Taking an honest look at whether your current work is right for you can be enlightening but involves risking. We can guarantee that, despite the initial discomfort and insecurity and taking a leap, you will undoubtedly be happier doing what you love. One of our patients, who is 39 and a single mother, has had a very well-paying management job for the last 8 years which has amply supported herself and her daughter. Now, having dealt effectively with her own alcoholism, she finds that she is surrounded in her work by "sloppy drunks". Because of the tremendous jumps in her own consciousness and self-esteem, it is clear to her that she needs to leave her financially secure job. She has decided to do do exactly what her inner self has dreamed of-and open a beautiful flower shop.

Sometimes people may do work which inherently isn't financially profitable, but which produces such help for others or joy in other people's lives that it is well worth whatever it takes to do, like working with handicapped, poor or ill people, and helping them grow, solve problems and have greater happiness. This kind of service-oriented work can contribute a great sense of meaning or purpose to your life, and the internal pleasure can be ecstatic! Few people who really commit themselves to service ever have to worry about receiving what they need for their own survival. Prime examples of this approach to life can be seen in Mother Teresa and her followers, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Albert Schweitzer and others who selflessly dedicate their life for the benefit of others. It is important to remember that prosperity occurs in the heart as well as the bank account and that a high-paying job may not bring you ultimate happiness unless it's in harmony with your own mission.

It is extremely important that whatever work you do allows you to feel good about yourself.

Fred, A 48 year-old man recently came to us specifically for our style of career counseling. He was a former computer programmer turned truck driver and described the feeling of satisfaction and responsibility her experienced after having loaded a huge truck with valuable merchandise, knowing that he was trustworthy and would deliver it safely into the proper hands. He described a much more tangible type of job satisfaction than he had previously as a programmer. He came to us because he wondered about soloing in his driving as opposed to sharing the driving with his wife whose company he greatly enjoyed because he wanted more personal space. We led him into the future so that he could experience the two different options and see how he would feel about it a year later. It not only became clear that he would much rather continue driving with his wife because if he drove alone, he'd push himself straight through and burn out, but also realized that, in either case, he'd be bored with truck driving after a year. He found the session very valuable and felt fine about finding something else he enjoyed doing when he did tire of driving.

Another of our , Barbara, is a 42 year-old actress and singer turned housewife and mom. Her self-worth was severely shaken when neither she or her husband, a film producer, could find work in their profession after moving to Seattle from L.A. Her unhappiness manifested itself in a uterine fibroid and bleeding. In her darkest moments, we encouraged her to spend some time every day singing, even if it were in the shower. It is very, very important to continue to see yourself doing just what you want to, even though it may not be manifesting at the moment. As hard as it is for all of us to remember, the Universe does have its own sense of timing. Barbara hung in there, at times unemployed, at other times baking chocolate chip cookies for a living. She recently got a wonderful part in a local theatrical production and is on her way up again.