This marks the one year anniversary of my job at March of Dimes. Funny, but I recently realized that I treat my job like others might treat a relationship. I talk about it all the time. I obsess when it isn’t going well. I rejoice when it is. I learn and grow from it, just like people do from relationships. Recently, I noticed all of this silliness in my behavior and it’s brought me a great wave of calm realization: I am not my job.
Yes, that sounds obvious to a lot of people, but you could say it to me two weeks ago and I’d shrug, agree in principle, but go back to discussing the ins and outs of my daily work life without recognition of the irony.
Finally, I get it. I love work, I am wired to be a work horse. But, I can feel in my bones that I am, in fact, not my job sinking in and it’s bringing me a newfound freedom.
And yet, as I sit here, I find myself slipping back into relationship mode…So indulge me for a moment (old habits die hard).
On this my one year anniversary, I am pleased to pronounce that this job has helped me develop one prevailing superpower: concentration.
Tedious at times, this job requires my constant attention to detail and it has slowly refined my ability to concentrate in ways that even my lifetime of meditation has not helped me achieve.
Meditation is blissful for me. When it’s boring, I have a toolbox full of tricks to deepen it. But spreadsheets are another story.
I noticed the new superpower when I planned and executed a fundraising auction for the Living Wisdom School last week. Suddenly, and without warning, I found myself naturally culling through spreadsheets with an eagle eye for detail to ensure a smooth event. What?! I mean, other people may have thought this was already a skill of mine, but it wasn’t. And now, my friends, I add it to my girl-scout badges of professional development. Hooray!
Work will remain central in my life because it’s such a dominant part of my personality. But, on some deeper level, I’m coming to a place of peace about how it does not define me. The path may look different for each of us, but the final destination is the same.
May we all enjoy the journey home.
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