You are brilliant — give it a go.
This is a photograph of a brick. Actually, not just any brick, it’s a London Brick which is my favourite make of brick (I have a favourite brick? — yes I do) but that’s to be discussed some other time.
This brick was destined to be part of some type of building. It probably was part of my house at some point but ended up in the garden — abandoned. However, this brick is now the brick that I rest against my broken oven door to stop it opening and automatically cutting out the oven. It’s brilliant at its job.
If this brick could talk, it may have said something like — “I am a brick and all I can do is be part of a building. If I can’t do that, I can’t do anything”. But this brick has been given a new purpose and it is the best in the world at it. It may now say –
“I thought I could only be part of a building but I’m really good at keeping this oven door shut. Who’d have known? The owners love what I do. That gives me great job satisfaction. Plus, I have a right laugh when they move me sometimes for a rest and then trip over me barefoot in the mornings. Ha ha ha! I love this job.”
To be honest, when we get the oven fixed, I’m going to promote the Brick to a doorstop for an upstairs room. This brick has got a good future ahead of it.
In my working life, there have been things that I thought that because I had been trained for / educated in them then that’s all I could be good at. Having found myself sometimes working in situations for which I believed I wasn’t trained /educated for — I’ve adapted and more often than not my training and education have been really beneficial to the different situation. Many times they are actually a perfect fit.
It’s easy to say but don’t be scared. Don’t be defined by any role you’ve had in the past. Your skills, knowledge and experience are brilliant in so many different ways. Give it a go.
