Photo by Berkay Gumustekin on Unsplash
Yesterday I talked about my job search and how it took forever to find something until I finally changed my mind and opened up the opportunities of working in a large city such as Toronto. Background information: I used to work in Chicago for about six years and that is a very busy city. I'd become accustomed to working in the suburbs so I really wasn't down, I guess, for lack of a better term, with working in the concrete jungle again.
However, when you are unemployed and you're recovering from a heart attack and you are in an economic period where there's not a lot of jobs to go around, you can't be picky. I had to loosen up my boundaries, as false as they were, to open up to Toronto. It was the best decision that I ever made because I was almost instantaneously getting job offers and I took a position in the healthcare field, ironic, as that was the field that nearly killed me, but I knew that I wanted to do something differently. I wanted to go back and do something the right way instead of the way that I was doing it before.
I want you to ask yourself this question, What are you saying no to that you should be saying yes to? I was saying no to working in the big city. I was saying no to working in Toronto. Are you saying no to opportunities that would actually be beneficial to you? Figure out why you're saying no and then take a look at and see if you said yes, what would it mean to you and to your family and your career.
Toronto is an interesting city. There is a ton of people here, millions of people. I left a community of 23,000 and went to a community in the GTA that is close to six million the last time I heard, maybe seven. That's a lot of people when you get on the roads and you have a difficult time getting around but, it is an area that has a ton of opportunity. It is an area where I have been able to flourish both personally and from a career standpoint. I've been able to get accolades, sit at government tables that are designing and redesigning how healthcare is delivered in this province. That's not something I take lightly. It's something that I find very fulfilling. I don't take advantage of that opportunity to the point where it gets neglected. I make sure that my contributions are for the greater good and not just for me as an individual because we have to help as many people as we possibly can. Doesn't matter if you're in healthcare or any other field. You wanna be able to make an impact on as many lives as you possibly can. And that starts with you.
Again, in your boundaries exercise I want you to start thinking about things that you're saying no to that you should be saying yes to whether it's exercise, whether it's changing how you eat, whether it's where you work, maybe it's a case of the relationships you have. They are never easy questions but, you have to protect yourself. Your boundaries are the most important boundaries you will ever encounter.
Until tomorrow, think about what you're saying no to that you should be saying yes to.
Be well.