Becoming more aware of our existential horizon

There’s no such thing as finding your dream job.

But there is a such thing as creating a fulfilling life, of which our job is a key part. That job doesn’t have to be the biggest or most important container of meaning in our life, but it still can contribute to our overall level of satisfaction with it.

If there’s one thing you learn in recovery for workaholism, it’s that work is merely one spoke on a larger wheel of existence. It’s just one of many folders in our diverse portfolio of happiness.

When we assume that baseline posture of abundance and enoughness, we become more aware of our entire existential horizon, we’re be less likely to feel that our dream has degraded into a nightmare.

Koontz’s beautiful poem springs to mind:

On the road that I have taken, one day, walking, I awaken, amazed to see where I have come, where I’m going, where I’m from. This is not the path I thought, this is not the place I sought, this is not the dream I bought, just a fever of fate I’ve caught. I will change highways in a while, at the crossroads, one more mile. My path is lit by my own fire, going only where I desire. Not a dream job, but a fulfilled life.

This distinction is critical. We have to intentionally frame our work in a manner that makes us feel true to our value system, even if we don’t love every minute of it.

Reflecting on my own career, several of my jobs were boring and underpaid, but because my whole identity wasn’t wrapped up in them, the whole my life still managed to feel fulfilling.

Maisel’s research on the act of making means suggests asking ourselves a question about our dreams before pursuing them:

Is this container capable of holding my beliefs and dreams?

If so, even at a lower level than we might prefer, then that that container is worth adding as a new spoke on our wheel of fulfillment. That mindset assures that the work we do assumes greater significance in our own minds, as it’s poured into our meaning container, capturing and gathering weight, rather than allowing it to drain away.

And you might think to yourself, now wait a minute, you’re not really happier at work, you’re just tremendously good at deluding yourself.

But why should those two ideas be mutually exclusive? In this vortex of unrelenting despair called life, deluding ourselves is the one of the most important survival tools we have.

If creative fulfillment is the goal, then we owe it ourselves to do whatever it takes to make it a reality.

Are you focused on finding your dream job, or creating your fulfilling life?