The Big Picture from Beginning to End

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. (Oscar Wilde)

Now that we are coming to the end of the 2020 pandemic, many of us can relate to the quote above. So, we should be careful what we wish for, right? We may have hated our previous job and suddenly, it was gone!

Let's face it. No beating around the bush. Once we become single again, most likely we will need to either find an alternative income source or a regular job. Even if we have all the money we need (which may not last for long), sitting around with nothing to do is terribly boring, unproductive, and detrimental to our social life as we all experienced in 2020!

There are actually many benefits to taking a job or starting a whole brand-new career. Try a little exercise and list as many advantages as possible. If we have already been working for a while, maybe we are thinking of changing our job. That is not a bad thing by any means. We have to take pride in our work and if it's time to move on, we'll know it by the dissatisfaction we feel.

5 Perks Why Working Is Good for Us

• Our health and happiness will improve.
• Taking the risk will energize us.
• Gives us reason to become who we really are.
• Creates friendships with those in the same situation.
• Provides ways to find new interests.      

The Wrong Thing at the Right Time

All of this may seem scary at first, but even if we have never worked before outside the home, there are ways to get started with that too. One of the first things to do is to find our strengths. If accounting is not our thing, taking a job as a bookkeeper would be a disaster. If we hate baking, working as a pastry chef would drive us crazy. If sales give us hives, selling cars would be a joke. Get the picture? 

WHAT AM I GOOD AT? [Click Here to find out]

Next, we do not need to be told, education is important. If a degree is already on our shelf, then great--we need to get out the door and hit the pavement! If not, then, obviously, the key is to get educated in a field that is exciting for us. It may mean night school while we work elsewhere to pay the bills, but then what else do we have to do with our time? If we work hard at it, it will happen before we know it. 

Who is Directing Us?

Some of us are planners from way back. Organizing is at the top of our list. Others are definitely not in that camp! We need help for sure. What is really good to know is that we do not need to do this alone. There are support groups, counselors, and friends to call on when we are down in the dumps. 

There is also One who cares about us more than anyone ever could. God knows what we need (not want) the most and what is best for us. He sees the Big Picture from beginning to end. The best we can do is look at our life with blinders on. God is willing to direct our steps until we reach His ideal for our perfect life. Our part is just to ask!

“Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 NLT).

 

 

What Gets Us Off Track?

Quite some time ago, if an employee worked hard on her assignments and projects, she would earn more promotions and greater salary. Most of this effort was accomplished without the help of other co-workers. Her success depended solely on her own efforts. Companies knew no other way to operate. Much has changed in the 21^st Century.      

Today, that kind of anti-community environment is nearly unheard of as demonstrated by the top three companies to work for in America:

#1 spot is Google, which has set the gold standard for teamwork, and encouraging innovation and fun on the job. They like to see employees coaching each other and creating a “community” environment. This obviously works to the employees’ advantage, as the average annual salary for an entry-level software developer is $100,000 (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

#2 is Bristol-Myers Squibb, the biopharmaceutical giant that has a “desirable culture of gender diversity with 54% female and 46% male.” Average starting salary for a research scientist is $75,000 (according to Glassdoor recruiting site).

#3 place is the top-of-the-line, cyber-security software company, Symantec, providing an average salary for a software engineer of $94,000 (Glassdoor).

Survivor Reality

No, we are not trying to recruit anyone here. We are just providing examples and demonstrating that in today’s world, it’s definitely harder to survive on our own. If we are not pro-community minded and willing to be part of a team, we might experience less success on our own.

Yes! We found our community!

It is true that more people than ever are currently seeking to open their own businesses and become their own bosses. But even in those situations, a team of people will get the company to its goal better and faster. Even sole owners regularly consult with others on how to perform certain tasks. No matter what we choose as a career, it just isn’t possible to survive alone.

The same is especially true when we are single-again women. Strong women, yes. Innovative, tenacious, and determined, certainly. However, in our own individual lives, we know we need help with many daily chores, how to do certain things, where to go to find answers, and who can teach us to handle our bank account, grocery list, or our next job promotion. We need our own community!

Doing life alone, without a dependable circle of friends, makes it easy to start comparing ourselves to others. There is no good in that as we simply end up experiencing various forms of fear and negativity and don’t even know why. We are cut off from the abundant life God wants for us. Google has the right idea. It encourages its employees “to become teachers and coach one another to help build a more creative, satisfied, and intimate community.”

Staying on Track

If we have no friendship with God (spending time with him and seeking his answers) and with other women in this season of life, we have no fellowship at all. We are left on our own. Once we see the advantages of growing our own community, we see how God is the One who has provided our lives with peace, joy, and contentment. And that is the perfect place to begin!

“Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” Romans 12:15 NLT.