There is a story told about a farmer who grew discontent with his farm. He complained about the lake on his property that always needed to have the fish thinned out. The rolling hills made it more difficult for him to run the fence rows. Sometimes he couldn’t even see his cows because they had so much territory to cover. At night it was so dark it was hard to walk from the barn back to his house.
He decided to sell the place and move somewhere really nice. He called a realtor and made plans to sell his property. A few days later 
he picked up the local paper, looking for a new place. His eye caught an ad for a lovely country home in an ideal location – quiet and peaceful. It had soft rolling hills; a pristine lake stocked with bass, a classic barn surrounded by natural flowers and soft grass, and came complete with a wonderful herd of Black Angus cows. It was just close enough to a small town to be convenient but far enough out to be uncluttered by city lights, traffic and noise.
He read the ad a second and then a third time before realizing the realtor had given her description of the place he currently owned. He called her and told her to cancel the ad. He said, “I’ve changed my mind. I’ve been looking for a place like that all my life.”
I hear countless people complain about their jobs. They have to work five days a week, only get paid $20 an hour, and only get five holidays off a year. Their employer pays only half their medical insurance and their company car allowance just got cut to $350 a month. Now trust me, this is only one example; I also hear about positions where the salary is “only” $230,000 with all the other items increased proportionately. The complaints are very much the same regardless.
What about your job? How would someone else describe it looking in from the outside? Would they see the negatives that you see or would they see a wonderful opportunity? Are you already in a reasonable opportunity? I told a client recently that it appeared the only constant factor in his long list of horrible jobs was him. Would you have the same complaints in a new job after a few months?
Here’s a copy of the classic story of finding treasure right where you are. It’s free and just our gift of encouragement to some of you to find your own Acres of Diamonds:
Thanks Dan! I’m thankful for my well paying job, my flexible work schedule, my benefits, the independence I’m given with the work I do. I’ve been at my company many many years, seen and experienced a lot of change, good, bad, good, bad… This is my struggle – how does one move past the “you should be be grateful for what you have” when you have boredom or discontent with the actual work you do, or the direction your management is headed?
Dan, GREAT post!!!!!!!
I love the realization that perspective is a choice. Even though for me, working in corporate world wasn’t a fit and at times, it felt like the days were VERY long, I felt blessed to have had the job I did as it allowed me to build my business on the side while supporting my family and paying off debt.
When I put in my resignation, I told my manager that this job was going to be a blessing for that person who got it. She was very sad to lose me and seemed surprised at this statement (most folks who work at this company have been there for 20+ years so the concept of wanting to leave was a shock – obviously something that companies will need to adapt to in the upcoming years).
Sure enough, after putting in my resignation, one of the managers contacted the 2nd choice candidate that interviewed for that position from four years earlier (there were over 600 applications for that one position at that time). The person was stunned that they would do that (it was a HUGE fortunate 500 company so the chances of this happening were very slim). Turns out the timing couldn’t have been more perfect and she was beyond excited and felt totally blessed as she had lost her job last spring, had two kids, and NO medical insurance. She had been working for minimum wage for a place and was beyond delighted at the chance of getting into what many considered to be a dream corporation.
Even though I couldn’t stand being in that position / environment, after putting in my resignation I offered to continue to help bridge the transition by working part time from home (with the clear expectation put to them that I would NOT come in as it was a one hour commute each way). It ended up to be a GREAT transition for everyone as it helped my family out financially, it helped the company out big time, and gave the new person a great person to train them in. By presenting this bridge transition option to my division vice president who I served versus just leaving altogether in 2 weeks, I have no doubt that this will be a primary driver for getting my foot in the door for speaking to their group as it was such a positive experience for all.
A definite win:win:win for everyone.
Perspective is a great time.
Jen – great example. The job served you well but you got clear on moving to “great” rather than settling for “good.” I love how you’ve framed this as a win for everyone. Great perspective.
Thanks, Dan, for the great Illustration. Reminds me of the old saying from my childhood…. “no matter where you go, there you’ll be…” If the issue is about me, a change of job, income, scenery or relationship is not going to fix it. The issue will still be about me.
Yes indeed. Improving “me” is the quickest way to change my situation. Thanks for your comments.
Similar to Suse’s comment, The challenge is when you have a great job, leadership position, good pay, like your boss, good environment, etc, but what you do, the job itself is not a fit for your strengths and personality. The good things of the job itself keeps you there, but if it is not a match with who you are it will never be fulfilling. Unfortunately the good in the job makes it very difficult to move on to something better and in fact freezes you from moving. In your head you hear, you should just be happy with what you have, you don’t want to start over. When the experience that you have is in something you no longer want to do, you feel trapped and stuck, wondering if you should just make the best of it, but knowing in your heart it would be better to move forward.
Bruce – you repeat the word “good” in describing your job. Nothing wrong with that at all – just remember “good” often keeps us from moving to “great.”
I laughed when I read this Dan. I’ve been thinking about changing jobs, making a checklist of what I wanted in my working conditions and came to a realization that I pretty much had everything on the list already. I think it’s really a matter of finding or creating work that suits me where I’m at instead of looking outside – like the farmer in the story. Thanks for the reminder that some of the things we so desprately want are just right under our nose.
Oh yeah – I often ask people, “would you apply for the job you already have if it were listed?” Thanks for your comments.
The way we choose to see life can change everything. Rather than dwelling on what’s wrong and instead focusing on what’s right, not only are we healthier and more vibrant, but we become a joy to be around!