How Accountants Can Create More Fulfillment in Their Lives & Job
I googled “fulfillment for accountants” the other day. I was curious to see what solutions there were.
Guess what came up? Not much of interest. Yes there were 395,000 results, but so what? Most were not what I’d say awe-inspiring and insightful. The results related to inventory fulfillment software, accounting firms or a few books that happened to link the two words. And that is sad. Yet not surprising.
I’ve met many accountants over the past 25 years. Very few actually loved their job and felt fulfilled with their life. I was one of them. But why is that?
In my own experience as an accountant, if someone had asked me… Are you fulfilled in your life?... my answer would be “it depends”.
It depends on what was happening the day you asked me, it depends on how you define fulfilling, on what my goals were, on the people I worked with, which role I was in, the economy, the pay, everything. Not one single factor can be considered when you think of fulfillment…. It takes a shopping cart full of items to make a meal… and in parallel, it takes a host of factors to determine personal fulfillment on any given day.
Our good friends at Wikipedia and Webster’s couldn’t easily define fulfillment either. Google may have been simple in its definition, but it’s a good starting point:
ful·fill·ment (noun)
1. satisfaction or happiness as a result of fully developing one's abilities or character.
"she did not believe that marriage was the key to happiness and fulfillment"
2. the achievement of something desired, promised, or predicted.
"winning the championship was the fulfillment of a childhood dream"
Satisfaction. Happiness. Achievement of something desired, promised, predicted.
Okay, I can go with that.
So what would a typical accountant say fulfillment is? Would they/you agree with the definition?
Again, I come back to the answer... “it depends”. If we’re talking about fulfillment in terms of daily tasks, an accountant may say:
Detail, precision and accuracy in everything they do
Meeting or beating deadlines without working overtime (okay, stop laughing and rolling your eyes, this would be great wouldn’t it?)
Reporting valuable information to make critical decisions
Having internal clients that actually understand their numbers
Obtaining the right knowledge and tools to do the job effectively and efficiently
Being respected for knowledge and not just be there to report historic facts
Now, if these same accountants want more fulfillments in their life… well that needs to translate into more than facts and figures within their desk and the organization. Doesn’t it? Of course it does.
So, what is it?
Well answer me this question:
What do YOU really want for your life? For your career?
Is it happiness, satisfaction, achievement? Yes. But it’s more than that. Is it…
Respect of self and others
Giving back
Balance
Growth
Money
Maybe. Only you know for sure. Whether you’re an accountant or not (and I applaud you if you’re not an accountant and you’re still reading… well done on the tenacity... and for realizing this recipe for success applies to everyone, not just my favorite accountants!)
So , How do Accountants Create More Fulfillment in Their Lives & Job ?
1. Define fulfillment for yourself.
What do you really want out of your life? Out of your career?
Your goal is to create a list of the top 5 things you’d like in your definition of fulfillment. Oh and it can’t be what’s written in the annual performance plan that your boss wrote. Not unless you completely agree with it. Which I doubt.
For anyone that’s worked with me, they know about my Guideposts theory. And once you have your Guideposts identified, you also know what fulfills you! It’s simple. You revolve your life, your career, your decisions around your Guideposts and you will gain fulfillment and kick stress to the curb. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? It is. Now, if I have peaked your curiosity, great. Call or email me. Let’s talk about your Guideposts. … your personal Guideposts to lead your life by.
Until you have your call with me, try this. This image that just flashed up for me, as I was writing the article for you, you having an inventory pick sheet, where you’re fulfilling an order for a customer. So why not have that pick sheet for your own order? Your fulfillment order for yourself. Let’s call it your…hmmm... oh I don’t know… you come up with a creative name that resonates with you! It’s your Fulfullment Package Deal or something of the sort.
2. Getting unstuck and moving into purposeful action
Decision making made easy. You do know what you want now… It’s on your order form. So don’t make a decision unless it gets you one step closer to filling the order. If your wheels are spinning about what to do or how to do it, you’re stuck.
I was like that for years. I called it my “insanity cycle”… doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results, all because I was stuck. And I was wearing blinders.
I recently read the book, The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks. Highly recommend it. He calls it “stuck stupid”. It’s a brilliant visual. And one you don’t want to label yourself with.
Once you know what fulfills you, once you have your Guideposts defined, well now you have something concrete to help you along the way. It becomes your foundation for building upon. Your checkpoint system for putting you into purposeful action.
You’re not putting salmon steaks into your shopping cart if you’re going making beef stew for supper. So why can’t life’s’ decisions be as clear cut as that? You do know what you want. Now set up purposeful actions to get there. Take the direct flight, not the cheap-seats with 15 stops and a sore neck-route.
Check out this other article I wrote to find out a fun technique to getting you unstuck and into action (of course, once you know what you want!!). But make sure you come back here to hear the last two gems! Go there now
3. Mapping out the specific action items to problem solve, prioritize and create more fulfillment
Typically, people create lists. To do lists. Goal lists. Urgent lists. Home lists. Work lists. Shopping lists. Honey-do lists. Bucket lists. And on and on. I know someone that has a list of all her lists! Is she in action? Well… she busies herself by rewriting lists, but I doubt much actually comes off those lists. In this short article, I share how my growing to do list caused me lots of discomfort.
What about excel? Yes, why of course, every accountant I know is very proficient and comfortable with excel. Tables, pivots, alignments. We can create great ways to get organized.
If you’re creative, you might even tackle a vision board. With actual pictures and pretty colors. Imagine that.
Ultimately, I don’t care what medium you use to keep track of your goals. It’ll be slightly different for each of you. And so it should be. You’re unique. You’re creative. Put it to use and you’ll feel more power in your actions. You’ll actually own the process more when you have the blood on your finger tips from building it.
What I will stress is…. You get to be specific. You have to be. And you need be specific to get strategic. I cannot stress this one enough. GET STRATEGIC.
You know about strategy. You see it every year with the budget cycles and board meetings. You hear it at town halls. You see it and live it at work. So now it’s time to adopt strategy for yourself. Getting strategic is a proactive step. You’re now planning for success, for fulfillment… your success and your fulfillment…. instead of waiting for it to come to you in a pretty bound book.
Strategically plan out each step to each goal that you have identified. Leave no stone unturned. Turn your detail on! I implore you. Get detailed here.
For each goal/problem/task that takes you closer to your area of fulfillment, ask yourself:
What is the crystal clear picture of the goal I’m working towards?
What characteristics are required of me, in order to obtain this?
What roadblocks will I face along the way (or are in front of me right now? (Money, time, emotions, resistance from others, education, etc.)
What resources do I have available to me, in order to kick these roadblocks to the curb? (Who can I ask for help, where can I make extra money, what conversations do I need to have, etc.)
What are the individual steps I need to take, and by when?
Why haven’t I done this yet? What’s stopping me from even starting? (likely more roadblocks here to explore)
Now check…. Are all these items, these details, these steps, are they supporting the fulfillment goal that I want for myself?
Notice. How am I feeling about this list? (Hint… if you doubt yourself, that’s normal. Get over it. You don’t have time for doubt. It’s a saboteur that will hold you back. One of many that you battle with daily. Shirzad Chamine has a great little free test to help you find your most prevalent saboteurs. Try it here. You may even have the dreaded Comparison Saboteur that follows me everywhere! You can learn more about that beast in this article. If you’re feeling anxious, that’s normal too. It’ll pass once you start. If you’re excited, then yes, you’re on the right track. Go!!)
Once you’ve completed this for the first fulfillment goal, move on to the next one.
A word of caution… the more goals you have, the hairier this becomes. The more intertwined. The more complex. If you’re looking to destress your life… watch out that this doesn’t turn up the heat for you.
The beauty? You get to decide which goal you’re tackling first and how hard to push. You get to prioritize based on your needs and wants. I know, novel concept. Try it!
The ultimate goal? You get to create more fulfillment! If the stress kicks in, if you hate the journey, stop and re-evaluate, because you’re being counter-productive and that won’t sustain your momentum. Always come back to fulfillment.
You can always ask yourself: “am I moving towards fulfillment or away from it?”
4. Become more intentional in getting what you want
After all the work you’ve done above, this should be a natural result. You are now more intentional with your actions. You need to conserve your energy for only the items that bring you fulfillment. Everything else is a waste. Let it go. (yes, within reason!)
How are you going to be intentional?
If events, tasks, engagements, friends appear that are taking you away from your Guideposts, from your fulfillment, pay attention. Is that really what you want?
Making conscious choices with purposeful results
Reset intentions when faced with new information
Start each day by setting an intention for the day, something that fills you up, that moves you closer to your goals, that brings you joy
After all… what is the purpose of this life we lead… if we can’t experience joy every day?
picture courtesy of Pixabay
