Recently I have been asking a lot of people how they like their job and it didn’t surprise me that the vast majority said they were unsatisfied. The more I asked, poked and prodded about their career, the more positive it became. Then it dawned on me, sure there are some better careers than others, but our generation enjoys complaining. Let me explain.
If you have what most people would call a “boring” job (accounting, office job, the majority of the crown corporations) you probably have great security and make an above average wage. You complain about how board you are at work because they block you from using Facebook and Twitter but your paid four weeks of holidays and have “earned days off” so it’s worth it for now.
If you have what most people would call an “amazing” job (entrepreneur, creative director, manager at a small company) you probably have great flexibility and actually enjoy the majority of the work. You complain about how you’re underpaid and how it must be nice to collect a check every two weeks. You struggle but your passionate and an office job just isn’t your style.
So why must we always complain? Our generation is never satisfied, we want the greener grass and the internet has only made it easier to see the grass, touch it, tweet about it and then determine if we like it or not. Is their a solution? It’s an opinion so let me know if you disagree.
You need to stop comparing yourself to others. If you tell me how much money you make it’s because your job sucks and thats the only good thing about it, save it, I don’t care. Instead of comparing and complaining ever try making your job better? Possibly making work “fun” for a change? I know sounds weird doesn’t it.
Finally, I think managers in general need training on the “generation Y” employee; their expectations, their motivations and what they want out of life. Complaining gets you no where, start thinking of innovative solutions to making your job better, what have got to lose?
When a cab driver goes out of his or her way to make the trip more enjoyable do you tell them how much you appreciated it? When someone holds the door for you, do you say “gee, thanks a lot!”
Too many times we have positive experiences at the expense of someone else and we never tell them. Why? Maybe we’re scared, maybe we think it will mean nothing, maybe it has never been brought to your attention until now.
I had teacher in grade eleven that told us;
“If someone ever does something nice for you, you should always tell them thank you, otherwise they may not know how they made you feel and may not ever do it again.”
We all like to be appreciated so why not show others when we are appreciative? Even a small compliment on someone’s hair can go a long way, but generally speaking, our society doesn’t hand out compliments very easily. But why not?
So how do you start? The next person you see with a bright pair of shoes on or a finely tailored suit, walk up to them and say, “Wow! I sure like those shoes, they look wonderful!” Then just walk away. You can be sure you just made their day. My favorite is the little old ladies, I think they are just the cutest when you give them a compliment. So go on try it out, and let me know how it goes.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, he talks about how New York reduced it’s crime rate by a substantial amount in the 1990’s by implementing some simple yet very powerful tactics. One of those was to keep the Subways clean. Based on the concept developed by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in a 1982 article titled Broken Windows, by eliminating the small offenses (such as a broken window) it is much more difficult to commit the larger more serious ones.
In January of 2007 Maclean’s magazine wrote an article titled Canada’s Worst Neighborhood which described the North Central Regina neighborhood. Since then many changes have come about for the better but there is still much work to be done. Here’s my thought experiment for the day, it’s now your job to let me know if it’s feasible or not.
- High school kids are looking for jobs
- Neighborhoods need work to be done but the majority of home owners can not afford to pay professionals
- Considering the broken window theory, if we made neighborhoods look good they would be less prone to serious crime
If someone started a non-profit organization supported by the city or donations, these low skilled laborers could learn to paint, fix fencing, basic landscaping, simple carpentry, and gardening. Having these teams of workers going from yard to yard throughout the central area for the two summer months could help immensely in the long run. Ensuring the work was of a certain standard these mobile work camps would provide jobs, teach teens new skills, and help our communities where they need it most. The only thing missing is someone to start and run this program. Thoughts?
I know what you’re thinking and no, it’s not a typo, this post is titled act before you think. We have all heard the original saying stating the opposite but I think in some situations you must act before you think or else your thoughts will influence your actions in a negative way.
Have you have had to make a bad phone call, I mean the one you loath to make but have to? Ever scheduled a meeting with someone you didn’t want to and felt completely awkward the entire time leading up to the meeting to find out that it wasn’t that bad after all? Personally I hate these moments, talking to people I don’t know isn’t easy, especially if my mind is trying to think about every conceivable outcome. So what do I do? I don’t think about it, I believe I excel in these situations if I’m not thinking about it and just do it.
When we step outside our comfort zone it can be very scary, you don’t know what to expect, your hands are clammy, you get gassy and your thoughts are racing. But nine times out of ten it isn’t half as bad as we think it is, our thoughts make it to be worse than it actually is. So trust your instinct and act before you think.
Benefits:
- Your gut instinct is usually right, let it be your guide through this awkward situation.
- Every time you step out of your comfort zone you grow, you learn, you adapt in ways you never could have within your comfort zone.
- Every time you step out of your comfort zone it gets easier and easier.
So get out there and take advantage of those situations that you avoided at all costs, it is in those moments that we grow the most. To some it all up I think the Lulu Lemon bag says it best; “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
on 
