Bloom where you're planted

"Bloom where you're planted". That is a phrase from a Gospel song for kids that I used to listen to years ago. I can't remember exactly what the title of the song is, but that phrase got stuck in my mind.

I always wish for a perfect job, but I guess it does not exist. Just like wishing for "Mr. Perfect" to come along and sweep me off my feet. I can only hope and pray that either one or both of them will happen sometime soon.

What do I mean by a perfect job? I guess it starts with the paycheck. I always wanted a job that will allow me to pay more than just the bills, but will also allow me to provide for my family back home in the Philippines, have enough money to travel to different places and save 10%-20% of my earnings towards my retirement. That would also mean having a great mentor/coach who will inspire his/her subordinates to excel in their job and give them plenty of opportunities for growth and development. Likewise, work will be much lighter if you can be friends with your co-workers with whom you can have fun both in and out of work.

In reality having all these at the same time never happened to me at all. Or I'm not just fortunate enough to have it, not yet...but hopefully soon.

But no matter how imperfect my work situation is, I always find a way to make the best of it. I look at each situation, good or bad, as an opportunity to learn something new. I cannot change my work environment but I can certainly change my attitude towards it. For sometime, I let it took control of my intellect and emotion. But I know that it should not be the case.

Someone said that if a situation has a solution then it is a problem, but if there is no solution to it, then it is a fact. Wise people know how to differentiate a problem from a fact. If there is something that I am really good at, it is learning how to adapt given certain situation and manage to grow despite of it. I have learned how to face various challenges as they are presented to me and gained more knowledge by overcoming them.

But being under constant stress at times drives me nuts. It wears me out. There are times that I am at the point of giving in. And in situation like this that another phrase or verse from a Christian song will come into mind. For instance this verse from the song "Just Look How Far You've Come" have inspired me a lot of times in my life:

Don't give up. Don't give in. Give it all to Him.
'Cause He cares so much more than you know
When it seems who you really want to be
Is someone you'll never become
Just look how far you've come

And when things gets harder and tougher at work, I always keep the following Bible verse from Colossians 3:23-24 in mind:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. "