evagabourel

Why are you here?

Written by Eva Gabourel on April 23, 2015
If you are not happy here, if it gives you no pleasure doing your job, if you don’t feel the least bit inclined to do anything extra, if you constantly feel like complaining about the place you work and the people you work with…then why are you here?
It sounds like you are just here for a paycheck. If you are not happy here, why settle? Life is composed of minutes and hours, days and years. Of the 24 hours in a day, we spend at least 9 hours at work, about 6 hours asleep, and at least 1 hour commuting to and from work. If we don’t spend time doing anything else (like running errands, going to school, socializing), that leaves us about 8 hours at home or with our family. Most people spend more hours at work than they do at home.
Isn’t life meant to be enjoyed? Shouldn’t you at least enjoy the thing you spend most of your time doing? Why are you here? Life is too short to not do something you love or are at least passionate about.
There are some people who take things (or people) for granted. They don’t appreciate what they have until it’s too late. They don’t miss the water until the well runs dry. They don’t participate in life, yet they expect that life should be good to them and then have the audacity to be bitter and miserable when life and opportunities seem to pass them by.
We work for a good company. A company with lots of benefits. A company that is way better in a lot of ways than many other companies you could be working for. Sure, companies have rules. But the rules serve a purpose. They are for transparency and for the protection of people. If we choose to work here and if it benefits us to work here, why can’t we follow the company’s rules? Why is it so difficult? Surely at home there are ways and manners in which you like things kept and done. Why do you have this privilege, but not the company? Sure there are people who do questionable things but such is life and such are people. You will not always find people who think and feel the same way you do. And that is natural. So why not try this: stop worrying about other people, stop comparing your story with theirs. Worry about yourself and your productivity. If you keep worrying about others, it drains you and it leaves you less time to worry about yourself. Instead, focus on being the best person that you can be. Unlock your own potential and keep exploiting it, there is no greater reward than self-accomplishment. Let the company worry about these non-performers.
By that same token, the Company is responsible for the gardening. A successful company must be the good gardener. If it gives employees the opportunity to grow and shine, which it does by hiring them in the first place, then it needs to be reaping a blossoming garden and fruit patch. Sure there will be weeds, even in nature’s garden of people. The company should ensure that weeds be removed so that the beautiful flowers and flourishing fruits are not adversely affected by these weeds; so that the good garden could keep getting better and better. To put it bluntly, the company should fire people who are not productive and who are not willing to be present, who are not willing to participate, who are not willing to contribute, who show no sign of “extraness”, who lack pride in the company, who don’t strive to maintain the company’s high standards, who assume that standards set themselves and who fail to realize that the people are responsible for it. The company should fire those who sleep at their jobs, who don’t produce superior work, who don’t speak words of appreciation and positivity about the company, who steal, who lie, who cheat, who lack pride in the company, who undermine the success of others and of the company.
Our company gives us a lot of opportunities. Perhaps one of the most important is the opportunity of self discovery. A lot of people have been on an Educo seminar and while each person has a different experience than the other, there is no doubt that it allows you to draw out your own potential from within. If you went on the seminar and feel that you learned nothing then you simply did not want to learn.
Personally, while I feel like some of the things taught on the seminar were things I already knew or was already doing to some extent, the seminar brought out, polished, improved and expanded my potential. It definitely improved my self confidence. I was always driven by excellence but now I have confidence that I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to, even the things I have never though of doing before, even things I don’t think I like or am good at. I can do anything, I can be anything. With every fiber of my being I feel that life is to be enjoyed, to be lived, to be experienced! Everyday is a new beginning and there is opportunity at every corner. Our company provides us with so many opportunities. Opportunities that allow us to grow, to shine, to excel to learn. Opportunities that allow us to exercise and improve our bodies and minds. I don’t understand why people are not eager and enthusiastically seizing these opportunities.
I love being involved in committees and activities. It allows me to learn, to grow, to be creative. It allows me to work along with others and share ideas. It allows me to inspire and to be inspired. It allows me to expand my horizons. It allows me to give back to my company for being good to me. Recently, HR sent out an internal vacancy advertisement for firefighters. While I had never thought about being a firefighter before (probably because the torpedoes of mindsets, limitations, and expectations were blocking it), I suddenly had a great desire to apply for one of the vacant posts. I thought of all I would be able to learn, of how I can leave my mark and become a great firefighter, of how I can be an asset to the team, of how I could contribute to the success of the fire team and of course I thought of how cool it will be to tell my kids or godchildren one day that I was a firefighter. Then I thought, “Gosh! Where else would I be given this opportunity? I just have to take it!” I thought it would be silly not to. I decided not to worry about what anyone might say or if anyone would question my decision, I thought only of what it meant to me. I had seeds of doubt but they were not stronger than my resolve to apply, so I called on Walter and Paul who are a part of the fire team and without any hesitation they told me that they thought I could do it. Sometimes we need someone to have confidence in us so that we can have confidence in ourselves. Then I thought “Man, I work with some pretty amazing people who are just so supportive and who want to see you succeed”.
I am very happy working here, and I am happy to work with many of the people here. And I really enjoy doing things I feel will be a benefit to my coworkers. And there is no greater reward than having people smile with you or genuinely seem happy to see you or to say hello to you. Even better, when people tell you that you have inspired them in some way. One of my coworkers recently told me that she admires the way I am. When I asked what she meant. She said “When you have something to do, you don’t care about who’s doing their part or who’s not, you just get it done. And you think of everything!” She was referring to a little activity our EHS subcommittee had organized, ‘Do the Denmark”. Something as simple as bringing extra water and chocolate in case someone needed or forgot theirs, was so thoughtful she said. In truth, I had not even thought about this being anything special, it just had to be done. But it felt pretty good that something so easy and natural about me was noticed. It was reassurance that I am being exactly the person I have always aspired to be.
To be compared to Princess Diana, in terms of my personality and character, by my boss during an appraisal was funny to me but also touching. How could he know that she has always been someone I’ve admired? I’m definitely on the right path to self discovery and my company gives me the opportunity to do it. And that is why I am happy and proud to be here.
I’ve shared a bit of my journey and my story with you. What’s yours? Why are you here?