My work situation is kind of at a stalemate. Yesterday it took a potential turn for the worse, and I am back to having this icky sick stress feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I’m still not ready to walk away, although it’s inching that way. It’s a weird situation, because there is no one else in town doing what I do. It would be hard to find another counselor willing to move here, and I feel like if I leave, I’m leaving the judges and more important my clients high and dry. In the end I will have to do what’s right for me, but right this minute, I feel like I have to hang on.
I have a plan for sticking it out, making the best of an iffy-at-best situation, and taking what I need from it.
1. Make the glass half full. This will likely be the only time I ever work for a treatment center where I basically run my own program. I’m alone out here in the boonies, especially since the other girl quit. My supervisor has only been to my office twice in almost a year and a half. I have a lot more control than people with my same job in the main office who are constantly under the thumb of supervisors. I plan to hold on tight to that, because it’s the best part of my job.
2. Think about someone else. I need to remember that I’m part of an important program that is really helping people. Focus on that, rather than moaning and groaning about how things aren’t just how I want them to be. When I really pay attention to the progress my clients are making, the stress is much less.
3. Keep the goal in mind. Regardless, in 18 months we are leaving town. Our plan just gets more and more concrete. I can do anything for 18 months.
4. Have a plan B. I can make more money than I am now as a freelance writer. If things really get bad, I can walk away if I have to.
5. Distance myself. This is a job that is important to me. But it’s just a job. It doesn’t define me.
More WFMW here.
by Laura Fraser
by Meera Patricia Kerr
Live Once, Juicy 
Oh, you have a tough situation, but it sounds like you are coming up with a good plan for handling it. I remember being in a job that was also “important” and when I quit to go to grad school I did my best to help them transition to a new person to take my place, but at the end the boss came to me and said, accusatory: “You let a lot undone.” And I just said to her, “There will always be more to be done.” And then they went through three people in the next year in my position–which I must say I was secretly glad about. Maybe then they realized how hard I had worked for them, and how much they had depended on me.
So, when it is time to go, just go with no regrets. Same if you have to go sooner! They were managing before you came and they will manage after you go.
Hope that did not sound like a lecture, on my first visit here! I was trying to be encouraging. : )
I was just through Elko, NV this past summer–how’s that for a small world?
Hope this week is a good one for you!
Well, things are looking up. I was able to prove that yesterday’s stress had nothing to do with me. And I think you’re right. Sometimes we get a big head about how ‘important’ we are, and forget that the world will keep turning without us 😉