The world has certainly changed over the past few weeks. More so than ever seemed possible. One thing that has becoming painfully clear- in a service-based economy there are very few “Essential Jobs”
Think about it for just a minute- unless you happen to be in a business that provides food, water, medical expertise, power, shelter, or any other of the “Essentials” than guess what? You have been deemed non-essential.
Services, by definition are just that- a service. Services are provided to improve things, to take care of something that maybe we ourselves aren’t that good at, or don’t have the time or skill level for. Sometimes a service is simply for convenience.
Our favorite restaurant is a service we use when we want to get out of our house, meet up with friends, or just don’t feel like preparing our own meal. Our local pub is the same. These things are so nice to have, and unfortunately are non-essential… But we sure do miss them.
The work of helping leaders create strong teams and productive, healthy work environments falls into the same category. Nice to have, but non-essential. As much as I love what I get to do, and feel that I do it extremely well, at the end of the day it’s non-essential.
Many of us are dealing with this reality for the first time and as I was grappling with this dilemma this morning, I realized how easy it would be to confuse what we do with who we are.
I’m an executive coach, corporate speaker, author, and facilitator. That’s what I do, and many days I feel like I do it very well. But that’s not who I am. Who I am is a father of two amazing young men, a husband to a wonderful women, a younger brother in a big family, uncle, son, nephew and loyal friend. I like to play golf, watch my son’s play soccer and spend time anywhere by the water. I like to read and write and learn new things when I can. There is so much more that I won’t have time to share today, but the list could go on for quite some time.
These are things that define who I am, and they will not change if I no longer have the opportunity to do the job I have been doing for the past 2 decades. Though it would make me sad and I would miss it terribly, the job that I do is just that… a job. Essential or non-essential, my job doesn’t define who I am. If circumstances dictate I do something different to earn an income, none of these things will change.
As you think about what you do, and how you will deal with your life after we get through this- remember that work is what you do, not who you are. And please understand that to those people who know you, love you and care about you… YOU ARE ESSENTIAL, even if your job at the current moment has been deemed to be something else.
Do yourself a favor and connect with the other Essential people in your life today- let them know how they are an Essential part of who you are.
Cheers to your growth, your success and most of all your health
One Quarter Turn at a time!
Coach Tim
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