The WORK STATUE

Dear Corporate Friend,

In Romania we have a saying, and it goes like this (one colleague/friend to another): “Stop working this much. What do you think? That they’re going to build you a statue?”.

The “work statue” has been, for so long, the perfect reason for so many employees to hide behind. It works like a charm. As soon as you would get just slightly bothered by any trivial aspect of the work environment, you would immediately think “I’m so stupid, it’s not like they’re going to build me a statue. Might as well see that movie on my bucket list.”

However, the “work statue” quickly becomes a slippery slope. It’s not just that moment when you decide to stop trying to hit your goal or deliver on time because you’d rather relax for an hour watching a movie…it’s what comes after and that is an avalanche of more and more powerful reasons to procrastinate, to be slower, lazier, and further away from what you can and… should be.

To all those who give out this advise to their friends or colleagues, I just want to say this: “I dispute it!”. You have it all wrong! “They” or “the company” doesn’t build you the statue nor should they. YOU will build it! And you’ll craft and polish it just the way you like. It will be more beautiful than Michelangelo’s David…to you!

“They” don’t even have to like it or notice it. It’s your statue, shining bright over the legacy you want to leave. Because that is the whole point: how do you want to behave? What do you stand for? What are your values? How do you want to be remembered by people? What do you want to build in whatever time you have left in the respective role?

Let’s dive deeper…

Let’s say you have one more month to spend with your current company until you resign. Or 1 year. Or 5. How would you rather spend this time? Would you like to leave with a broader experience, additional projects delivered with success, additional ideas you got that will surely serve you in future roles (or even in life), a few more colleagues that see your value and would surely recommend you for other roles if they were asked about you etc…

Or…

would you rather depart a company in silence so that nobody notices you, hoping the new employers will never ask for feedback? You would be departing with no new ideas, no new experiences, not even energy…just filled with regret and disappointment.

Life is always a choice. You can choose to be like everyone else or you can choose to be extraordinary and have your own statue! You can choose the easy way, or you can see beyond that and realize the only person you would be hurting is exactly yourself.

I know it’s controversial and against your first instinct but if you really think about it, I’m sure it will make perfect sense.

What you give is what you get. This is the way the universe works. You send a certain energy into it and the same reflects back and fills your life.

So, what do you want your life to be filled with?

From my cubicle to yours,

The D.