Finding Your Niche
My first semester of deaconate classes is quickly coming to a close. There are two more classes this semester, this Wednesday and next. I'll probably put up a reflection on what I've learned after next week. However, last week, as part of the evaluation of potential deacons, I met with a psychologist who will be preparing a profile on me for myself and the diocese to review. It was kind of a neat thing to do. One of the questionnaires I had to fill out was kind of hysterical. There were some seriously paranoid questions on it, like "I hear voices telling me what to do" and "I believe people are out to get me". I don't recall the specific ones but they were in that vein. There were some more normal questions as well so it wasn't all craziness.
One of the interesting things we did was a Rorschach test. You know, look at ink blots and tell what you see. One was kind of neat and reminded me of the Queen logo. Wonder what that says about me, hmm? You'll be happy to know that I "passed" that test and didn't show any signs of insanity. It appears I've quite good at covering that up.
What struck me most, though, was a casual conversation that came up. We were speaking in general about family and I was asked about my kids. You always worry about your kids but my oldest has been on my mind a little more lately because he's preparing himself to "fly solo" and start his own life. As a parent, it's one of those things where you look forward to them doing so but also worry about whether they're really prepared to live in the "real" world. My oldest, especially, concerns me probably because his outlook and the way he approaches things is so very different from mine. Not in a good or bad way, but in a way that I just can't relate. As an example, I've always been a self starter, getting up early and giving myself plenty of time to get ready in the morning. I give myself extra time to get anywhere and want to be there early. He, on the other hand, times things so that he gets up as late as possible and leaves the house with just enough time to get where he needs to go. Usually.
In the course of this discussion, the psychologist pointed something out that I had not considered and actually resonated with me as well. When I stated I was concerned about keeping a steady job when you have trouble getting places on time, he replied that everyone finds their niche. He related to me the story of a client that was the best there was at a seemingly very dull job. It involved talking to customers for a few minutes to gather information and then refer them to the right person/process to get what they want. Each call was different and this person excelled at doing it and loved the work. They did their job so well, this person was promoted to supervisor. Because if you do your job that amazingly well, you should be able to run the entire team, right? Wrong. This person failed at being a supervisor and went back to doing their old job and being happy again.
The moral of the story was that this person had found their niche in their work life. I realized I'd gone through the same thing recently. In my last position, I moved into an area of IT and management that placed me in a level of high responsibility and visibility, but the work itself was very different than the customer support work I'd been doing. And I hated it. And I didn't think I was very good at it. I struggled with the position (for many, many reasons) even while trying to get better at doing it. It was quite a relief when I was laid off, to be honest.
Now that I'm back doing support work, I realize that from a career perspective, this is my niche. Along those same lines, I'm beginning to feel that from a ministerial perspective, becoming a deacon may also be my niche. There is a lot more to come, but I'm enjoying the experience so far in the same way I enjoy the work that I do. I think that bodes well and indicates perhaps this is indeed what God is calling my to do. I certainly pray that all of us find our niches, personally, professionally, and spiritually. Because finding your niche can make you very happy indeed.
One of the interesting things we did was a Rorschach test. You know, look at ink blots and tell what you see. One was kind of neat and reminded me of the Queen logo. Wonder what that says about me, hmm? You'll be happy to know that I "passed" that test and didn't show any signs of insanity. It appears I've quite good at covering that up.
What struck me most, though, was a casual conversation that came up. We were speaking in general about family and I was asked about my kids. You always worry about your kids but my oldest has been on my mind a little more lately because he's preparing himself to "fly solo" and start his own life. As a parent, it's one of those things where you look forward to them doing so but also worry about whether they're really prepared to live in the "real" world. My oldest, especially, concerns me probably because his outlook and the way he approaches things is so very different from mine. Not in a good or bad way, but in a way that I just can't relate. As an example, I've always been a self starter, getting up early and giving myself plenty of time to get ready in the morning. I give myself extra time to get anywhere and want to be there early. He, on the other hand, times things so that he gets up as late as possible and leaves the house with just enough time to get where he needs to go. Usually.
In the course of this discussion, the psychologist pointed something out that I had not considered and actually resonated with me as well. When I stated I was concerned about keeping a steady job when you have trouble getting places on time, he replied that everyone finds their niche. He related to me the story of a client that was the best there was at a seemingly very dull job. It involved talking to customers for a few minutes to gather information and then refer them to the right person/process to get what they want. Each call was different and this person excelled at doing it and loved the work. They did their job so well, this person was promoted to supervisor. Because if you do your job that amazingly well, you should be able to run the entire team, right? Wrong. This person failed at being a supervisor and went back to doing their old job and being happy again.
The moral of the story was that this person had found their niche in their work life. I realized I'd gone through the same thing recently. In my last position, I moved into an area of IT and management that placed me in a level of high responsibility and visibility, but the work itself was very different than the customer support work I'd been doing. And I hated it. And I didn't think I was very good at it. I struggled with the position (for many, many reasons) even while trying to get better at doing it. It was quite a relief when I was laid off, to be honest.
Now that I'm back doing support work, I realize that from a career perspective, this is my niche. Along those same lines, I'm beginning to feel that from a ministerial perspective, becoming a deacon may also be my niche. There is a lot more to come, but I'm enjoying the experience so far in the same way I enjoy the work that I do. I think that bodes well and indicates perhaps this is indeed what God is calling my to do. I certainly pray that all of us find our niches, personally, professionally, and spiritually. Because finding your niche can make you very happy indeed.
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