Are you stuck in your career? Is the job you go to each day a hard place to go to? There's HOPE and lot's of it! 

My career conversation with Thera Paetzold provided both help and hope! Because she shared with us that in the midst of her struggles, even through an overwhelming tragedy, she found career aspiration, inspiration and motivation, or she found the key that brought her to MORE.From a tragic accident her mother had, Thera was able to find something positive in this unbelievable, life crushing event. Thera believes that all things happen for a reason and could see how her mom's struggle was in part responsible for Thera finding her MORE as an Occupational Therapist.

From Thera’s story these are my two MOREsels:  

MOREsel #1: What are you most aware of about your work? 

Thera shared how she was aware that she did not feel like she belonged to the teacher’s group, either while she was in college, or even when she became a teacher. It's not that the teachers were excluding her. She just didn’t feel like one of them, even when one of them was her best friend.  

Yet, Thera immediately felt part of the Occupational Therapists group. From the moment she entered the OT program, and every day since, whether walking into a hospital or helping her Mom - Thera knows she belongs. Thera's struggle to belong led her to her MORE career.  

Can you relate to not belonging to your current career group?

I can! After spending 18 years in Human Resources, I never felt part of the HR group. I felt part of my own team, but not part of the local and national HR organizations. Because of feeling that I didn't belong, I never became actively involved beyond attending a meeting or two.

What's interesting to me, and of course hindsight is often times our best sight, I thought it was the group members' fault, not mine, that was causing me to feel like I didn't belong.  I was aware that the topics that my HR colleagues were discussing, interested in and enthusiastic about – well I just wasn’t, or wasn't most of the time.  I felt like an outsider and that was not a good feeling. 

That was a career clue that I did not see, I wasn't aware that this was even a clue. I guess you could say that I was clueless about awareness, and even more clueless about the state of my career!

It didn’t occur, or should I say, I was not aware that the HR professionals were not my people, and it was not anyone's fault. I just wanted MORE and I could not find it within Human Resources.

The big mistake I made was not finding another group where I could belong. 

If only I was aware that MORE was waiting for me. I just needed to be MORE aware.     

MOREsel #2: Become aware of what you love to talk about? When do your ears perk up? When do you become fully engaged? What are the topics?

No, I'm not talking about gossip! I'm talking about topics that you can't wait to share with others. What stories are the most compelling to you? 

Thera wanted to talk about her mother. Not just the accident or how much she loves her, but what’s happening in her therapy, and how therapy helps her Mom not only stay alive, but thrive!

Thera was interested in how Physical and Occupational Therapy could take someone whose life had been severely impacted by an illness or accident and give them back a quality life.  

Can you say, as Thera said, "What can be better than that", to your current career? One of the most difficult conversations I ever listened to was Steve Job's recounting how he felt about his career. This comment I heard him make has haunted me for most of my career. 

“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself:

If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” 

Steve Jobs

Why did it haunt me?Because for too many days, weeks, months, and years of my life I looked in the mirror and said NO.

The worse part is that I was aware of the impact to my life by my NO answer. I was aware of the stress, dissatisfaction and toll on my soul, and every other aspect of my life. 

So what did I do - not much. Why?

Because my limited awareness believed that MORE was just for some lucky people, like Steve Jobs. I believed that only a select few got to feel that way about their job day in and day out.

I was not aware that we are all suppose to feel that way!

This is one of the top main reasons why I've launched the Living Your MORE podcast and blog - to stop the career madness and move as many people as possible to MORE. 

Why?

Because as Thera described she went from exhausted to excited, apathetic to enthusiastic, from not feeling successful to being confident in her success. And I realized that if MORE of us felt that way, what a world this would be! 

Thoughts to Ponder:

If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you're about to do today (work)? 

Do you feel part of your work team, or like an outsider?  Could it be that these are not your people?

Stay Connected and Join the Conversation

Please share your aha or oh no moments from my conversation with Thera.

What was that light bulb moment, or that realization that you might be stuck in your career just like Thera was in her teaching job?  

Let’s keep this conversation going and offer words of encouragement to others in the midst of their struggle.  How do we do that?  Tweet it out, shout it out, because you need to share if you care with all your friends and followers. 

Remember friends don't allow friends to be less when they are capable of being so much MORE.