Gina Rodriguez once again charms as an everywoman in “Not Dead Yet,” a sitcom about an obituary writer, Nell, who sees the dead people she writes about.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
Talk about a dead-end job if there was one (no pun intended).
She didn’t sign up for having to see and interact with dead people. Doesn’t exactly sound like a perk to any jobseeker, especially to those terrorized by “The Sixth Sense” back in the day.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
Another thing about the dead is, they have no concept of time and place the same way the living do. So they appear to Nell at any time, any place of their choosing.
Talk about having to work off the clock.
Have you had to work off the clock? Many of us probably have.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
But have you had to deal with dead people appearing to you (and you alone) whenever they liked, demanding you write obituaries they approved of (I mean, talk about difficult customers…)?
Reflection time, have we had a job that could make us this crazy?
Also, are we in that job now?
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
Seriously, let’s think about the jobs we have now.
What do you love about it?
What do you hate about it?
Have we been comparing it to a best-case scenario where everything goes our way? Where we immediately achieve the position we want and the compensation that comes with it? Oh, and to have zero stress while we’re at it.
If we have, we will most likely be miserable.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
Any kind of work (provided minimum legal and moral requirements, of course), is a way to provide for ourselves and those who depend on us.
Any role comes with skills and lessons we learn as well as people we meet, and will all add a part to our lives, whether big or small. Hence, we should embrace it as a part of a bigger purpose for us.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
We can embrace where we are right now with the obvious: appreciating the colleagues we spend most of our days with anyway.
Those people that can make work better.
Some of us are fortunate enough to make real friends in the workplace, those people you don’t mind seeing beyond the 8-5 clock, those who can share their personal lives with you outside of work.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
The other thing, is embracing the work itself.
While writing obituaries doesn’t sound glamorous, and it was definitely not Nell’s dream job, you can look at it through the lens of purpose, and any job, by nature, is service. Any job (operating within minimum legal and moral standards) serves a client/customer, and in its small way, serves the world.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
Think of your job through the lens of whom you are serving.
In writing obituaries, you are serving not just the subject of the writing but the bereaved family.
A family, in the middle of fresh, smarting pain, entrusts you with writing about their loved one who has passed on, and whatever you write will mean adding to that pain or giving apt, sufficient honor that will comfort the bereaved family and live in their memory.
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
While there are likely things in our jobs that we’d rather do without, what is something you can embrace about your job today?
If you’re not currently working, how about your life roles, as student, stay-at-home parent, caretaker, etc?
Or, are you in the middle of a career break searching for a new opportunity?
Whatever season your career may be in now, don’t sell yourself short. You are valuable, and what you’re doing and what you’ve done, is valuable.
Any realizations, questions, or just need in need of a sounding board? You can let us know in the comments or contact us here.
Happy Labor Day!
Image: IMDB/Not Dead Yet
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