Meaning in your job and taking action

Lessons from Superman in a wheelchair

A big part of my work is to find what prevents most people to take action.
I’m seeking to go at the heart of why we sometimes avoid starting meaningful projects.

We all have those projects we left on the side.
It can be for real time-related reasons but it is most of time due to completely bullshit excuses.

Naturally, we have wishes and wants and we can’t address them all.
“I wish I was my own boss”. “I wish I could go travel 3 months in latin America”.
“I wish I had more meaning in my job”.
And the you go back to your heavy workload.

Obviously there are real obstacles.
We are afraid of not succeeding.
We don’t want to lose time, money, reputation.
Those are precious ressources after all. I get you.

So much for the empathy now. You know something harder to hear is coming.

I believe the truth is: if you had an accident and ended up in a wheelchair, or had a serious type of cancer, you would experience some kind of electroshock.

Christopher reeves’s example

Reeve’s life took a dramatic turn in 1995 when a horseback riding accident rendered him quadriplegic. Instead of being consumed by despair, he took this calamity as a new calling.

The actor turned activist became a leading voice for people with spinal cord injuries, tirelessly advocating for extensive research in the field.

Despite the physical constraints of his wheelchair, Reeve found freedom in his new mission.

Reflecting on his situation, he said,
“With paralysis, nothing is easy. Every day is a fight. But I see it as an opportunity.”

This sentiment encapsulates the essence of his life after the accident – a life driven by relentless hope and tireless efforts for a cause that extended beyond his personal struggle.

He turned his misfortune into a crusade for change, founding the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to support individuals living with paralysis. Reeve passed away in 2004, yet his legacy continues to inspire and support the paralyzed community.

Ironically enough, people who had the most horrific cancers and life struggle often report that it changed them for the better, that it opened opportunities and a lot of them could turn this negative event into positive a – sometimes productive- outlook.

What if it was you tomorrow?

Of course, I DO NOT WISH for you to have an accident or any kind of serious disease. And this is precisely my point: don’t wait to be in a wheelchair to find your source of motivation and take action on your wishes and wants.

IF that happened to you, you would suddenly have a different perspective on those obstacles you had for years maybe, that kept you in your comfort zone. As real or fake as they were, it would just be a matter of time until you found a way around them.

My recommandation: TAKE the time (you “have” it) for what I like to call “Gut introspection”.
Regardless of your situation, your age, your past, we can all ask ourselves (again) “what makes sense for me? “.
What in my guts attracts me? What is important to me?
And you might well discover something that is hard to quiet down.

That is good news, go for it.