Got a case of the Mondays? I was flipping through the TV channels the other day and ran across the movie Office Space. This was the PG version with the breast exam and the F* bombs edited out so I settled back to watch it even though I had seen it a couple of times over the years.
You probably know the story. Set in a Dallas suburb, Peter Gibbons is trapped in a software job that he hates. Peter, and his coworkers, Michael Bolton (not THE Michael Bolton), and Samir Nagheenanajar lament their plight of being caught in a job that oscillates between boring them to death and driving them crazy. The silver lining is that they have little job security as evidenced by the fact that their employer (Initech) brings in some efficiency experts to “streamline operations.” Peter points out to the efficiency experts that he has eight different bosses and each and everyone points out each time that he makes a mistake like forgetting the cover sheets on his TPS reports.
As Peter and his two buddies do some peer-to-peer counseling over a cup of coffee, an overly-caffeined waiter comments that it looks like Peter “has a case of the Mondays.” The implication is that Peter seems to be dragging through life like some workers struggle through the first day of each week. After seeing an occupational hypno-therapist at his girlfriend’s request, Peter develops a much more mellow, “Que Sera Sera” attitude. He explains to his new love interest, played by Jennifer Anniston, that he is simply not going to go to work any more. He isn’t going to quit his job. He just isn’t going to go to work anymore. When Anniston’s character asks Peter what he is going to do about paying bills, Peter responds, that “ he has never really liked paying bills and he doesn’t think he is going to pay bills any more either.
According to Harris Interactive, 41% of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. 33% of workers feel like they are at a dead-end in the current jobs. Less than half (44%) of workers are glad that they work for their current employer. 87% of workers responded that they don’t believe they have found their optimal job. 80% of workers don’t feel like their talents are fully being utilized. Those are some pretty dismal statistics. Why do so many people continue to work at jobs that apparently make them miserable? In a recent About.com poll, when asked what gives the most job satisfaction and given choices like money, respect, etc., the number one response was “Doing what I love.”
I would suggest that there is another option other than drifting through life with a case of the Mondays and simply not going to work. The better option is to find a job that you actually love. Every person was created with specific talents and interests that point toward what they were made to do. Those activities where your interests and talents overlap with those things that others would pay you to do, represent your “sweet spot.” Everyone has one. Max Lucado in his book Cure for the Common Life, encourages people to find their sweet spot by looking backwards at their life to recall which types of activities they have loved and at which they have been successful.
If you feel like you have a case of the Monday’s, you might want to pick up a copy of Lucado’s Cure for the Common Life. Think back through your life about the things that you have loved to do. What things have you been successful at? Where those two groups overlap, which of those activities will others pay you to do? The choice is yours. In the meantime, make sure you put a cover sheet on those TPS reports.
What are you passionate about? What are you doing about it?
You probably know the story. Set in a Dallas suburb, Peter Gibbons is trapped in a software job that he hates. Peter, and his coworkers, Michael Bolton (not THE Michael Bolton), and Samir Nagheenanajar lament their plight of being caught in a job that oscillates between boring them to death and driving them crazy. The silver lining is that they have little job security as evidenced by the fact that their employer (Initech) brings in some efficiency experts to “streamline operations.” Peter points out to the efficiency experts that he has eight different bosses and each and everyone points out each time that he makes a mistake like forgetting the cover sheets on his TPS reports.
As Peter and his two buddies do some peer-to-peer counseling over a cup of coffee, an overly-caffeined waiter comments that it looks like Peter “has a case of the Mondays.” The implication is that Peter seems to be dragging through life like some workers struggle through the first day of each week. After seeing an occupational hypno-therapist at his girlfriend’s request, Peter develops a much more mellow, “Que Sera Sera” attitude. He explains to his new love interest, played by Jennifer Anniston, that he is simply not going to go to work any more. He isn’t going to quit his job. He just isn’t going to go to work anymore. When Anniston’s character asks Peter what he is going to do about paying bills, Peter responds, that “ he has never really liked paying bills and he doesn’t think he is going to pay bills any more either.
According to Harris Interactive, 41% of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. 33% of workers feel like they are at a dead-end in the current jobs. Less than half (44%) of workers are glad that they work for their current employer. 87% of workers responded that they don’t believe they have found their optimal job. 80% of workers don’t feel like their talents are fully being utilized. Those are some pretty dismal statistics. Why do so many people continue to work at jobs that apparently make them miserable? In a recent About.com poll, when asked what gives the most job satisfaction and given choices like money, respect, etc., the number one response was “Doing what I love.”
I would suggest that there is another option other than drifting through life with a case of the Mondays and simply not going to work. The better option is to find a job that you actually love. Every person was created with specific talents and interests that point toward what they were made to do. Those activities where your interests and talents overlap with those things that others would pay you to do, represent your “sweet spot.” Everyone has one. Max Lucado in his book Cure for the Common Life, encourages people to find their sweet spot by looking backwards at their life to recall which types of activities they have loved and at which they have been successful.
If you feel like you have a case of the Monday’s, you might want to pick up a copy of Lucado’s Cure for the Common Life. Think back through your life about the things that you have loved to do. What things have you been successful at? Where those two groups overlap, which of those activities will others pay you to do? The choice is yours. In the meantime, make sure you put a cover sheet on those TPS reports.
What are you passionate about? What are you doing about it?
1 comments:
Great Blog!
Wanna know what I'm passionate about?? I'm passionate about helping others find their passions and live passionately. I am the founder and editor of Passionate for Life.com
http://www.passionateforlife.com
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