I had ever been a part of, had exponential growth personally, met key people here in San Diego and even was awarded for my efforts.

That experience would have NEVER happened had I waited for fulfillment to find me. 

Being fulfilled CAN come outside your JOB and it may even lead to opportunities you never dreamed of.