When your work is done
Today’s message is inspired by a photo.
Look at the photo in this message before you read what I write. I want you to come up with your own interpretation, reaction and experience first. So pause and look at the photo.
What do you notice?
What do you identify with or not?
What story does this image tell you?
Whatever comes up for you is exactly right for you. This is your own inner knowing, not mine. I want you to take note of this and hold onto your experience.
Now let’s add some other food for thought. Of course I
am now throwing in my bias. I do this not to persuade nor convince you
to think in any way. I simply wish to open your experience to another
level.
I see a bee. I see a bee and his shadow on a flower bare of pollen. I see another flower bright in the sun, some pollen left. The sun shines. The bee’s legs are quite swollen with the pollen. His work seems to be done.
Add in some wonder
For a moment I
wonder. What is life as a bee like? A bee does the same job every day
for his entire life. He never thinks. He never considers whether he is
doing a good or bad job. He has no concern about career progression.
There is perhaps a bit of competition for the pollen and he has to fight
his way in to get his turn when there are other bees around. Again all
part of the job done without any awareness whatsoever. So at a certain
level we could say the bee is innately programmed to do his job. Not
quite a robot but definitely in service as part of the cycle of nature.
More wonder
Hmm…how
then are we like and not like bees? (Yes all this goes through my busy
mind looking at this photo. Perhaps you had a similar reaction.) On
one level when we go to work without thinking about what we do we are
just like the bee. We do our job, get the tasks done that either someone
gives us or our job description requires of us. This can be in paid or
unpaid work.
No matter what, we can go about our day’s tasks without a thought about them. I call this ‘worker bee syndrome’. If I asked you about your day you could tell me what you did. You could tick the boxes. You could demonstrate that you achieved results.
There is more
Yet
we as human beings have so much more potential. We have the opportunity
to experience our work in other ways. Unlike the bee we can be
conscious about our work. We can choose how we go about our work.
Sometimes choice works to our advantage and sometimes not. So we might say that our higher level of evolution gives us a challenge. Because we can think about our actions we add another dimension to our work, that the bee probably does not have.
Knowing emotions
We
also have the unpredictable element - emotions. We attribute emotions to
the bee - e.g. when they buzz loudly at us when interrupted in their
work. Yet we are more likely seeing an instinctive reaction than an
angry bee who needs some therapy later on down the track. We can attribute things to others without basis.
Our emotions are a factor that affect how we work. Emotional reactions are also a signal. When they are working for us we are motivated, inspired, productive, collaborative etc. When they are working against us we can be defensive, blaming, attacking. Both are real. Both are experiences in all of us because we are human. The degree however varies.
Knowing self
What
is the varying factor? Self awareness. Knowing when you are affected by
your emotions gives you an extra level of opportunity for self
management, self control (e.g. emotional intelligence). So unlike the
bee we can get angry, look at why we are angry and then work with the
anger to change our response or do something about what makes us angry.
Anger at work is not a pretty experience, right? In the bee world it
wouldn’t be either.
But what about some positive emotions? Bees do not really get any of that but we sure do. They do look like they are having a good time. We can have fun, enjoy what we do, feel satisfaction and pleasure out of achievement and contribution. For us there is the extra layer.
Rising above
Yet
even more divergent is our ability to rise above the macro task level
analysis of our work to the macro. Bees literally can fly up and see the
lay of the land. We can too in a way. Yet I imagine they are simply
looking for the next flower, not planning a strategy for developing a
field of daisies.
We however can contemplate the context within which we work. We can consider the bigger perspective, the interrelationships, the long and short term aspects. So much is possible simply in our ability to be consciously aware.
Yet it is about balance
As
I look at this photo I think about the impact we each have in our work.
We each are contributing in our own way. We each have a role to play.
If we don do not do our work, someone else has to pick up the slack. If
we do too much, we wear ourselves out and again someone else has to
take over. Getting the balance is right. We have choices and we can
think about our actions.
So I look at the bee. He knows innately when his work is done. He knows when he has enough pollen on his legs and it’s time to move on. What he does not know is the impact and contribution he made in the work he did do. We however know this. We can finish our work, stop for a moment and contemplate our contribution. We can look at the difference we make through our presence in the jobs we do.
When we are in balance we do enough, not too little and not too much. We make an impression that counts and then we get on with the next lot of work.
If a bee had a navel maybe he would gaze
We
could get up and go to work and think I just have this one task to do
today. Or we could get up and go to work and reflect. Wow look at what I
have done already, look at the amazing experiences I have had, the
contribution I have made. I have learned a lot and I have also done a
lot. My journey is one that made a difference.
The bee could do this too. Let’s imagine for a moment the bee could do this. What would he notice? He might realise that if it were not for his work the garden he is flying around in would not be flowering. He might realise that the crops in the field would not be bearing produce. He might actually be inspired to keep going knowing that his role is in fact an important one. And perhaps our little bee might look around. He might notice that he is not alone in his work. For he is a member of a group. He could not do it all by himself. He works with others to build and create.
Your work
Is
it possible then that you are doing work in this world that if not done
would leave a gap, an empty space? Perhaps your contribution is at some
level making the difference down the track to a company, a family, a
project, or even your own self. You don’t know when you are flying
around focused just on the task at hand. It takes reflection,
contemplation and a moment of consciousness to see that you are more
than what you do.
I wonder then how I am consciously going about in my life making a difference. I wonder as well how you are doing the same. Where are you leaving an impression where you once were? Where are you creating impact, responding to change, dealing with uncertainty? Where are you making positive choices and channeling your emotional energy into creative and constructive ways?
An invitation to the next level
All
this message is here for is to invite you to reflect. Now go back to
your experience from above. Instead of looking at the photo visualise
yourself doing the work you do and ask yourself:
What do you notice?
What do you identify with or not?
What story does this image tell you?
Then let me know what you get if you feel inspired to do so.
Feedback welcome!
Over to you. I would love to hear from you on how you got on with the above. Please feel free to send me a note or connect with me further.