Finding Your Niche

Often I find myself people watching as many do, and I have had this recurring question pop up, "What if there were more people who had jobs and careers that centered on their natural gifts and passions?" I ask that, I suppose, because as I observe I see a vast number of people who appear unhappy and disconnected. That's purely speculation on my part. We've all have bad days, so without actually interviewing the masses there is no real way to determine who is content and who is not.

As I have thought about this I presume that the world's economy would be stronger or at least more stable. It seems there would be fewer career changes and greater job retention as the desire for more pay would be secondary. Or would it? One would think (at least this one doing the typing) that when a person is doing a job that they are both good at and enjoy that their motivation would differ from the person who hates their job. I have been in that situation. I have been in a job that I didn't like and as I became more and more dissatisfied the desire for increased pay and position grew. Maybe I am totally wrong. Maybe the power of money and status is so strong that even those of us who are content and correctly placed would be persuaded to be disgruntled and ineffective and eventually look elsewhere.

I also wonder about how we would treat one another if the majority of us were in our place of contentment. It seems like there would be more 'servants' active in the community not concerned about how many dollars are being made but how much of a contribution can be made in others lives.

So is it because a person has not discovered his/her true gifts that leaves them empty and misplaced? Yes. Or is it that the pursuit for significance is misunderstood and turns one inward--chasing after money and power? Yes. It's really not that simple I suppose. Staying within the boundaries of gifts and talents doesn't guarantee anything regarding contentment. I was talking with someone the other day about 12 step programs and how these meetings aren't always a fix. He suggested God's 5 step approach...G-R-A-C-E!

Is it against blog etiquette to answer your own questions? Sorry, I didn't mean to delve into why a person may seem unhappy. My main thought is about how the world as we currently know it would be changed if others were doing the things that struck a chord within them? What would my neighborhood look like and how would it function?