Make Your Misery More Comfortable or Leave It Behind

By Mike Johnson

A versatile writer/reporter/editor, Mike Johnson enjoys promoting the positive aspects of people, products, places and events. His work appears regularly in business publications, consumer and trade magazines, online services, newspapers and radio. Mike can be reached at his web site  http//www.mikeleejohnson.com or by e-mail treetop@wave.park.wy.us

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As kids, our aspirations were high. Astronaut. Millionaire. Major League Baseball Player. Still unscarred by experience, anything seemed possible. Our folks must have thought so too, because they were always reminding us how easy we had it compared to them.

"When I was your age, I had to walk ten miles to school, through four feet of snow, with nothing but a hot potato in my underpants to keep me warm..."

We've all heard their stories. And I admit it - I've told them to my kids - especially in January - about how tough it was growing up in Minnesota winters.

Born and raised in Florida, my daughters once asked how cold it got in Minnesota while I was reaching into the freezer. "See this box of ice cream?" I said, amazed at the perfection of the timing, "Throw it out in the yard in November and it'll be twice as hard in March. That's Minnesota."

Truth is, sometimes people DO exaggerate the windchill factor of January mornings in the Twin Cities. But only because they have to - even frozen food case thermometers only go to minus 20.

But 27 winters ago, as paperboys for the morning Minneapolis Tribune, best-buddy Dobbs and I stepped into a particularly severe January morning.

WCCO Radio had proclaimed a windchill factor of 80 below zero before we'd left our toasty homes, and our toasty dogs, who were curled up on the toasty floor vents, exposing their even toastier bellies to the petting from our toasty fingers.

Thankfully, our prayers to become dogs that day, remained unanswered.

To hide from the wind, we had to walk backwards the entire half mile to the newspaper drop. We prayed we'd finish our routes before the weight of our clothing caused our collapse. Had we been hit by a car, it would've taken the rescuers 10 minutes and a Jaws of Life to pry us out of all those layers of flannel.

Anyway, on mornings like this, it was pretty certain the paper truck would be late, and it was. Evidently, most of the drivers wished they were toasty dogs too.

So Dobbs and I salved our misery by digging a survival tunnel under the snow-laden limbs of the paper-drop pine tree, and drifted off to sleep until the squeaky brakes on the Tribune's panel truck jarred us awake.

It was then that our first newspaper career dream was sparked. When that truck's side door slid open, and that wave of heat and steaming coffee and CCO radio washed over us, we just knew. We were going to become paper truck drivers.

In less than the space of an hour, the Minnesota winter had reduced our grand and youthful aspirations of becoming astronauts, millionaires or ballplayers, to pleading for nothing more significant than becoming dogs or truck drivers.

This dangerous combination of escaping from something miserable into something that makes the same misery more tolerable has buried more aspirations than any January blizzard.

And this is the mistake many people make when they fantasize about leaving their current career for work they can do from home. Rather than running toward something they love, too many people run away from something they hate. Even if they succeed, several months later they may be running away from that.

It's far better to realize that the same energy it takes to make our misery tolerable, could be used instead to get us out of Minnesota all together. Rather than making a small career change that seems more tolerable, identify your dream job and go directly toward making that a reality.

But what if you don't know what your dream job is? Try the following exercise.

Take a pad of paper and a pen to a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Arrive prepared to THINK. Ask yourself the following questions and list your answers on the pad:

A. As a child, what did I most want to be when I grew up?

B. What activities cause me to pleasantly lose track of time while doing them?

C. What skills am I better at than most others?

D. On what activities do I enjoy spending my free time?

E. What are my hobbies?

F. What activities have friends told me that I ought to be doing full-time?

G. If I could do anything at all and knew that I couldn't fail, what would it be?

Your answers to these questions may help you discover the activities that are closest to your heart. Applying THESE activities to work will make for the most enjoyable career for you. Now immerse yourself in a field that includes these types of activities.

Start by exploring your goal with little actions you can take each day. Visit the library and checkout a biography about someone who's already succeeded with your dream job. Leaf through a trade magazine from that industry. Read help-wanted ads to learn position requirements. Identify the skill gaps that lie between where you are and where you want to be. Make a prioritized list of things you must do to fill those gaps. Get to work on filling them!

Months later, if you found the strength to let go of that comfortable misery, you too might find yourself in a better climate, barking to your kids, "When I was your age, I had to walk ten miles to school, through four feet of snow..."

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"Most people build their dreams around their occupation. Those most successful build their occupation around their dreams." -- Mike Johnson
© 1998 Mike Johnson

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