I have another item to add to your reading list, should you find it relevant and compelling. I just recently finished reading Jon Acuff's Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job. In a time of true personal individuation and teasing out who I am at my core and what awakens my spirit, I've been experiencing some frustrations at work. This book really helped me step out of my ideas about my job and how it hinders me, and instead to look at the opportunities that I have to grow and learn, as well as how I should be using my job as leverage and practice for the "dream job."
WAIT... don't go! Did you want to hear that this book was all about how to quit your day job with real bad-assery and run away to Thailand? It is! Just not in the way that you would think.
I highly suggest the book to anyone who is having a hard time "falling in like with a job they don't love." Of course, the goal is to eventually recognize, plot, and pursue your dream job. Working towards this goal requires deep thinking, strategic planning, and some serious hustling. DO NOT expect it to all happen overnight. [Unless you get off on unrealistic expectations and crying yourself to sleep every night.]
In the mean time, this book provides energizing, actionable insights into how you can lean into your current situation and to see the true silver lining. This will aid in any current "stuck" feelings and motivate you to get to work on forging a path towards where you want to be professionally. Acuff also features a great series of questions towards the end of the book that will help you determine if it truly is quitting time for you.
One exercise from Quitter that I found particularly helpful in my state of "what are my unique talents and how can I best apply them?" is answering the five questions below.
Finding Your Hinge Moments -- 5 Questions Worth Answering:
- What do I love enough to do for free?
- What do I do that causes time to feel different?
- What do I enjoy doing, regardless of the opinions of other people?
- If only your life changed, would that be enough?
- Are there any patterns in the things you like doing?
(Side note: I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, and his vibrant personality and great wit came through very strong. He also threw in some nice "off the record" additions. Highly recommend going audiobook for this one if you can. Hell, listen to it in the car on the way to your day job!)
Two new music favorites to share with you...
Banks - "Brain"
Coldplay - "A Sky Full of Stars"
