在平凡中發現不平凡
By Robert J. Tamasy
在平凡中發現不平凡
記得自己找到現在的工作當時的興奮心情嗎？也許那一天是你夢想實現的時刻、結束長時間找工作的句點、又或者是終於得到升遷的日子。從那一天你開始有機會去追求你的熱情，運用你從來沒有用過的技能和恩賜。
但是，現在你(或你認識的某人)已經對現在的這份工作感到不安和不滿足了。曾幾何時你很看重的工作失去了吸引力，變成無聊、平凡的例行公事？你覺得自己快受不了現在這個毫無創意的工作，該是改變的時刻了。曾經這個工作是非常有趣到你傾注自己的熱情到每天等不及要去上班，但是現在你卻覺得它世俗、無趣甚至令你厭惡？就像是你曾經跟自己夢想中的對象陷入熱戀不能自拔，但是幾個星期、幾個月或幾年之後，你開始想：「他(她)有甚麼好的？」
我們可能因為自我成長了，發現工作不再具有挑戰性，或者不像之前一樣讓我們有成就感。也許我們已經學了新的技能，也準備好承擔更大的責任了，以至於一開始我們認為很棒的工作現在似乎變成被判刑在坐牢。
俗話說的好，「親近生侮謾」。但熟悉一個工作不代表我們應該離開這個工作。美國散文家和詩人愛默生(Ralph Waldo Emerson)就曾寫下這句名言：「如果星星每一千年才出現一次，想像人們會如何地讚嘆和愛慕它！」相同的，每晚看著星星出現在夜空中，我們就不會去珍惜它。我們的工作也是如此。
即使興奮之情已經退去，我們還是可以重新在平凡中尋找不平凡。神安排你做這個工作，有祂的旨意。從聖經當中我們可以重新思考工作對我們的意義：
我們需要的是新的態度，而不是新的工作。如果我們可以用一個新的眼光來看我們的工作，也許會有更多的熱情來工作。「神啊，求你為我造清潔的心，使我裏面重新有正直（或譯：堅定）的靈。不要丟棄我，使我離開你的面；不要從我收回你的聖靈。 求你使我仍得救恩之樂，賜我樂意的靈扶持我，」 (詩篇51篇10-12節)
堅持到最後 我們需要很清楚自己的呼召，明白神將我們放在現在的工作和職位上，有祂的旨意，也許是我們沒有準備好能繼續往前走。使徒保羅寫到：「弟兄們，我不是以為自己已經得著了；我只有一件事，就是忘記背後，努力面前的， 向著標竿直跑，要得 神在基督耶穌裏從上面召我來得的獎賞。」(腓立比書3章13-14節)
記得我們代表耶穌基督 身為一個代表耶穌基督的人，我們如何看待和做自己的工作，即便到最後一天，都反映出我們對祂的信心。所以，我們作基督的使者，就好像 神藉我們勸你們一般。我們替基督求你們與 神和好。(哥林多後書5章20節)
勞勃．泰默西是領袖資產協會的傳播部副部長，這是一個總部在美國喬治亞州亞特蘭大的非營利組織。他寫過一本書「最佳狀態的商業：箴言給今日職場的歷久彌新智慧」（Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today”s Workplace）；他也與David A. Stoddard合著一本書「導師之心」（The Heart of Mentoring）
省思／討論題目
你對現在的工作抱持著怎樣的態度？是不是和剛得到這個工作的時候一樣，充滿熱情、動力和創意？如果不是，對現在的工作你抱持著甚麼樣的態度？ 你是否有過「親近生侮謾」而失去熱情的經驗？無論是對星星、工作、人或是其他的事物？分享你的經驗。 你是否同意用新的眼光和態度，可以重新燃起對工作的熱情？分享你的看法。 你是否有這樣的經驗：神幫助你在每天平凡的工作中重新發現這份工作的不平凡？分享你的經驗。
備註：如果你手上有聖經，希望能閱讀更多關於這個主題的經文，請參考下面：哥林多前書28章20節；箴言3章5-6節、16章3節；歌羅西書3章17節、23-24節；啟示錄21章5-6節
DIGGING EXTRAORDINARY OUT OF THE ORDINARY
By Robert J. Tamasy
Remember how excited you were the day you got your current job? Maybe it represented the realization of a dream. Or the end of a lengthy job search after being out of work. Or finally receiving an anticipated promotion. Or it offered the opportunity to pursue your passion, and utilize skills and gifts in ways you never could before.
However, now you – or someone you know – have become restless and discontent. The job you once cherished has lost its luster; it has become boring, ordinary, routine. You feel you can no longer tolerate such an uninspiring assignment. The time has come for a change. Isn”t it interesting how a job that once enthused you so much that you could not wait for the start of a new day can become mundane, tedious, even detestable? It is like “falling in love,” becoming so fascinated with someone you cannot think of anything else, and then weeks, months or years later finding yourself wondering, “What was so special about him (or her)?”
We can grow out of jobs, finding them no longer challenging or as rewarding as they once were. Perhaps we have developed new skills and are ready for greater responsibilities. Circumstances that seemed so appealing at first may have changed. However, sometimes this is simply a case of the newness, the novelty, having worn off, making a once very good job seem like a prison sentence.
A time-worn adage tells us, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” But sometimes, just because a job has become familiar, that does not mean it is time to leave. As the essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and adore.” Just as we can lose our sense of wonderment in looking at the stars because they appear each night, we also can “fall out of love” with a job simply because we have become accustomed to it and its demands.
Even though the excitement may have worn off, we might rediscover the extraordinary in the ordinary. Perhaps God has you where you are for a reason. Here are some thoughts to consider from the Bible:
Maybe a new attitude, not a new job, is needed. If we could adopt a new perspective on our work, we might be able to approach it with more enthusiasm. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12).
Sticking with it to the finish. We need to maintain a clear sense of our calling, recognizing God has placed us in our present job and may not be ready for us to move on. The apostle Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Remembering the One we represent. As representatives of Jesus Christ, how we approach and perform our work – even to the very last day – reflects on Him and our faith in Him. “We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
© 2017. Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Bob has written Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today”s Workplace; Tufting Legacies; and coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring, as well as other books. His biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
What is your attitude toward the job you have right now? Does it excite, motivate and inspire you as it once did? If not, what has changed? Have you ever experienced, as poet Emerson suggested, a loss of enthusiasm – whether for the stars overhead, a job, a person, or something else – simply because of familiarity? If so, what has that experience been like for you? Do you agree that zeal for a job can be rekindled simply by being able to adopt a new attitude or perspective toward it? Why or why not? Can you think of an example of a time when God enabled you to rediscover the extraordinary out of something that had become ordinary and unexciting? Explain your answer.
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages: 1 Chronicles 28:20; Proverbs 3:5-6, 16:3; Colossians 3:17, 23-24; Revelation 21:5-6
