Spring Cleaning From The Inside Out: Vocational
Hi there! If you’re reading this, you’ve found your way to the fourth post in our five-week Spring Cleaning From The Inside Out series. I’m so happy you’re here! As you may already know, in this series we apply the concept of “spring cleaning” to different areas of our lives each week to assess what is, keep what we want, let go of what we don’t and explore it all through the lens of gentle curiosity. If you haven’t already, you may want to catch up with the past three posts on emotional, physical and relational spring cleaning on the blog!
For this week, we’re focusing on spring cleaning when it comes to our work life. Oftentimes in our work it can become very easy to get stuck in routine, never looking up beyond our computer screens to question how to make our jobs work FOR US and not the other way around. After all, we’re unique humans - not robots - and society’s recognized definitions of success may not actually resonate with each of us individually.
Our society puts immense pressure on “finding your dream job” as a means for personal fulfillment. First, this comes with a lot of privilege to view job opportunities outside the lens of financial stability and a source of income to pay bills and put food on the table. Also, when your work becomes your sole source of fulfillment, you may find yourself quick to crumble after a negative review or project that doesn’t go as planned.
But the reality is, as adults most of us spend a lot of time at work. So how can we do some “spring cleaning” to evaluate our work life and make changes where possible? The following journal prompts may spark some ideas:
- Is this a great opportunity FOR ME or is it what others generally consider a “great opportunity?”
- Remember when you were a child and someone first asked you “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Call to mind that excitement and curiosity and journal what your answer would be now. What narratives are you telling yourself to discourage this or make it seem impossible? Are they really impossible?
- Where does work fall in my overall life priorities? Am I pleased with this answer or is it something I want to change?
- What beliefs do I hold around my job and career?
These questions aren’t reserved for people with societally recognized, full-time work - it can be used for those with part-time jobs, a creative side hustle, gig work, student work, etc. Also, recognizing areas of your work life where you feel discontented, doesn’t necessarily mean you need a total career change. Are there parts of your job you can realistically change? Who can you talk to make that a reality?
Your work does not define you. It does take a lot of your precious time in this one beautiful life, so thinking of ways to make it work FOR YOU only helps you in the long run. As always, I hope these practices and prompts are helpful in your personal springtime transition and check back next week for our final spring cleaning series post where we tie together all the areas we’ve covered so far!
By: Maddy Weingast, Assistant for Wildflower Therapy LLC