How To Find More Meaning in Your Job (Guest Post from Jim Horrell)

We all have a powerful tool at our disposal – our mindset.  How we choose to look at a situation can mean the difference between work that is fulfilling and work that is draining.

This important life and career lesson was reinforced for me when recently came across a post from fellow blogger Jim Horrell. Jim is an inspirational writer with a social media bent and a background in Information Technology. We follow each other on Twitter.com.

I thought I’d share Jim’s positive message to remind us all of the meaning our lives and our work can have if we just take the right mindset…

A Call to Save the Life of a Child by Jim Horrell

I went for a walk today to get some exercise.  Shortly after I returned home, I checked the answering machine for messages.  One of the messages was from a career and staffing company.  They had a position helping to load and unload a truck.  The product to be transported was baby furniture and cribs.

When I called to learn more of the details, I was told the hours would be 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. and there would be quite a bit of lifting involved.  The woman I spoke to thought that I would not be interested because my skills and interests were more suited to other types of work.

However, much to her surprise, I took the job.  After I hung up the phone, I began to think a little bit more about the purpose of this opportunity.  Recently in the news, I heard stories of babies being smothered to death by their parents or other loved ones because they were sleeping in the same bed.  The death of a child for any reason is a tragedy.

Initially I thought of this opportunity as simply a job where I can earn some money.  However, as I began to think differently about this position, I realize that assisting in the process of delivering cribs to the store and making these pieces of furniture available for the families and children that need them is a positive and rewarding experience and although on the surface it may seem like a menial labor job, in reality, it may help save the life of a child.  So what started out as a simple phone call, turned out to be what I consider to be a call to save the life of a child.

Thanks to Jim for sharing how he found more meaning in his work.  Read more on Jim’s blog.  You can also find him on Twitter.com at @Jim_Horrell and me @MaggieMistal.

Do you feel it’s possible to find more meaning in your work right now with a change in mindset? Is there some good in your job that you might focus on?  Weigh in with your perspective.

(Photo courtesy of Brian Hillegas.)