How to Choose Your Best Work: Part 1

Periodically there are articles in newspapers and magazines about the large number of people who are unhappy with their jobs or their careers. If the statistics are true, there are a bunch of people out there who would rather be doing something else during their work day or doing what they do someplace other than where they’re doing it now.

The work we do not only takes up most of our day it’s also the main way we express ourselves. It just makes good sense that we should be doing something we really enjoy. Something we do extremely well. And, we should be doing our work in a setting we enjoy.

How about you? Are you doing your best work? Do you roll out of bed every morning excited about what you’re going to be doing for the day? If so, halleluiah! If not, not to worry. Colonel Sanders didn’t get started with KFC until his late sixties. I met a lady a few years ago that started a very successful career as an author and speaker in her sixties and was still going strong at eighty. I’m sure you know someone that made a change in his or her work, and is much happier and much better off because of it.

There is a great quote attributed to Buddha. “Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it.” Your work is different than a job or a career. Unless, of course, your job or your career is an expression of your work. Confused yet? It’s really pretty simple.

Our work is an expression of the true talents we all have in us. According to some theories we all have at least one area of our makeup that we are geniuses at expressing. Something we do naturally. Something we do so well we don’t even realize how good we are at it.

We all know people who can throw stuff together in the kitchen that to us doesn’t make any sense. The result is a meal filled with great flavors, great aromas, vibrant colors and interesting textures. They can’t explain why they can do it. They just do it. I knew a guy that could listen to any engine - car, lawnmower, tractor, chainsaw – and tell you what was wrong with it. He didn’t know why he knew. He just knew. I’m sure you know someone who can combine sizes, shapes, colors, patterns and textures in the house or in the garden, or both. We look at the result they create and say, “You did this yourself? Amazing!” They’re just naturals.

We’re all naturals at something. We all have genius just like that in each of us. The key is to determine what it is and figure out how to express it in a way that we really enjoy. If we want to turn our work into a business or a career, we need to figure out how to express it so it serves others in a way they are willing to pay us for.

So, where do we begin?

There are some lucky people who know what they want to do with their lives at a very early age. When a seven year old announces that he or she will be a teacher, or a brain surgeon or a concert pianist we usually say something like, “Isn’t that cute?” The fact is that many people become just exactly what they said they wanted to become. Then there are the rest of us that by chance or by necessity end up someplace we don’t really want to be and we feel stuck. Or, we just keep bouncing from one opportunity to another looking for the “right thing”.

If you fit into either of these categories and you’re interested in finding your best work, or if you’re just curious, I’m going to suggest that you do a few mental exercises between now and receiving next week’s ezine. These exercises will require you to think a bit, but the process will be fun. I promise!

I want you to make a few lists. Don’t put any pressure on yourself regarding the length of the lists or how fast you put them together. You’ll get the best results if you work on them for a while and then put them aside for a day or so. When you come back to them you’ll have some additional insight and more things will come to mind. Search your past. Let your mind wander. Have some fun.

Here we go.

List all of the things you enjoy just for the sake of doing them. Those things you get lost in when you’re doing them. Those things where you lose track of time when you do them and you don’t think about money.
List all of the things others tell you you’re good at.
List all of the compliments you get regularly. Any and all compliments. “You really dress well.” “You’re really funny.” “Thanks for helping. You make this stuff easy to understand.” Include anything that sounds like a compliment.
List all of the activities and accomplishments you have received awards or recognition for. Happy faces, ribbons, medals, trophies, certificates, diplomas, licenses – don’t leave anything out.
List all of the times you have listened to your intuition and achieved positive results. It would probably be easier to list all the times we went against our intuition with negative results. Focus on the positive.

You don’t have to show this list to anyone unless you choose to. It’s private information intended to help you discover your best work. Be honest and write down everything that comes to mind. None of that, “Well they told me I really did a great job at _______________, but they were just being nice.” Put it on the list.

See you next week. We’ll move on to the next step.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Silverthorn is a business growth specialist and success coach. He spends his time helping people build and grow successful businesses. To learn more please visit www.feedthegoodwolf.com and www.forbusinesssuccess.com.

NOTE: You're welcome to reproduce this article online or in print as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "About the Author" information at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to bsilverthorn@feedthegoodwolf.com.

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