A Satisfying Career for a Good Life

From the time we are born and as we grow up, we are instilled with an age old belief that the best way to live is to have a professional career and make lots of money. But is this really enough? Parents drive their children to be lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects and all the professional career paths that promise a regular income and a position in any company, but is what we are teaching our kids really what will make them happy?

I know of a woman who was a high-powered business lady with at least two masters and two doctoral degrees under her belt. She was highly sought after and she was out helping other companies prosper with her consultancy alone. She made so much money, that she could hardly even keep track of it anymore. She was single, smart, and fabulous – something many a young girl wants to aspire to. But that’s the thing – she was single, busy and lonely. So she decided to take a short vacation to Africa to take a breather from work.

Once there, as she was traveling as a tourist in one of the quaint out-of-the-way villages in the African bush, she met a, African man from a village who completely swept her off her feet. He was completely opposite of her – he lived in a hut, hunted for his dinner, washed his clothes in the river, and lived the simple life sans money. After a month in Africa, and to make a long story short, they fell in love with each other and then she was on her way back to the big city to continue her work.

But once, reaching there, she resigned from her high powered job, gave most of her money to family and charities and traveled back to Africa where she married her village man. Five years later, she still lives in their little hut, washes her clothes in the river, gardens her own sweet potatoes, and cooks for her husband. Her main career? Looking after her two kids, her husband, and working in the fields with the other village women to feed the community. Sometimes, we realize that a career is about personal happiness outside what we can offer to make others successful. Accomplishment is relative. It is not about the amount of money you make or the title you finally hold. They are parts of it but what really matters is much deeper than that. It is a deeper sense of fulfillment and accomplishment that nourishes your soul and makes you feel empowered as a human being in the wider world.

So here are some questions that you can ask yourself to see if you are having a satisfying career that fulfills you in unexplainable but complete ways. What motivates you in your work? The more personal sense of fulfillment you get in doing your work outside the amount of money you make is what really matters. Aside from being appreciated in the office, do you appreciate others? Good interpersonal relationships with coworkers are key to having a successful and happy career. Do you feel like you are learning something new at least once a month? Dead-end jobs are usually ones that kill the spirit, so it is best to take work that offers learning at different levels aside from just promotions.

Don’t make yourself work for your job, but make your job work for you. Enrich it with your creativity and make it something more than it already is. If you feel that you can no longer do more to make your career more enriching, then maybe it is time to think twice and re-evaluate whether this career that you have is really for you.

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