In April of 2000, I landed the Most Boring Job on the Planet.
My wife, who was active-duty Navy at the time, received word that she was accepted into an officer program and so we were relocating from West Tennessee to the Washington DC area. I put out some resumes while in Tennessee and did a phone interview with a trade association in DC as Director of Professional Development. What got me the job was my background in training and the I.T. experience I had from a hobby and from my last tour in the Navy working in I.T. The association wanted me to put together a training program for the membership and keep the website updated and provide I.T. support.
The office hours were 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. I had to leave my house super early to get our son to daycare and then get a parking spot in the Metro parking lot in Maryland. Then it was a 50-minute ride to Metro Center. I got in the office around 8AM. What little work I had to do I got done before most people came in the office. Then, I sat around all day trying to look busy, work on trying to create a training program with subjects that didn’t interest me (contract administration among others), fix everyone’s stupid computer problems, and sit in some incredibly long and boring meetings. Then, a long Metro ride home which got me in around 7PM.
I hated it. At the time, I would listen to Smooth Jazz 105.9 on the radio. Today, when I hear anything that is smooth jazz, it brings back memories of that boring job.
Do I regret taking that job? I did, but not anymore.
You know the worst of it, but the best part was learning from the association members. Most were very successful business owners. I knew I wanted to start my own training and consulting business and members were more than happy to answer my questions. One of our associates, Ron Mueller, showed me how to write and self-publish a book. I learned how to master online platforms. While the days dragged on, I learned and applied what I could.
This served me well and continues to benefit me today.
What about you? What situation are you experiencing right now that seems hopeless? Are you in a dead-end job? A challenging relationship? A work-related problem? You will have regrets, but if you look at what you’re learning and experiencing, you might realize how they have helped you grow. That’s the lesson. If you don’t do that, you’ll always look back with regret. If you want to be an OWNER, not a BLAMEr, you must live with no regrets.
What will you do today to learn from what you’ve experienced? How will you apply it in the future? Remember, the tougher the situation, the more it can teach you. What are you learning today?