Riding The Rails
A few years ago, a Gallup poll discovered something shocking: 70% of Americans aren’t engaged in their work. That means that over 100 million Americans go to work and come home each work day feeling dissatisfied with the one thing they spend more time doing than just about anything else in life. That’s a staggering statistic.
While I am fortunate to be in a field of work that I simply love, I too have struggled throughout my career with feelings of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. As an idealist, I have at times wrestled with connecting my work to the ambitious goals I have oriented my life’s compass toward, leaving me wondering if I will ever arrive on the precipice upon which I have set my life’s hopes.
Can you relate? Perhaps we all find ourselves comparing our life-giving aspirationsto the lifeless shoulders upon which our blue or white collars reside. What can we do? Are we truly stuck with no hope of changing our situation?
Victim vs. Victor
For starters, you can rest assured I would not be writing this blog if there was no hope. With that said, I have seen too many times that, when faced with this conundrum, we tend to default to the “victim” mindset. This mindset says that the reason we are dissatisfied is because of the system that we are powerless to overcome. It tends to leave one feeling bitter and disillusioned about life. Yet there is a different mindset we can apply. The “victor” mindset is not ignorant of the challenges faced in work or even the disappointments. Yet instead of resigning him or herself to wallowing in victim mindset mire, the one with the victor mindset focuses on the things within their circle of influence to not only become the most effective worker possible but also to achieve one’s highest goals.
As I’ve walked through the journey of wrestling with the tension between the two mindsets, I’ve discovered a strategy for maximizing one’s success while also staying pragmatically focused. I call it “riding the rails”. I want to share with you how I believe we can recapture the feeling of fulfillment that work was originally intended to bring us by simultaneously pursuing two seemingly disparate lines of growth.
But first, let’s talk about railroad tracks.
One Inch
Did you know that the US standard railroad gauge (i.e. the width between rails) is 4’-8 ½” (you can thank me later when this fact helps you win your next game of trivia)? Federal safety standards allow the rails to vary up to 1” but that’s it! There are nearly 140,000 miles of railroad track in the country and every mile of it will be between 4’-8 ½” and 4’-9 ½” in width. I find it fascinating that despite the thousands of miles of track that have been laid, they still manage to maintain such a consistent width between the two rails. That’s what it takes for trains to get to their destination. If we are interested in arriving at a place of deep fulfillment and contentment in our work, I feel we must also pursue two separate but equally powerful lines: I call those lines “Persistence” and “Resistance”.
Persistence
Persistence, in this case, allows for refinement and growth of our character and skillsets by pushing through and not quitting, even when our work might not be enjoyable. There’s a reason I put Persistence before Resistance. If we cannot learn to recognize the enormous growth opportunity we have before us right now, it is unlikely we will ever learn those lessons. Culture teaches us that if a job, relationship, or possession does not immediately give us what we want, it is acceptable to discard it and quickly seek the newer and shinier thing (for surely then we will experience that fulfilment we are craving). I speak not only from the vantage point of a cultural observer but also from personal experience. So many times in so many jobs I have held, I have experienced restlessness that seemed to whisper in my ear that my only chance at happiness lay elsewhere, not here in the discomfort where I currently stood.
The Holy Door
I vividly remember an instance from my work in construction while still in college. I had been tasked with boring the holes in a storm door to attach the bracket in order to install it. Now before you judge me, I am a visual person. I like visual things. Like pictures and diagrams. And here was this arrogant storm door, mocking me with its so called “installation guide” that, for all I knew, could have been a dissertation on Philosophical Arguments for the Subconscious Ramifications of Freud’s Psychoanalytic Concepts upon Post-Modern Western Civilization. All that to say, I might have placed three different sets of holes in that door. All of them were wrong.
I panicked!
I had completely ruined my boss’s door and there was no one to blame but me. In desperation, I considered getting in my car and driving away (I chose not to since it would have made conversation with him the next morning at the church we both attended quite awkward). I couldn’t bear the thought of facing him and telling him my humiliating story. I felt so dumb and so inadequate for my job. However, I made the choice to persist in that situation. Yes, I still felt humiliated by my mistake and, yes, he was understandably upset about how I had massacred the door. But on that day, I gained something in my character that I never would have if I had fled the scene: strength. By showing myself that I could push through challenges and difficult circumstances, I set up a precedent for myself that I can now rely upon the rest of my life. By persisting in this situation when my fear and insecurity screamed at me to run and avoid the pain, I reminded myself of what I was capable of. I learned that the strength of our character is indicative of the level of our perseverance.
Sadly, persistence has become a lost art. When I look at the workers of previous generations, such as my grandfather, I see a strength in their dedication to the job that many of them held their entire life. My grandfather David DeNeui worked as a type setter for his local newspaper the Bellingham Herald from high school until his retirement. I am sure there were days when he tired of what he did and probably wanted to find something new and more exhilarating. Yet he persisted and built a not only a career but also a reputation as a man of both character and integrity. If only we could learn this lesson of persistence from those who have gone before us, imagine what our lives might look like.
“The strength of our character is indicative of the level of our perseverance.”
Resistance
Once we have embraced the growth we can achieve from our first rail, we can then focus our attention on the second rail: resistance. Demonstrating resistance in our pursuit of fulfilling work means taking a stand against complacency. It is an act of defiance to the mundane and mediocre level of expectations that lie before us at arm’s length in pursuit of what is deeper and more life-giving just beyond our fingertips. If persistence illuminates the treasure before us, resistance guides us to the treasure far away. It requires courage and vision, both of which I know lie within you!
Courage to Ask
If you are to ride the rail of resistance (does anyone else hear “resistance” and feel the urge to grab a lightsaber and battle a Sith Lord? Ok, just me), one thing you must be courageous enough to do is ask. Perhaps you might recall the words of Jesus when he said, “Ask and you shall receive”. Too often I believe we miss out on so much simply because we’re afraid to ask for things. We are afraid to ask for a promotion at work, afraid to ask for more opportunities doing projects we enjoy, afraid to ask for more flexible hours. What are we leaving at the table because we’re not asking for it?
“Demonstrating resistance in our pursuit of fulfilling work means taking a stand against complacency. It is an act of defiance to the mundane and mediocre level of expectations that lie before us at arm’s length in pursuit of what is deeper and more life-giving just beyond our fingertips.”
With all of that said, it’s important to add that people are not gumball machines. You can’t just put a quarter in and out comes a gumball. It’s important to have sufficient rapport with the ones from whom you are requesting something. The litmus test should be if you are actively pursuing how to add value to them (and they recognize it) and you have what I call “relational equity” with that person, be bold! Ask away. If you do it with respect and not in a slimy, manipulative way, the worst they can do is say no!
Courage to Pivot
There are times in life where we come to a crossroad and we are forced to choose between one road and another. Often times the right road is the most difficult one. Rejecting apathy means saying “adieu” to the comfortable, flat path you’ve been on and gearing up to climb the steep trail that lies between you and your calling. Don’t expect to see your destination from the crossroads between apathy and fulfillment because you won’t. It will be somewhere beyond the next challenge, waiting for you to reach out in faith with fear in your heart and sweat on your brow, knowing that only once your fingers have bled upon the rocks of the unknown will they develop the callouses necessary to summit your destination. Perhaps this means leaving a comfortable career and stepping into the unknown. Perhaps it is going back to school, asking to work on a project that is out of your league and completely terrifying. If you’re worried about knowing which path is the right one, don’t be. If it’s the right thing to do, there will be a magnetic pull inside of you that may defy all logic but makes total sense in your soul.
“Don’t expect to see your destination from the crossroads between apathy and fulfillment because you won’t. It will be somewhere beyond the next challenge, waiting for you to reach out in faith with fear in your heart and sweat on your brow, knowing that only once your fingers have bled upon the rocks of the unknown will they develop the callouses necessary to summit your destination.”
4’-8 ½”
The pursuit of fulfillment can be a dangerous journey. If we’re not careful, we can lose our way due to either impatience or apathy. When we find a way to embrace both the Persistence and Resistance lines of growth, we will discover the advantage that patience and self-discipline offer us at our fingertips and the thrill that courage and vision offer us just beyond. There’s no reason we can’t arrive at our destination when we firmly fix ourselves to these two rails.