What’s the next right thing for you? For Jenny Jacobs, the next right thing was to move from Michigan to California. At 44 she has finally found her fit and is doing something about it. She has some brilliant wisdom from having a cheerful heart to being a day-maker and giving yourself the gift of forgiveness. Here are her lessons about living an abundant life.
Timing is Everything – Deciding to forego college after high school, Jenny moved to New Jersey and worked as a nanny and then later in a company as a Help Desk Liaison to employees. While she was fascinated by the human behavior that she was observing in the company locations she visited, unfortunately the job just wasn’t fulfilling for her. Her lesson was to tune into what was working – and in this case not working – so she could make different choices about fulfilling her passions.
Try Things – After moving back to Michigan from New Jersey, Jenny worked in a hospital. She loved the medical field and wanted to be a psychiatrist, so when she was 38, she went back to school at the University of Michigan in the pre-med program. While the medical part of the program didn’t satisfy her (or she, it), she was interested in the psychology part of the program. She had taken a few classes on organizational psychology specifically and she was hooked. She had found her calling. Finally, she had found the practice that embodied the passion she’d always felt for human behavior in organizations. Jumping into school, trying different classes, and testing new interests helped her find her calling.
Don’t Wait – Getting deeper into human behavior, Jenny noticed that everyone, everywhere seemed to be stressed out. She felt strongly about handling things differently – and better – in the face of stress, and she began to blog about it. She longed to build a broader platform, but it wasn’t expanding. Until one day Jenny won a free hour with a life coach. Jenny met with the coach and described her vision and her goals. The life coach’s response? “What are you waiting for? The audience is waiting for your message!” Indeed. So that was when Jenny moved to California to pursue her dreams.
Live Your Strength – Today, Jenny is with the Center for Executive Excellence and the flagship program she built is called ‘From Stress to Strength’. According to Jenny’s program, by understanding our strengths (through an assessment such as Strength-Finders) we gain clarity which helps us live out our true selves. Through personal coaching and discovering their own strengths, people are able to begin to the live the life they are meant to live.
Have a Cheerful Heart – Jenny has a ‘cheerful heart’, she says, and seeks to do her best in whatever job she does. Even when a job isn’t her passion, she puts her whole self into it and does her best. Sometimes it’s not about doing what you want to do, but what you need to do. Jenny also talks about being a ‘day maker’. By this she means that she seeks to make a positive difference in people’s lives around her. This focus – on being positive and optimistic and on making others’ days – has kept her happy.
Have a Mindshift – For Jenny, work and life are the same thing. “Work never feels like work when you’re living your true calling – it helps you live each day with passion”. One of her passions is antiquing. For Jenny, it’s a great way to visit the past – because of the stories that different pieces tell. Jenny also finds joy in spending time with her niece and three nephews. For her, deep relationships are truly the most important and fulfilling parts of her life. “My amazing family has always been my rock. They energize me and cheer me on when I need it the most”. She does her best to always rein her thoughts into the present. Too many people are chasing the future or the money or the next opportunity. Or they are living in the past. All of these mean that you’re missing your life because we can only enjoy life with the mindfulness in the moment. “Plug back into your life. It’s truly the only way to live.” Jenny says.
Do the Next Right Thing – Jenny focuses on ‘doing the next right thing.’ We may not know what the big next step needs to be and the future may inspire trepidation, but it’s easy to ‘do the next right thing.’ Every choice should be a result of alignment with our values and goals. Even small things count. When we get home from work, do we sit down to watch TV all night or do we choose to read a good book or go for a walk? These are the everyday choices that really matter.
Forgive – This is the biggee for Jenny. She says that many of us are reactive. We may become frustrated with a boss or a situation of some kind, but by having an emotional reaction, we’re giving away our power and missing out on life. In addition, she cites research which demonstrates that without forgiveness we experience negative health implications – increased blood pressure and heart rate and sickness. When we forgive those around us, we give ourselves a gift of better health and well-being.
What’s next for Jenny? The sky is the limit. She is more engaged and excited about her present than she ever has been and she is focusing on doing the next right thing – with her cheerful heart.
Would you like to tell your story? If so, let me know by emailing me at tbrower108@gmail.com. Why? One of the foundations of Bringing Work to Life is abundance: the idea that it is possible to find fulfillment, have it all, and avoid the trade-offs between work and life. After all, work and life aren’t separate things to be placed in containers, but part of an integrated whole of a satisfying life. Another foundation of Bringing Work to Life is the idea of multiple right answers. As we’re all seeking ways to bring work to life – and bring life to work – we can learn from each other’s unique solutions and stories. I’d love to learn about your story!
Tracy Brower is the author of Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for Leaders and Organizations.