Something is wrong when so many in our workforce don’t look forward to going to their job—especially as they spend at least one-third of their life there!

It appears that work has turned more into drudgery than joy for most of the population! Why?

I have a couple of thoughts. If this is you, I believe in some part of your mind and heart you’ve bought into the quest, yet haven’t fully figured out Joseph Campbell’s advice:

If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.

What a compelling aspiration and yet it seems to me scores of employees are waiting for the flame of their bliss to be given to them so they can be swept away into an inspiring career. Passive inaction isn’t what Joseph Campbell was suggesting.

The commitment to follow starts with you. You have to take responsibility for your career. It is you putting yourself on the path to discover the flame of your bliss—not anyone else. Only you can decide to move forward unafraid.

Your disengagement occurs as you compare the dream of “bliss” against your everyday work-life. This tug-of-war crops up when one part of you is grappling with uncovering and living the flame in your heart. The other side is acquiring the skill and expertise necessary to live fully in the reality of what is today and preparing you for what could be tomorrow. But more often than not, we become mired in the equation never completing our sacred quest.

Okay. Now what?

Follow Your Interests: If you become curious and that curiosity stirs excitement regarding certain aspects of business, you’re on the hunt. As Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Lewis and Virginia Eaton observes: My undergraduates, at first, get all starry-eyed about the idea of finding their passion, but over time they get far more excited about developing their passion and seeing it through. They come to understand that that’s how they and their futures will be shaped and how they will ultimately make their contributions. Trial and error isn’t a bad thing, particularly in today’s marketplace where broad-ranging knowledge is highly valued. It also constitutes a fundamental element for uncovering your flame.

Failure Is Part And Parcel Of The Journey: Your stumbles and falls don’t in any way mean you’ve missed discovering the flame of your passion. These glitches often catapult you into your calling. The reality is all of us are pretty bad at most things when we first begin. Developing an acceptance to failure is a vital factor in the process. No matter what occurs, you’re always on your way to living in the full light of your flame. It doesn’t matter what season. The time to start is right here, and the present is your playground to uncover the job that comprises all that you are intended to be.

Don’t Panic: Many believe because the Tiger Woods or Bill Gates or Debbie Field’s of the world latched onto their calling early in life, this is the only way to generate a career that encompasses their giftedness, so there is no hope for them. Early knowing is but one conduit. Research has documented there are a whole slew of others who uncovered their flame along the way. Their disappointments added context as these aided in forming the bits-and-pieces that crystallized their passion. Begin seeing your career experiences very much like random tiles creating an epic, full-size, ever-unfolding, living mosaic that clarifies your flame.

Embrace failure, do follow your interests and don’t panic. It’s easy in today’s work environment to become disengaged by closing your heart and mind to hope—don’t allow it. Become the hero or heroine of your story by being an enthusiastic explorer intent on tracking down your passion all the days of your life.

Career Advancement Strategies

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