We made it. It’s the end of the year. We scrambled and rushed and sacrificed, answering emails when insomnia found us at 2am, creating slide decks at the breakfast table, and calling into project status meetings from our idling minivans in the school pickup line.
And now we receive our hard earned reward: a small bonus, maybe a free turkey, a raise that won’t cover the increase in our health insurance premiums and 1-2 days of paid time off. If we’re lucky, of course.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Whether your one of the lucky ones this holiday season with a paying job, or your one of the many of us who find ourselves out of work, maybe even for an extended period of time, a lot of us are grieving the loss of a career this year, a job that we could be proud of, a part of our identity that we allowed us to feel connected to our community, to our neighbors and colleagues, to our world.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas (Merry little Christmas)
Make the Yuletide gay (Make the Yuletide gay)
From now on, our troubles will be miles away
Whatever situation you find yourself in, it’s probably fair to say that the work life we once enjoyed, that we worked hard to achieve, that lifted us and our communities up is indeed little more than a pleasant memory of a bygone era. We have entered a new phase, one in which what once worked in our careers no longer does.
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more
So this year, as we settle in around the fire to watch our favorite holiday movies, or join friends and family for dinner, or whatever tradition you enjoy at the holidays, perhaps we should take a bit of time to think about how our work shapes our lives, how it’s currently serving us, and where we might like to go next.
Through the years, we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
The sky is the limit when we open our minds to new and different ways of making a living, of connecting with our neighbors and contributing to our communities. But we have to be willing to do the hard work of exploring these possibilities, take some risks, and truly understand what it is we hope to get out of our relationship with work.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
Oh have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
So what do you want to get out of your work in the coming year? And what are you willing to do to get it? Let’s find your true calling and then let’s go out there and get it.
A little inspiration:
–> Click to Play
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