Have you ever thought about leaving your current job? Have you ever switched jobs just to find out you’re back in the same situation again? There is always an inherent risk in making a job change. Will you be better off? Or, should you just stay where you are for now? Is there any way to know for certain before you make the switch?

My Student’s Wake-Up Call

Jerry stepped to the front of my classroom and began sharing his story. He was a student in my storytelling workshop.

Jerry was at home working on his laptop and preparing for his next trip to the airport. Both of his daughters approached him holding a piece of paper close to their chest. “Daddy we drew you a picture!” He finished typing his email and then looked up from his laptop with a smile, “You did? Show it to me!”

The two girls proudly laid the picture on his lap and began to explain the picture. “This is me.” quickly followed by “And THIS is me!” They were both competing for his attention. Then they added, “And here’s you Daddy.” His smile began to fade as he gazed at the portrayal of his family through his children’s eyes. The picture needed no further explanation from his daughters. Jerry was speechless.

On one side of the drawing his daughters were standing with his wife by the house. On the other end of the page Jerry was standing next to an airplane with a computer and a suitcase, waving back to his family as he left for another business trip. There was something about the picture that struck a deep chord inside.

It was a realization of the life he was missing when he was gone. It was a picture of how his daughter’s would remember their life with him as they were growing up. It was the realization he would never get this time back again… ever. It was the forecasted pain of his future self looking back on a life full of business success but always wondering if he had failed at home.

In his own heart and mind, he wondered which was the most important right now. At this point in his life… where can he make the greatest impact? Is it with his family? Is it at work and in business? Is it possible to impact both? In the end, he knew he needed to make a very tough decision.

Finally Happy?

That day he turned in his resignation and began looking for another job, closer to home and with less travel. Luckily as a consultant with great relationships, it didn’t take long. Within a few weeks he ended up working for one of his consulting clients. Why didn’t he make this change before? Was he finally in the place where he’d be happy?

Nope.

While this job had much less travel and afforded him more time at home, he found himself dissatisfied at work. He felt like he was just going through the motions. That unsettled feeling came over him again. He couldn’t shake it. Once again, Jerry began looking for a new career opportunity. It was time for another change, but this time he’d approach the decision more methodically.

Jerry took more time to define his own professional skill set, the challenges he enjoys, all in a position with little travel required. That’s how he ended up with the job he has now and he couldn’t be happier.

As he finished up his story, he paused for a moment. Then he shared the moral of his story with us all. Everything Jerry learned from this experience could be boiled down to one question we can all use to predict our future satisfaction.

The One Question To Predict Your Future Satisfaction

While none of us has a crystal ball, we’d all like to make better choices and avoid the bad ones. Here’s the one question we can all use to do just that. It’s so simple, but yet so profound.

Are you running away or running toward?

With Jerry’s first move he realized he wasn’t running toward a better life and career choice. He was only running away from his current situation. This became clear to him when he lost all job satisfaction in his new role and he started to question his first move. Jerry knew his career and family satisfaction required him to run toward a better tomorrow, not just run away from his current situation.

If you’re jumping into a new role because you’re trying to escape your current situation, you may find a life boat for now, but you may not be satisfied for long. Imagine if you were on a sinking ship, you’d gladly jump into any life boat just to get away. But after a few weeks on the open sea in a small life boat, you’d be ready jump again!

The Point is This…

If your primary motivation is to run away from something, you may end up in a less-than-ideal destination. True… it could serve as a life boat, but is that really what you want? You’ll take just about anything when you’re just trying to get away.

But, if you’re running toward something, something that truly inspires you, something that gives you purpose, then you’re moving in the right direction.

Don’t live a life just running away. Live a life running toward!

Still trying to run toward…

See you next week,
Russ