My partner likes to tease me about having bad situational awareness but I know it’s not true. I have awesome situational awareness, I just have a unique perspective on reality in that I don’t expect everything around me to remain the same at all times.
Ever since I can remember, as a small child, I’ve had very vivid dreams that are so lifelike, I had trouble distinguishing them from reality until I was about 10 years old.
I eventually conditioned myself to learn what probably didn’t happen in reality. For example, I’d be leading a horse along a road and when it narrowed to a path, I’d look up and the horse was now a dog. You’ve probably experienced some version of this and know that (in dreams) this isn’t odd and thus it doesn’t surprise you and you don’t even make note of it. You just continue on your way, down the path with the dog as if you’d been traveling with a dog all along.
This type of dream reality continues for me to this day and I think it causes me to have loose expectations of reality remaining constant. My brain is convinced again and again, night after night, that everything is transformable, that anything can change. And that carries over to my waking reality. This might be why I have switched careers so many times and worked in so many diverse industries. Luckily, I recognized early on that this is ok because it works for me. I’m good at switching gears because my soul recognizes it as normal. I excel in jobs that require adaptability and fast-paced changing priorities. Not everyone does, so it’s important to recognize what your soul thinks is normal and work towards that.
Dreams are powerful stuff. Even the dreams we don’t remember maintain a sticky grip on our souls. It may take some digging to realize what they are, but once you begin to live them, life is easier and more comfortable. You know you’re living your dream life when you feel like you’re floating on a current, not fighting your way upstream.
What does your life feel like now?
If you really want insight into this, set an alarm on your phone and keep it with you all day. Set the alarm to go off every 3 hours during your work day or every 4 hours during a regular day.
When the alarm goes off, immediately notice what you’re feeling. Take a moment to really feel your body and mind. It’s ok if you feel stressed out because you’re in the middle of a crisis, but does the stress motivate you to win the day or does it exhaust you because it feels like you’re taking the brunt of someone else’s crisis?
Or perhaps you’re staring at a computer screen trying to accomplish a task but your heart simply isn’t in it and you’re bored. Maybe you’re staring at your screen trying to look busy because you’re really avoiding the coworkers you don’t truly get along with but pretend to.
If you’re in a job that is suited for you – even if it’s not a dream job, it’s at least a fulfilling job – you will feel like your foot is on the gas pedal and you are driving through your tasks towards the end of the day. There’s a lot to do but you’re in control. You occasionally stop at your co-workers’ desks to deliver a document, say hi or share some news. You take time to “smell the flowers” and enjoy the environment you’re in, even if it’s at 75 miles an hour.
For others, a dream job would be serene, peaceful, much slower than the rat race. The environment has very little stimulation, but they are not bored. Personally, I would be bored working the front desk at a zen-like spa, but for others, this is ideal!
And that’s just it – your dream job is unique to YOU. There are a million different jobs out there and most of them are not suited to the person working them. People are miserable at work when their job isn’t the right fit for them.
The sad part is, we probably could switch all the jobs and find the right fit for nearly every one if we tried. There’s no point being in a job that doesn’t fulfill you, yet we agree to it anyway because we want to be responsible.
I’m here to tell you, it’s NOT irresponsible to switch to the right job and leave the misery behind!
~Figure out what would make your soul happy~
You can do this! But first you have to dig deep and discover what your dreams are telling you. What would make your soul happy and at ease? What would be your ideal career and matching lifestyle? There are so many ways to figure this out. There are books, workbooks, meditations, asking friends and of course, hiring a coach. Hiring a coach is what you do when you want help and you want to take the shortest route possible to the prize. But I’m actually not here to sell you on coaching. Obviously I think coaching is awesome, but my mission in life is to save the world by getting rid of bad jobs, poor fitting jobs and bad management. I want everyone to be doing work they love and can’t resist doing! Coaching is one of the ways I’m trying to accomplish this.
So, whatever you decide, please listen to your dreams and look for a path that will lead you to fulfillment and a life full of AMAZING experiences. Let your soul sing! And someday, when your loved ones are trying to decide what to write on your memorial, they’ll have a hard time choosing from all the awesomeness that was your life.
Go forth superstar, and thrive!!