Do you ever feel stuck? You may not necessarily want to leave the place or position you are stuck in, but that feeling of not being able to change your status can bring on those claustrophobic feelings of being stuck.
That’s me right now. I love working at my church. I enjoy what I do. When I started working in the production department here, I never felt like it was what I wanted to do forever. Now, after three full-time years, I feel like I am stuck where I am. I have a good understanding about the technology that we use and I like to think that I do a good job at what I do, but just because I am good at something doesn’t mean I want to do it forever. Sometimes I feel like no one wants me to move on to other things because of how well I do what I do. The thing is, there is not much of a challenge and I feel that as time goes on, it will be more difficult to challenge myself to be innovative and easier to an easy good job instead of a more difficult great job. I don’t want to get stuck in a moment of mediocrity. I want to do more along the lines of our vision to “free people to follow Jesus,” but to do more I feel like I need to be doing something different.
Maybe I just need a refresh. Maybe I need to develop new skills. Maybe I need to dig into the innovative side of my mind and design a new position for myself here. Maybe I need to move on to something/somewhere else. All of these thoughts have crossed my mind at one time or another.
I started looking into working on a master’s degree. I’ll save that discussion for another post.
Are you stuck in a moment? Have you been stuck in the past? How did you get through it?
God made you the way he made you, and so he has placed things on your heart that are impossible to push down for too long. You may have to do what you have to do for a season, but I do not think those types of seasons should last for years.
Graduate level study provides a great outlet for pent up desire, but I think it should also be combined with hands-on application with what you are passionate about. Grad school can be very demanding, and in the tough moments it is important to be sacrificing for something that you are very passionate about.
Finally, it is possible to do what you are passionate about. Most guys just tend to play it safe when it comes to their jobs, especially when they have families to take into consideration. Actually, I think it is more important for your family to experience a husband and father who is passionate about what you do for a living instead of a husband and father who played it safe even though it killed your heart. Know what I mean? I’m not encouraging you to leave North Way by any means, but I would encourage you to actively pursue what you are most passionate about.
Just my thoughts…
Thanks BMAC. I think I started figuring out what my passions are over the past year. There have been things in my life that I’ve thought I was passionate about but they are really just things I like to do. In the words of another U2 song, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. I am just struggling to define what my passions are. I think that has something to do with my age the stage of life I am in. I definitely struggle with the balance between playing it safe and going for passion.