Sufficiency and Your Career

Last week I went to a discussion group at The Present Moment, where we discussed the ideas in the book “The Soul of Money” by Lynn Twist.  Although I haven’t yet read this book myself, apparently Twist discusses three myths which people hold that influences their life:

1. There’s not enough for everyone
2. More is better
3. That’s just the way it is

As Lynn says, “Money is our invention.  We made it up.”

In other words, you don’t need money to be happy.  And in answer to the three myths above, cultivating a sense of gratitude for what you already have can help you uncover the reality of the above-mentioned myths:

1. There is PLENTY to go around
2. Sometimes less is more
3. You don’t have to hold a defeatist “that’s the way it is” attitude — it’s a matter of choice, and you can make a difference

So how does this apply to your career? 

A few days after this discussion group, I had a conversation with a colleague who is pondering applying for a manager level position.  Although she’s supervised, she’s never formally led a team nor had to handle the HR responsibilities that come with the manager role. 

She’s finally got herself accepting that she could perform well in this position (hooray for squelching the self-doubt monster!).  BUT… she really likes the job she’s doing now, and has already long ago surpassed what she initially held as her career goal. 

I can easily think of several people that would think her foolish for NOT trying to go for that next level, the higher status, the bigger pay check.  I’m not one of them.  Yes, I was all gung-ho to get that “manager” title coming out of grad school myself, (and fell into it one month into my new job…).  In fact 10 years of my career have been in manager-level positions.  I gotta tell you, though, that I’m really enjoying having taken “a step backward” to get into an “individual contributor” role.  I’m much more relaxed, I can focus on getting MY stuff done, and I don’t have any HR issues to confront. 

Note: I don’t want you to think that I’m implying that being a manager was ALWAYS bad, because it wasn’t.  Most of the time, I had fantastic people working with me that I learned a lot from, and laughed with.  Sometimes I had to be a hard-ass, and sometimes I had performance issues to be addressed that were NOT fun.  But for the most part, I liked it enough that I’d do it again, just not now.

Knowing that my colleague is happy where she is, and not really into the idea of this promotion for her own satisfaction, my advice was to stay where she is, and ENJOY it.  

How does your understanding of Sufficiency apply to your Career?

P.S. If you want to learn more about Lynn Twist, visit The Soul of Money, the Global Sufficiency Network, or read her bio here.  I’ve also inserted two of her videos as food for thought:

The Soul of Money:

Opportunity within the Economic Crisis:

Initial Thoughts on Civil Service

Well I’ve been amiss at keeping up my blog (and other online “social media” activities) during my first two weeks on the job at NAVFAC, so here’s some catch up.

It’s been a very good experience so far.  I really like the people I’m working with, and although the job itself is going to take me a while to learn and feel comfortable with, I’m already jumping in and helping make some of our processes more efficient with my MS Excel knowledge that I’ve picked up over the years from being so darn curious (“Hey – that’s cool!  How does THAT work?”), and overheard myself being referred to as an Excel Goddess! (Why thank you, YES I AM!).

So here’s my deep insight into Civil Service — it’s so freaking CIVIL!  We really only do work 40 hrs a week, and if we do have a business need to work longer to get something done (e.g., year-end close is fast approaching), we get paid overtime.  This is such a mind-shift from working 50, sometimes 60 hrs a week as a matter of course in the Fortune 500 world.  The significant cut in pay compared to my last two jobs really isn’t that significant if you work back to what my effective pay rate was based on a 50 hr work week.  And of course the healthcare benefits and long-term stability are a large non-monetary compensation, given the several years of the constant spectre of layoffs in the corporate world I’ve lived with (and accepted).

The personal / professional growth opportunities are certainly very present and encouraged, so it’s not like I’m going to be bored (me having a very HIGH “learning” motivation).

IT security and protection of personal information are taken extremely seriously, given the loss of a VA laptop a few years back.  As was the case at Allstate, Big Brother in IT does not allow you to check your personal commercially available web-based email accounts (e.g., Yahoo, Google) from work in order to put up a wall against some of the viruses that go around the Internet.  Also no use of USB-port “Thumb Drives” for the same reasons.  I had to read through & get certified on about 3 hrs of IT security and protection of personal information training, which makes me feel very good that our government agencies are taking this all very seriously. 

But here’s the coolest part of starting up as a Federal Civil Servant — us newbies were sworn in on our first day.  Honest!  We stood up facing the US flag, raised our right hand, and did a “I, (state your name), do solemly swear….”  At first I thought it was kinda hokey, but when it was over I felt like something really important had happened — I swore to uphold & defend the Constitution of the United States, not help Kraft sell more cheese, or Sprint sell more cell phones.  How cool is that?!   

And I’m working in an internal “company” (NAVFAC) that is helping to support the young men & women of our nation that put their lives on the line to defend the rest of us.  I really do feel that I’m working for a greater cause.  I never felt this inspired in any of my previous jobs. 

(And here’s my rant — to that relative of mine in NE who shall remain nameless and holds very different political views than I, and who went on a rant about me being “part of the problem” now that I’m a government employee, rather than congratulating me on finding a job or being glad to have me helping to watch out for how our federal funds are being spent, Dude, all I can say is that you just don’t freaking get it.)

Get a Job!

 

“Get a job!”

These 3 words put an instant grimace upon my face. I truly despise the these 3 bullish words when they come tromping in together. They’re thugs in disguise I tell you! They are even more aggravating when uttered from a family member.  The commercial of the old man waking up at the cracker a$$ of dawn mumbling the phrase, “Its time to make the donuts,” comes to mind when I think of these three words as well. Personally, I can no longer participate in getting a “job.”

Here are MY reasons:

• When you get a JOB it may have nothing to do with what you are truly passionate about. 
• When you get a JOB you instantly are at the mercy of someone else dictating your worth.
• When you get a JOB you instantly are at the mercy of someone else telling you what to do.
• When you get a JOB you instantly are at the mercy of someone else determining where and when you need to be.
• When you get a JOB you spend more time with strangers than your family.  Or even worse, you may be isolated from everyone. 
• When you get a JOB a false sense of security settles in and then your looking for your next job not able to concentrate on the one you have.

Barf! I don’t want a JOB! I want a fulfilling career where I can be independent, set my own hours that work around my family, get paid my own worth based on my activity, not have the constant threat of  being laid off/fired, work with people that want to be there (and that I like) and never have to revise a power point presentation for the 54th time which was due yesterday because no one looked at it. Let me be clear, at no point did I say I want to get paid for doing nothing.  I am not scared of work. I thrive on it!

I realize that my career goals are different from many. Few will join me in pursuit of something so grand. I may be a little over the top and want more than the average American. Others will find satisfaction from the mundane, restrictive list above.  If that’s you, great! I thank you for doing what you do because I can’t. 

The bottom line for me is this:

1. Settling is not optional for me anymore.  
2. Finding a career that matches the talents and the gifts God gave me is an absolute must!
3. Networking with others that want the same as I do, priceless.If you are someone looking for the same things as I am, we need to talk. Contact me @ Angelaknigge@gmail.com.  I want to hear your story! 

Real as ever,

Aja