by Tricia Kidd
There’s something about a corporate environment that is squeaky-clean. A good business is functional, respectful, law abiding, purposeful and successful. As employees we can share in the success of our company and feel good about it. Because we are all part of the team that contributed to the success.
The true you
Sometimes things can happen in your life that make you feel dysfunctional: relationship problems, financial problems, accidents, bereavements. You can feel a big mismatch between the dysfunction of your own life and the function of your working life. At home you are struggling, at work you are functional. Which one is the true you? Well, they both are. Don’t confuse your true self with the way you are feeling at a particular time.
Things can fall apart in life, but that doesn’t mean you have fallen apart. You may be ‘injured’ but you can heal, or you can adjust. You may be in difficulties, and you can climb out of them. At these times, a day at work can be the rock to which you cling to keep you feeling proud and capable. You may not be performing at your best, but you are still contributing.
When you are suffering, it’s tempting to think that everyone else at work has perfect lives and only you are struggling. But that’s because work is a place where we do put our best sides forward and where we do wear the coat of functionality. It’s not being false to do that. It is accepting that not everything in your life is dysfunctional. For that moment in time, you have a purpose, and you work with a team.
It's a journey
What is happening to you at home will change and you can solve it. It will become part of your backstory and make the tapestry of your life full of colour, light and shade, points of interest.
It’s true that, in comparison with someone who suffers only a few setbacks, your career progress may be slowed by the home struggles you have had to overcome. But don’t worry about that. In life we can only play the hand of cards that has been dealt to us. Be proud that you have a working life and never be ashamed of your home journey. It is part of who you are, and it gives you unique insights that can only come from living a life.
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