你是否思考過，自己是如何達到今天的地步呢？──EVER WONDER HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE?
你是否曾經停下來並思考，一些看似偶然的事件，卻促成了你在職涯上走到的這一步呢？無論我們是剛剛開始職業生涯，還是在途中，或是接近職場生活的尾端，許多因素，都影響了我們如何走到現在這個時刻。
就我個人而言，當我開始上大學時，即便我很喜歡寫作，但我從未想過，能夠把寫作當成一個職業。然而，當我的第一堂英語課的老師鼓勵我，並指出我的寫作潛力時，使我認為自己在這方面可能會有前途。這個認知就促使我轉到另一所大學，而那間大學名聲響亮，給有心成為記者的人，提供優質的課程。
當時有幾位教授對我產生了積極影響，鼓勵我選擇新聞業作為職業。經過幾次失敗的嘗試，有一次我得以採訪大學教職員工中一位著名領導者。為什麽他最終決定同意我採訪他呢？他教給我一個原則，我永遠不會忘記，而且從那時起就經常使用：那就是「堅持足以抵銷阻力（Persistence neutralizes resistance）」。
我在報業職涯的第一份工作，是擔任一個小型社區出版物的編輯。這意味著我不僅是編輯，也是地方的政治新聞記者、體育記者、專欄作家、社論作家和攝影師。如果我在一家更大的報社找到工作，我很可能會被分配到一個專職的工作，如文字編輯，或是跑警察局或市政廳的記者，甚至是一個訃聞寫作者。我不會像在一家規模較小、名氣較小的報紙那樣得到全面的經歷。
在我十年的報業生涯中，我與許多睿智的、經驗豐富的業內人士共事，他們教會了我很多。這個培訓和經驗的「寶庫」，讓我能勝任美國CBMC和國際CBMC，擔任編輯和出版總監20年的工作，以及為我之後多年的工作做了準備。
有一個笑話說，某人向當地居民詢問去另一個目的地的方向。當地人看著他說：「你從這裡是到不了那裡的。」我的職業生涯真實地反映了這一點。如果不先去別的地方，我就不可能到達我職業生涯的每一個新階段。往往是因為環境引導我去了一個不曾考慮的工作，才來到今天的位置。
這讓我得到一個結論，就是無論我們當時是否意識到，上帝為祂的孩子們制定了生活中的每一步，無論是職業還是個人，都是出於祂的極大智慧和對我們的特殊計劃和目的。以下是我一路走來學到的幾個原則：
就算我們不知道該怎麽做，也要充滿信心。不可否認的是，我經常質疑自己為什麽得到了這份工作而不是其他工作，為什麽我覺得完全有資格的機會，卻沒有出現在我面前。在我憑著信心將自己的生命托付給耶穌基督後，我發現主比我更了解什麽對我是最好的。「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。」（箴言3章5-6節）
面對未來的不確定性，堅持信心。如果由我來決定，我的生活和事業將會發展的大不相同。值得慶幸的是，神清楚地知道祂是如何設計我的，以及我如何才能最好地服事祂。「耶和華說：我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。」（耶利米書29章11節）
© 2021. Robert J. Tamasy 是企業巔峰: 給今日職場從箴言而來永恆的智慧 一書的作者。也與導師之心的作者David A. Stoddard 合著Tufting Legacies。編輯多本著作包括Mike Landry. Bob的書：透過苦難成長。Mike Landry. Bob的網站為www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com
備註：如果你有聖經，想閱讀更多的內容，可以考慮以下的經文(因篇幅有限，請查閱未列出的經文詩篇37篇34節、箴言15章22節、19章20節)：
詩篇37篇3-7節
37:3 你當倚靠耶和華而行善，住在地上，以他的信實為糧；
37:4 又要以耶和華為樂，他就將你心裏所求的賜給你。
37:5 當將你的事交託耶和華，並倚靠他，他就必成全。
37:6 他要使你的公義如光發出，使你的公平明如正午。
37:7 你當默然倚靠耶和華，耐性等候他；不要因那道路通達的和那惡謀成就的心懷不平。
箴言11章14節
11:14 無智謀，民就敗落；謀士多，人便安居。
以賽亞書40章31節
40:31 但那等候耶和華的必重新得力。他們必如鷹展翅上騰；他們奔跑卻不困倦，行走卻不疲乏。
以賽亞書41章10節
41:10 你不要害怕，因為我與你同在；不要驚惶，因為我是你的上帝。我必堅固你，我必幫助你；我必用我公義的右手扶持你。
約翰福音10章10節
10:10 盜賊來，無非要偷竊，殺害，毀壞；我來了，是要叫羊( – 或譯：人)得生命，並且得的更豐盛。
反省與問題討論
- 你是否曾想過，無論時間長短，在你的職業生涯中，為什麽事情會有這樣的發展呢？或你甚至懷疑過自己是否走在正確的道路上嗎？請解釋你的答案。
- 哪些具體的人或事對你取得今天的成就有最大的影響呢？另外，如果有機會重來，你會做出哪些改變呢？為什麽？
- 你能想到在你的職業生涯中，無論是當時還是現在回想起，有哪些時候你意識到，神直接參與了發生的事？這對你來說是什麽樣的感覺？
- 我們要如何才能更努力地尋求神對重大職涯決定的引導，以及對日常出現的需要和問題的引導呢？
EVER WONDER HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE?
By Robert J. Tamasy
Have you ever stopped to reflect on the seemingly random events that have contributed to where you are professionally to this point? Whether we’re just getting started in a career, midway through it, or nearing the end of our vocational life, many factors have influenced how we arrived at the present moment.
Personally, when I started college, even though I enjoyed writing I had never considered it as a career option. However, when the instructor for my first English class encouraged me by pointing out my writing potential, I thought there might be a future in it for me. That realization, however, prompted me to transfer to a different university that offered a respected curriculum for aspiring journalists.
There I had a couple of professors who influenced me positive, encouraging me to choose journalism as my career. One time, after several unsuccessful tries, I was able to interview a prominent leader on the university staff. Why did he finally decide to agree for me to interview him? He taught me a principle I never forgot – and have often used since then: “Persistence neutralizes resistance.”
My first job on a newspaper was as the editor of a small community publication. That meant I was not only editor but also the local government reporter, sports reporter, columnist, editorial writer, and photographer. Had I gotten a job at a larger paper, I likely would have been assigned to a specialized role, such as a copy editor, or a reporter on the police or city hall “beats,” or even an obituary writer. I would not have received the well-rounded background that I received at a smaller, less prestigious newspaper.
At each of my stops during my 10-year newspaper career, I worked with astute, seasoned veterans of the industry who taught me much. This “treasure trove” of training and experience served as preparation for my 20 years on staff with CBMC-USA and CBMC International as editor and publications director, and for the work I have done over the years that followed.
There is a joke about someone asking a local resident for directions to another destination. The native looks at him and says, “You can’t get there from here.” In a very real sense, my career reflects that. I could not have reached each new stage of my career without first going somewhere else, often to a job I would not have considered had circumstances not pointed me in that direction.
Which leads to my conclusion: Whether we realize it at the time or not, God ordains for His children each step they take in life, professionally and personally, out of His great wisdom and special plan and purpose for us. Here are a couple of principles I have learned along the way:
Confident, even though we do not know the way. Admittedly, I often questioned why I was offered this job and not that job, why opportunities I felt fully qualified for were not presented to me. After I entrusted my life to Jesus Christ by faith, I discovered the Lord had a much better understanding of what was best for me than I did. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Clinging to faith in the face of future uncertainty. If it had been up to me, my life and career would have been much different from how they unfolded. Thankfully, God knew exactly how He had designed me and how I could best serve Him. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
© 2022. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; andThe Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- Have you ever wondered why events have unfolded as they have over the course of your professional career, whether it has been long or short? Have you even doubted whether you were on the right track? Explain your answer.
- What specific people or events have had the greatest influence in directing you to where you are today? If given the opportunity, what changes – if any – would you make? And why?
- Can you think of any times in your career when you realized – whether at the time or in retrospect – that God had direct involvement in what happened? What was that like for you?
- How can we become more diligent in seeking God’s guidance for major career decisions, as well as needs and problems that arise from day to day?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:
Psalm 37:3-7,34; Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 19:20; Isaiah 40:31, 41:10; John 10:10
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