When I was preparing to change my job, I had consulted my meditation teacher to gain some insight to make the right decision. Three places wanted to hire me, and I was trying to make a decision based on the following criteria: Which one of them will I be the best at? Which place will benefit the most from my abilities? And which one would be the place that I will be able to contribute the best? I asked the teacher, excited to hear what kind of insightful choice he would make for me since I had huge respect for him. He answered my question right away without hesitation.
“Do that you’ll enjoy, something that will make you smile.” 🌸
“Excuse me?” 😯
This was supposed to be a multiple-choice question with 3 choices to choose from, but he gave me an answer that wasn’t in the choices I presented. Confused, I asked again.
“But sir, it would be very helpful for me to choose if you would pick one of those three jobs that I told you about.”
The teacher must have noticed that I was getting nervous that I wasn’t getting an answer. And I was still demanding an answer, so he must have seen through my mind of greed, and that I was trying to avoid the responsibility of making a choice and giving myself some room so that I can blame him in case things went wrong, etc. Nevertheless, instead of scolding me for those shameful minds, he smiled kindly and calmly repeated himself, as if trying to reassure me.
“Do that you’ll enjoy, something that will make you smile.” 🌸
That day, I came home and reflected on myself at work until now. I was a hard-working, competent employee, and everyone saw me that way. They started giving me more and more work since I worked through them quickly, and I would do whatever I have to do to meet the deadline – whether it meant skipping a few meals or staying up all night. For me, work was my priority and my personal life came after that. I was satisfied with my work, so I didn’t exactly feel like complaining about my life as a workaholic.
I reflected on my work life for a while like that, and I realized that the two things that the teacher told me were the things that I couldn’t find in myself at work. I wasn’t smiling nor enjoying my work.
I look serious as ever as I sit in front of the computer work all day long. I’m determined to finish the work quickly and do a good job at the same time. It’s all because as a ‘competent employee’, I don’t want to give my boss any excuse to tell me off for being late or being incompetent. And my attitude at work is aggressive, almost like a soldier who wants to defeat more enemies at war and wants to win the medal of valor or something. When I saw that, I wanted to ask myself who was working harder than anyone else and was being proud of it. “Why? What for? And are you happy now?” 🤷🏻♀️
The criteria that I had in mind while choosing my future job – Which one of them will I be the best at? Which place will benefit the most from my abilities? And which one would be the place that I will be able to contribute the best? – had a hidden desire behind them. ‘Which one of them would be the best to show off myself? Which one of them will make me stand out the most? Which one of them will give me the most recognition?’. Whatever one does with such an arrogant attitude will be far from being beautiful. Any result I produce won’t have any influence in the world because it won’t be able to move anyone for sure.
As always, my respectable teacher had given me the best answer. What’s the point of working in a renowned company and making millions every year if you can’t smile or enjoy what you do? It would be torture, not work. And you can try and make the result of that torture look nice but people can always tell because that is the truth.
“Do what you’ll enjoy, something that will make you smile.” 🌸
Just as my meditation teacher told me in the hopes that I would be happy, I’d like to ask you in the hopes that you would become happy as well.
Are you happy with what you are doing right now, and does it make you smile? Is there happiness in the results you are making? For your information, my answers to these questions are ‘Yes’. And I’m a guide in a meditation center. I hope you will also find something that you will truly be happy doing. 😊🙏🌈
