BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT JOB GIVES YOU

 

As police officers, soldiers and first responders, there is a real tendency for us to only look at the negative parts of life and the worst of what society has to offer. When you can change your perception and look at your job as an opportunity for you to make a real difference in the world it gives you a whole new perspective on what you do. Your career allows you to contribute to the very machine that keeps the decent members of society safe from the evil people who would like to prey on them.

Most police officers, soldiers and other first responders join their respective careers to help people and make a difference. When you can access that part of you again, and understand that it is not about the stress, it's not about the institution or the department, and it's not about the difficulty. It's actually an opportunity to make a difference to the community and to the people you interact with.

As human beings we are wired to look for the worst possible outcomes in most situations to keep us safe and as police, military and first responders, that is even more of an inherent risk. The more that you look at your life / career and the reasons why it is no good and negative, the more drama, stress and negativity you will create in your own life. This can lead to massive stress for you. I am astounded at how often I speak to police officers and they look at the opportunities they have in their life as a glass half empty. I totally understand it because I was the same, but I now look at that and think it is quite a sad place to be. I recently spent an hour speaking to a police officer who I never knew when I was in the job and the conversation we had for the first 40 minutes was about negativity and drama and him explaining to me why his situation was so bad. After I pushed him pretty hard to understand that it's all about the perception he has, he seemed to start to turn around his thinking. I was introduced to him by another police officer, and they spoke to me at a later date and said what a difference that conversation made because it changed his perception.

For you, it's about looking at your life and your job and be grateful for what is in it that you enjoy. Be grateful for the opportunity for you to earn a living and look after your family. Be grateful for shift work and the option to do something different every day. Be grateful for the amazing people that you work with. Be grateful that you do a job where you have an opportunity to really make a difference and leave an impact on society.

When you can live in the gratitude of what your job is and why it's such a great place to be, then you will change the whole way you think. There is a concept in Neuroscience called Metacognition, which is about looking at your thoughts and understanding how they impact you. When you can look at the thoughts and the attitudes that you have and understand that they are created by you, they don’t just automatically come to you, you will understand when you're creating these negative thoughts, dramas and focusing on the things that don't work in your career, you will get more of that.

Be grateful for what your job gives you, understand it's a fantastic job and one of the most noble professions on the planet, and you will enjoy your days at work so much more. ~ Shaun O’Gorman