Q: My question is: How can I be successful in life since the work I’m doing is nothing to write home about? Also, how can I live healthier?
A: Thanks so much for writing to us with your question.
You want to know how you can be successful in life, as you evidently do not feel very successful…you say that your work is “nothing to write home about.” You also want to know how to live healthier…
I think all of us who work out in the world go through times when we feel we are just on a treadmill, maybe doing the same thing for years on end. Sometimes, we may feel that the work we do is “unimportant” or that it does not make an impact on the world. This is just part of the human condition, I think. All of us have to find some way to support ourselves and our families—we have to get out in the world and make enough money to keep body and soul together. Sometimes, the work that we find may feel unfulfilling, but we cannot all be rock stars or brain surgeons or astronauts…many, many people are needed in many, many professions that are unsung, or even unknown, to make the world keep going. So, whatever it is that you do, know that in some way, you are needed where you are. Remember—whoever pays your salary certainly thinks you are worth something…don’t forget that.
Jesus was a common laborer. His professions included carpenter, boatbuilder, fisherman, and caravan driver. And later on, he gave himself completely to founding the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of mankind—but in his early years, his life and his family’s welfare were dependent on his earning money in very common professions.
From The Urantia Book:
20:6.3 As Jesus worked on your world as the carpenter’s son, so do other Paradise Sons labor in various capacities on their bestowal planets. You could hardly think of a vocation that has not been followed by some Paradise Son in the course of his bestowal on some one of the evolutionary planets of time.
About this subject, Jesus says:
155:6.11 Never forget there is only one adventure which is more satisfying and thrilling than the attempt to discover the will of the living God, and that is the supreme experience of honestly trying to do that divine will. And fail not to remember that the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness— justice. The spirit which my Father and I shall send into the world is not only the Spirit of Truth but also the spirit of idealistic beauty.
The secret to raising the drudgery of a seemingly “unimportant” job to a noble career is by following this advice of Jesus—remembering that “the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led…” During the course of one’s job, each encounter with another can become meaningful if we have dedicated our lives to living the will of God. In each encounter, we have an opportunity to either raise that person up to a higher spiritual level, or to allow that encounter to succumb to triviality. When we have God at our center, we can do immeasurable good in the world—through our job—by ministering to the people we meet and making everyone who meets us feel better for having met us. How do we do this? By kindness, by sincere friendliness, by sincere interest in others’ lives and cares and concerns—even by simply passing on the love of God from us to them through a reassuring smile.
Now, if by “success” you mean more money, I am afraid that I can’t really help. But if you want to feel real inner success and experience liberation from the drudgery of life, I advise you to reframe your ordinary job into “Kingdom work” and every day will become a thrilling spiritual adventure.
If you want to be healthier, I would advise that you live simply, eat nutritious food, abstain from things that are clearly not healthy and practice moderation in all things. Living a healthy spiritual life will be of great assistance in this quest; as you become more and more spirit-minded and spirit-centered, you will naturally make healthier choices.
You might like to read some condensed wisdom from The Urantia Book on a few topics that could be of help to you:
Thanks again for this interesting question. I hope that my reply has been helpful today…
