When my brother and I were in elementary school, one of the games we loved playing was “scientists”. I have no recollection of who came up with the idea, but it was the game I was most fascinated with at the time.
Now, you may think I ended up being a scientist. Not at all. First, I need to confess that the whole game we came up with was quite primitive : multiple notebooks and pieces of paper spread across the table, while we frantically pretend to check something and then scribble across any of the notebooks and on and on for hours. I have no idea why I loved that game, maybe it made me see myself as smart or important or just loved being so involved in something that I lose the track of time. I now know we call that ” flow” or “being in the zone”.
I have had that feeling on and off in any of the jobs on my career path : an English teacher in a high-school in Japan, being a jack-of-all-trades in a Japanese company as the only foreigner, as mastering sales as an executive consultant in a high-pressure boiler room executive search company keeping up with the “boys” and now at my current talent acquisition leadership role across EMEA. Every time I find myself in the flow is when I
- Am passionate about the topic I am working on
- Am tackling something new and challenging
- See a clear purpose that serves others
I saw you rolling your eyes at the 3rd bullet. Yes, you! That`s ok, getting to the 3rd bullet is a journey, for some longer for some shorter, but we all get there if we look deep enough into what brings us joy in life.
I will not get into that today. Phew, right? I am now also a mother, a life coach and embarking on a journey of becoming a blogger and maybe even Youtuber. The point is I have these “flow” or “scientist” gamification moments in each of these endevours and when I do have them, I know I am on the right path.
So, what is really the best job in the world? It is the one where you lose yourself again and again. It is the “job” where you remember your child-like curiosity and you follow it where it takes you. It is the one you cannot wait to go to bed in the evening, so it is morning again and you can get at it again. Yes, there will be off days, but they will be the exception and not the rule.
Isn`t that what scientists are paid to do and can we all be scientists too in our daily life? We can and we should know that it is a choice. We can find the career, the side hustle, the hobby that takes us to that magical place and helps us find ourselves, who we truly are and what we truly love. We should not give up and stop searching, as we are often so so, so close to finding moments in our everyday life, where we are fulfilled.
Every time I find myself losing track of time, I smile and remember that game, my brother and I hunched over the small wooden table with 10 notebooks scribbled nonsense all over them, and smile, thinking ” I am living my chidlhood dream”.
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