Leaving A Legacy

The global economic down-turn has turned the tide for many people. Instead of the rising expectations of the sixties, what we see all-around us is rising frustration. The misery index for most people in our world escalates by the day. Pity.
I have discovered that apart from the prevailing harshness of the economic environment, the cause of frustration for many people is an acute lack of purpose. Many are just here as wanderers. They don’t seem to have an idea of their mission. They are engaged in jobs they do just to earn a living. The public service in most Third World countries is a mass of people suffering from institutionalized purposelessness.
Lack of purpose is the reason why many in the public sector go late to work and close early in my country. It is largely responsible for what we know in my country as the “not-on-seat syndrome”. All the malfeasance that afflicts the public service is traceable to purposelessness.
When you don’t understand the purpose for your work, work becomes a boring routine. And unfortunately you spend most of your day in the office doing what you don’t enjoy. No one will put his best doing what he does not enjoy. To maximize your productivity, your job must be a delight to you. The pay will not matter. Your delight in the job overshadows the pay packet. Work can be a pleasure and a source of fulfillment when it is done with a sense of purpose.
When I graduated from university, I picked up a teaching appointment, which I hardly found fulfilling. I eventually made a switch to the public service, serving as an Education Officer. That was an experience in boredom. There was not much to do and for a young man bubbling with ideas, that certainly was not my place. I made another change. Then it looked like I had got it after all. Working in the media was an adventure. It provided a lot of mental stimulation and excitement. There was never a dull moment.
It provided me an opportunity for self-actualization. Yet you won’t consider me to be well paid. However, the sense of fulfillment and excitement compensated for the short fall in pay. Thereafter, I got another job that attracted five times my previous pay. Yes the pay was good, but it did not provide the satisfaction and fulfillment, which the previous job provided.
In my continued effort to discover my role, I eventually made up my mind to answer a long-standing call to full-time ministry. Although the pay was in no way close to that of my last job, that decision was to be the source of my ultimate fulfillment. After one of my very hectic days, my wife remarked: “This is one job you don’t complain about.” That is the truth.
Fulfillment is in discovering your role, I discovered my role when I answered the call to full-time ministry. For me, working as a pastor/teacher is ultimate fulfillment. I have never had any reason to regret. I look forward to each day with joy and excitement despite the serious challenges. I am absolutely fulfilled.
You can never make the impact you desire in life, doing jobs that don’t give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment. That has kept many people on the average lane of life. Doing your work with a sense of purpose will promote diligence and diligence is the way to distinction.