Danielle E. Leads

We are fortunate to have the opportunity to make choices for ourselves every day. We get to choose how every moment of our lives is realized, despite our circumstances. We choose how to spend our time. There are factors that influence how we do this, but we do ultimately, have the choice.

What factors go into how we choose to spend our time? Money. Money is a big factor for how we spend our time. We have to “make ends meet,” as they say. We contribute to the value exchange of making money by doing work for a wage. It seems simple, but what we often don’t recognize is the exchange of autonomy AND work product for money. That is where burnout starts.

Working for a place that doesn’t trust a person to manage their own time sufficiently to get their job done, creates an imbalance. It also creates resentment and fear for the employee who is trying their best but is constantly being micromanaged and questioned about their motivation. A place that implements this tactic in an effort to manage work product fails in building trust with their employees and causes diss ease in the organization.

This leads to another factor that affects how we choose to spend our time. Fear. Fear is a big motivator for how we spend our time. If people are afraid of losing their jobs, and ultimately, their money they need to make those ends meet, they are forced to make choices that might not align with their values. There is a great book about this idea called, Mistakes Were Made (but Not By Me) .

What if I told you that underneath all of those circumstances that keep us from living most authentically as we interact with the various avenues of value exchange in our society, are still there. You don’t have to subscribe to the norms of the organization that gives you a paycheck. You can choose to live your personal values despite the circumstances.

What does that look like? For me it was a reset. To leave the place where my ego built my identity and go another way. This is extreme but felt right for me. A less catastrophic version might be questioning, in public. Asking “why” and assuring decisions made align with both the personal values of the majority, as well as the documented values of the organization. Leaders can lose sight of the big goal when dealing with small details. Good leaders will appreciate the reminder and refocus.

This is my experience, and yours might be different. Stay true to yourself and continue to learn and grow as an individual, so you can be the best contributor, for you.