What Happened to Your Dreams?

A lot of people are not engaged at work. They’re bored, distracted, uninspired, trapped, or burned out. Others might enjoy aspects of their work, but overall they’re dissatisfied.

A past Gallup study found that only 13% or one-eighth of employees across 142 countries are engaged at work. The study notes:

“The bulk of employees worldwide — 63% — are ‘not engaged,’ meaning they lack motivation and are less likely to invest discretionary effort in organizational goals or outcomes. And 24% are ‘actively disengaged,’ indicating they are unhappy and unproductive at work and liable to spread negativity to coworkers.”

Does this describe you? Are you unhappy in your work? If so, you’re clearly not alone.

There is no education like adversity

A lot of people hate their jobs, which is a big problem because the quality of one’s workplace experience affects the overall quality of one’s life.

Complicating matters, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the world economy. Businesses are shuttering. People are losing their jobs. It’s a scary time for a lot of people.

But there may be a silver lining.

If the studies are accurate, and lots of people are disengaged at work, perhaps this current economic disruption presents an opportunity for positive change?

“There is no education like adversity.” -Benjamin Disraeli

Of course, losing one’s job rarely feels like an opportunity. Even if you hated your job, the lost income invites stress, uncertainty, and potential hardship.

The security of a steady income, even in a lousy job, makes it hard to risk change. More so when you have family members who depend on you.

The luxury of planning one’s job change or career transition is preferable to sudden job loss. But sometimes unexpected change, like a layoff, can accelerate one’s motivation to explore better horizons.

How much did they pay you?

In the movie “Up in the Air,” actor George Clooney plays a corporate hatchet man whose job is to fire employees in downsized companies. Clooney’s character takes a young co-worker on the road with him, to teach her the ropes.

Watch the following scene, and what Clooney’s character says to an angry man who was just fired from his job.

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Whether you’re unhappy in your current job, or between jobs, it might be a good time to ask yourself a question:

What happened to my dreams?

Think back to the past, when you were younger. What did you love? What were you passionate about? Was there a dream job you envisioned?

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

For me, it was drawing cartoons and artwork. As a teenager, I wanted to become a professional cartoonist. But my parents’ well-intentioned guidance led me to a career in law enforcement.

I spent 26 years in police work and dabbled in cartooning on the side. I enjoyed my law enforcement career and helping others, but retired five years before my pension maxed out in order to become a full-time artist. My creative passion could wait no longer.

Whether the timing is good or bad for you, positive change is possible.

Bandages for our wounds

Start by making a list of the dreams and passions you had. Do you still feel strongly about them? Could any of them be parlayed into new career directions or related fields? Why not pick them up again and test the waters?

For example, maybe you have a talent for writing and dreamed of becoming a novelist. Why not start a blog? Submit articles to publications and begin an email list following. Perhaps you could use your writing skills in a related area, like copywriting?

Some pursuits feel like passions but are really just emotional escapes. Like the guy who dreamed of becoming a rock star when he was a teenager, except he never enjoyed practicing that much.

He was more in love with the idea than the work. It made him feel good to think about being a rock star, but the passion to achieve it was not there. This is why revisiting passions is important, to find out if they still excite you.

Responding to a Quora question about regaining lost passion, writer Jaimie Eckert wrote:

“I don’t know what your lost passion is, but rather than just reviving it at all costs, ask yourself the important questions about WHY it mattered to you. There are certainly many passions we cherish that are bandages for our wounds. The better course is to pursue authentic healing and see what new passions arise on your new horizons.”

If you’re certain about your passions, the best way to rescue them is to explore further. Reach out and visit someone currently doing what you’d love to do. Find out where your skills are lacking, and what is necessary to hone them.

Dive back into what you once loved. You might be rusty and some patience may be required. In the end, you’ll know if it’s still a deep passion. Our hearts never lie to us.

Keep tremendously interested in it

We all have our gifts and aptitudes, but sometimes we don’t have a specific passion or ideal job in mind. In such cases, it’s helpful to experiment. Explore new hobbies and interests.

Consider the late Julia Child, who was a famous chef. She began her career in advertising and worked in government intelligence during World War II. In her 30s she moved to Paris and fell in love with French cuisine.

“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” -Julia Child

Child spent years honing her culinary skills. It wasn’t until she was nearly 50 years old before she found a publisher for her famous cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Child went on to television fame and was the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute Hall of Fame.

You can reinvent yourself, too. Whether it’s breathing new life into an old passion, or discovering new ones, you can do it.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs

As hard as a layoff or career change may be, there is an opportunity to rediscover yourself. Revisit those old passions, and revive them. Experiment. Explore how they can possibly relate to a new, more satisfying career or job.

Sometimes adversity presents the door you’ve been too afraid to open and walk through. Take a deep breath, and open that door. Peek inside, and then step over the threshold. What lies beyond just might be the answer to your dreams.

Before you go

I’m John P. Weiss. I draw cartoons, paint, and write about life. Get on my free email list here for the latest artwork and essays.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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Artworks by John P. Weiss