How do you GET to work?
Photo Credit: Construction Signs on Flickr.
Are you constructive? I appreciate the following quotation that David K. Reynolds used to start his book on Constructive Living from Thomas Merton in INC, July 1992, p.11
If I insist that my work be rewarding, that it mustn’t be tedious or monotonous, I’m in trouble….It’s ridiculous to demand that work always be pleasurable, because work is not necessarily pleasing; sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. If we’re detached and simply pick up the job we have to do and go ahead and do it, it’s usually failrly satisfying. Even jobs that are repugnant or dull or tedious tend to be quite satisfying, once we get right down to doing them…This happens when we just do what we have to do.
Constructive living and working. How often to you just do what you have to do? Constructive Living aims at helping a person see the world realistically and act on that knowledge in practical and constructive ways.
Constructive Living offers 3 Themes to move on and to move into action:
Accept reality – Accepting reality does not mean we give in, give up, or get stuck there. We acknowledge the actual circumstances in which you live so that we can take steps to be more constructive in our approach to work.
Know your purpose (objective) – What are you aiming for? What can you do today or right now to move a step closer to achieving your short-term or long-term goal. Knowing your purpose, objective, or intention brings focus to what you do.
Do what needs to be done. The possibility of specific action is a good test of the reasonableness of your goals. The world responds to action, not to dreams or wishes or thoughts.
3 Questions. Even if you don’t work on a construction site you can still play an active role in constructing your approach to action and better work by asking yourself:
- What is currently going on?
- What is my purpose, intention or objective?
- What do I need to engage in right now to achieve my purpose?
