What a great story on work and why we do it. Your story reminded me of my experience years ago being unemployed and hesitant about taking a job ‘beneath me’. My friend, who was also unemployed at the time, suggested I use her one qualifier … “Is it honest work?” Why not, I thought. After coming out of a corporate position, I took a short-term job as an office assistant in a manufacturing plant. I decided not to tell anyone about my background and just focused on every day doing an honest job. Before too long, I found I’d left my ego at home and actually enjoyed some of the small blessings of the position – friendly people, minimal pressure, and lots of atta-girls. It allowed me to focus my energies on my longer-term goals. Thanks for reminding me there’s a pony in every experience!
Susan

Your story about the MiniMart brought back so many memories for me.

My Father (who died in 2006 at 93 years) came from poverty and hardship. But, as he always said ” I was at the right place at the right time and took advantage of it”. He retired from the US Secret Service after 35 years with many awards and accolades from the Presidents who he served and protected.

One thing that he insisted was that my brother and I experience during our High School and College days were many types of jobs. He insisted that no matter what the job was or what it paid, we do our best. He believed that we should never conclude anything about a person based on the work that person was engaged in. He made us see the value in all work while encouraging us to attain whatever goals we had set for ourselves personally and professionally.

This has served me well as I approach almost 18 months of job searches after being laid off in 2009. I have taken different types of work, mostly part-time or of limited length. I have gone into every job with a feeling of adventure and have learned much about myself (even new skills that I can put on my resume) and have met people who have added so many different view points to my experience of life and work and some great friendships as well.

As of today, I find myself ending one job (US Census) and again searching for at least some part time work. This is a struggle and sometimes a weight that feels to heavy to carry. But with what my Father taught me and my curious and adaptive nature, I know that I will be back to work soon.

Josephine

Tina

I can’t tell you how much your post this week affected me.

I was offered a job in my brother in-law’s gas/convenience store last winter. The thought of working for someone else after working for myself for 30 years, working for take home pay of 7.00 per hour, and working pumping gas and selling cigarettes actually made me feel sick to my stomach. I couldn’t think of how I could ever commit to a regular schedule and work 8 hours a day waiting on people. My pride lion rose to the surface and I embarrassed to even think of working such a low level job. I was also afraid I had been out of the loop with technology, and thought I had no real skills to bring to the table…

Well, under a family emergency I started working there about a week ago.

The space is clean and friendly and I take pride in keeping it that way.

It gets me out of my studio and back talking to people and using my terrific people skills to help people in the simplest of ways.
I have great computer skills and working the register and pumps is very basic.

The schedule calls for me to work a mere 8 hours a day, 3 days a week…I usually work 15 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I have already been in touch with old clients, and can give them directions to my studio and chat with them.

The store has mild air conditioning…a bonus for this year.

And, after my shift there, I can come up to the Guild and create for the rest of the day.

And best of all, I am working with my young nephew, helping him hone his business skills, teaching my niece how to use a mop, and helping my other nephew learn how to set up shelves and greet customers. A wonderful family affair.

I am now also much more focused in my work. I have certain time constraints to get my own work done. Just as I have certain time constraints to clean and make coffee and mop at the store.

Yes, it can boring, but only because I am good at what I do…quick, efficient and thorough in all my duties. I can take pride in that, too.

I am also a mature adult, knowledgeable, with excellent language and communication skills, and people have already remarked on my friendliness and intelligence: yes: the old “what are you doing in a convenience store?” line…I just ask them right back: Well, what are you doing here???…They get it right away and we both laugh.

So, while I sing the song (proudly) “Do you know the way to San Jose?”, I think of my next glass project, and fill the sugars.

Thanks for your blog and your letter this week. It meant a lot to me.

Warm regards, Christie

In researching an article on resilience, I’ve discovered a whole body of work on learnable skills that can improve one’s ability to cope with and recover from adversity. Here are two that I find helpful:

1. Change my thinking. If I’m having difficulty finding work, I may habitually blame myself – “I’m not good enough. I can’t do this. I’ll never succeed.” Or I might look at things more realistically, taking into account the facts of a slumping economy and changes in my profession, business or industry that may require me to learn new skills.

2. Believe I can be effective. Rather than blaming others or falling into why-me thinking, focus on identifying steps I can take to increase my chances of success, then get moving.

Other positive factors that contribute to resilience include our social connectedness and our ability to find or create meaning in our lives.

Your professional strength training are fabulous. (I especially like: “Find a way to put into the world what you most want.”) And they certainly line up nicely with current notions about what helps us bounce back from hardship.

Hmm. I guess I’d call perseverance a critical factor in resilience. You can’t have one without the other, right?

Great job on this article! Two days before reading I was thinking about all the decisions I have made driven by fear/ over active survival mechanisms, and I was trying to think of ways I could avoid letting fear rule my life. When I read your article, I knew I was not the only one letting fear run my life. I plan to implement your strategies immediately!

Thanks for the great (and very timely) newsletter! It is great to not only read your article, but to also read other people’s responses. Knowing that other people are in very similar situations is almost reassuring – we are not trying to keep our head above water all alone! We might feel like we are in this great, big, vast, open ocean, fearful that we are alone in our problems and issues, but in reality, we actually are in a pond with many other people and with a shore in site. Now we just need to swim to it, dry off and go on our merry way!

Thank you so much for the great words of encouragement while also giving wonderful action items to combat issues. Many times, people write about issues and problems and give great analysis, but they leave out the most important part – giving good, solid, action items to address and get over the challenges.

I look forward to your next newsletter and getting my fear funk down to a manageable level.

I have been in a fear funk for many years. I have mistakenly chosen career paths that I thought I should take or that were influenced by family members in the same career.

Today, I look at my life and I am bored, which scares me. I’m trying a writing/editing career, which doesn’t pay much, and that scares me. Friends who will listen are few and far between and usually “too busy” for subsequent visits after I “unload” and that makes me default to small talk as a friendship builder. Sad.

I am making it, though, one day at a time and with one foot in front of the other. Doors are opening, but only by cracks. Hopefully, that will be enough to put me in the driver’s seat. Keep writing your letters of encouragement.