You Are Not A Number

Welcome to those visiting from the blog of Jon Acuff where I have the honor of guest posting today. If you like what you see, consider staying up to date, and get an inspirational manifesto as a bonus:

Note from Kimanzi: I am out of the country speaking at WordCamp Sydney in Sydney, Australia (yeah!). While I’m away I’ve asked several bloggers to guest post in my place, enjoy! This is a guest post by Tammy Helfrich who is a wife, Mom, daughter and friend. She blogs about life, marriage, encouragement, and motivation.  Read her blog here or follow her on Twitter. If you would like to guest post on this blog, email a post to kimanzi@talesofwork.com

Sometimes when you’ve been in a job for a while, you can start to feel like a number.

Sometimes it is your boss who treats you like a number.

Sometimes it is your coworkers.

Sometimes you begin to treat yourself like a number.

You get up, go to work, eat lunch, have the same conversations, and live the same days over and over again. It can feel like the movie Groundhog Day.

We don’t realize we’re doing it. We just gradually get stuck. We stop dreaming. We stop thinking we can make a difference in the world. We get trapped. For many different reasons.

But don’t feel bad. The majority of people have found themselves in this situation at one time or another.

But you don’t have to stay there. You can choose to be you. Not a number.

 

                                                                                   Photo – Creative Commons How do you do it?

Start by believing that you have something to offer the world. Even if you have forgotten it, or buried it, you do have something unique to contribute.

Think about what comes natural to you. What people tell you you’re good at. Think about what excites you. You may be surprised at what it is. Sometimes it’s something that you do consistently. It just stopped becoming or feeling unique to you.

Start being present. Even if there are things that you don’t particularly like about your job, you can choose your attitude. You can choose how well you do your job.

You can choose to notice the people who God has placed around you. You can choose to make a difference right where you are.

Start speaking up. If you feel like a number, it may be because you have chosen to take the route of not getting noticed. To do just what is required, and nothing more.

The good news is you don’t have to feel like a number anymore. You can choose to change. TODAY! It starts with one small step.

What is one step you can take today to start being YOU?

P.S. William Haeflinger will be moderating the comments while I’m away, thank you!