Find Your Sweet Spot!

Have you ever wondered if you’re in the career that is perfect for you?  One that makes you feel like you are in the cruise lane and doing what you were created to do?  We all know that every job brings with it some frustration or bad days…those days when you groan all the way to work and watch the clock the whole day long.  But it is a beautiful thing to be in a place of deep-down contentment knowing that you’re in the exact place you were destined to be. 

It is a rare blessing that I was able to choose my career path in the 6^th grade and follow that path to a successful end.  I know that many people, even some of my students, graduate from high school without a clear direction for their lives.  One of my friends went to college without a formulated career plan and struggled to go to classes every day because it just didn’t feel purposeful.  She would sign up for classes at the beginning of the semester, struggle to attend them regularly, and then ultimately drop out within a few weeks’ time so she could recoup most of her tuition fees.  It must have been so frustrating to be in that position.  She was working a full time job to pay for tuition, but probably feared she was wasting her money without a firm plan for what to do with that education.  Of course, at the tender age of 18 it can be very difficult to even know yourself well enough to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life…a very daunting thing, indeed.   

I’m reading a great book on this very subject, Cure for the Common Life:  Living in Your Sweet Spot by Max Lucado.  This book helps readers examine themselves to determine where their hearts really lie, looking at their work lives to decide if their hearts and work are aligned in a way that is fulfilling.  Whether you are happy in your work life or have to drag yourself out of bed each day, this book provides a great lens to evaluate/re-evaluate where you are at in your career.  After reading the book, I believe that I am indeed where God wants me to be.  I feel very fortunate that I can say that.  Don’t get me wrong; my job (like any job) brings with it frustrations, exhaustion, and even “the Monday Blues.”  But feeling certain that I am where God wants me to be at this point in my life is very comforting and energizing. 

For those who feel the same as I do (or possibly for those who aren’t 100% fulfilled but are “stuck” in their jobs for financial or other reasons), Lucado has this advice:  “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7).   He leads into this, which might seem to be a Herculean task, with an anecdote about Michelangelo.  Apparently Michelangelo preferred sculpting over painting.  However, he was offered a job painting a scene on the ceiling of a well-known chapel, and he agreed to do the work.  A project which was supposed to be short-term and small-scale turned into a four-year masterpiece.  According to Lucado, “An observer wondered why he focused such attention on the details of the corners of the chapel.  ‘No one will ever see them,’ he suggested.  Michelangelo’s reply?  ‘God will.’”

At the beginning of each school year I ask God to help me in one specific area of my life and teaching.  Every year it changes, and at the end of the school year I examine how God answered that prayer.  One of the things I plan to work on this year is changing my point of view about work.  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, grumble about Mondays, lament all the work the job entails…believe me; I find myself in this space fairly regularly.  So, one of my goals this year is to view my teaching with eyes like Michelangelo’s.  Am I glorifying God in my work?  Am I grateful that I have a job that I have wanted to do since the sixth grade?  I am sure as I prepare to go back to work (Monday!) that this year will bring with it some challenges, some bad days, and lots and lots of essays to grade.  But I know that the more I learn to re-see my job through this new lens, the more God will sculpt me as a person.  And that’s pretty exciting.