Dear Living People,
For those of us who grew
up in the rural world, you know how beautiful it is looking at a distant hill
at the start of the wet season. It’s so green and you wish you could get there
to enjoy the greenery. Its only when you get there that you realize though as smooth
and beautiful as it appears from afar, there are ugly spaces and incongruencies
when you get closer; such is life.
I often hear some people
say that “there are no greener pastures.” Geographically, that
might be true as I said earlier but when it comes to the quest for success, I beg to differ. It might not be
working out right with you especially as some of the things you touch seem to melt
away; you may have a crummy job characterized by poor pay and sluggish co-workers
who bore you nuts. I tell you, there really are greener pastures out
there! If you are in a dead, lifeless relationship with someone you plan
to marry and who care less about you and your worth, then I assure you, there
is a greener pasture you can find.
The biggest challenge to
most people who are in such situations becomes how to find it? How can
you know if you should abandon what you’ve got especially when it’s said that winners
never quit? Should you find yourself in a dilemma about whether to
leave a situation or not, you might want to reflect along the following lines…
Are you your own biggest
problem (dried-up pasture)? Maybe you could have a great relationship and
you are the lifeless one. Maybe other people are able to find great
reward in your same job and it’s really about you. Since it’s tough to
really know for sure, I think the best place to start is by working on your
present situation to see how you can make it better. I had a friend who
told me I shouldn’t have any problem making my current pasture green since I
was so full of fertilizer.
Are you moving towards
what you want or away from what you don’t want? Assuming you’ve put a
legitimate effort into making the most out of your present situation and you
still feel you want to leave, this question can bring great clarity. The
problem is, if I’m moving away from what I don’t want, I tend to recreate it
somewhere else. For example, “the last boss I worked with was such a bad news;
I just want a new job or a new boss who has his heart in systems and co-workers.”
This isn’t the best way to set the bar for what you’re shopping for and you’ll
probably pick another boss or job that is a bigger mess.
We've all taken on tasks
we didn't enjoy. Most of us have at least once in our lifetime undertaken
employment that was not to our liking. I have done it. I knew initially it
wasn't my dream job, but I was quite willing to put the hours in due to my
ambitions. After a year, I started to look for another form of occupation. It
had taken me one year to realize that this was what I wanted and to want it
enough to do something about it. It wasn't just the employer who didn't support
me; it was also my choice of occupation that was letting me down.
I really had no drive
for what I was doing. This was obvious. That year, I was full of raw energy and
rose beyond expectation in terms of performance, then I hit a brick wall. I no
longer topped the performance chart as I realized my job suddenly was more of a
boring routine, countered my standards and my personal beliefs. Subsequently, I
trod water for another good year or so before I fully convinced myself that the
organization held no future for me. You stand a better chance of creating a
greener pasture if you get clear about what you really want, rather than
focusing on what you don’t want.
If you, during your
employment, realize that there is no future for you at what you're doing and
take appropriate action, then you are reacting to your circumstances
positively. Such action may involve additional training in an area of interest
to you. The difference here is that you are learning and reacting based on your
interests.
Naturally, if you aren't
100% sure as to what makes you tick, then you will need to experiment with
things that are of possible interest to you. If you like it, then you do more
of it. If it doesn't rate as highly as you would otherwise like, then go onto
other pastures.
Pastures on the other
side may not always be as green as they first appeared or as we like.
Nevertheless, we must have a look and see. If not, then we'll wander over to
another patch of grass and see if we like it or not. Doing so gives us an
opportunity to grow as people. We expose ourselves to possibilities that may
have remained closed off, had we waited in the same pasture for the farmer to
deliver what he thought we wanted. New doors are opening. Creativity is
awakening as we experience a variety of new options.
It doesn't matter if the
pasture we choose is drier than the one we know so well. We simply move on to a
new one, assess it and act accordingly. You owe it to yourself to open as many
doors as you can. For it is this way you can choose more wisely. You will be
widening your understanding and harnessing the strength of your increased
knowledge. Knowledge is king.
You may be content with
things as they are now, but if you don't have a look on the other side you may
never know how much better off you may have been...
May you be blessed with green
in all your pastures
