Remember Who You Are and Where You Are

Abig organization, by defi nition, must ask its people to put their own
individuality aside and work as a group. If you work for a big organization,
there is little room for some of the aspects of your life that are
most central to you, be they religious beliefs or cultural traditions. Those
who express satisfaction with their accomplishments know that they can
never toss aside the beliefs, customs, and values that they hold dear;
they just display them on their own time.
BOBBY RICHARDSON PLAYED second base for the New York Yankees in the
1950s and 1960s.
Bobby went to work in an atmosphere that differed so much from
his sheltered religious upbringing that he could hardly describe it to his
family back home.
He knew that he had to keep his religion in his life, but he also knew
that he couldn’t bring it into the locker room or the dugout. That is why
he helped found the Baseball Chapel.
Richardson’s group met off the fi eld and out of the limelight, and
brought together teammates and players from opposing teams, to share
their faith.
Bobby explains, “You have to do something to make sure you aren’t
swallowed whole by the big leagues. But you can’t impose who you
are on everybody else, so the Baseball Chapel let me be a teammate on
company time and be who I really was on my time.”
Those who express the most satisfaction with their lives and careers tend to
utilize a hybrid view of themselves. They are a combination of the capable,
team-oriented person on the job and a culturally and spiritually distinct person
at home. Those who sacrifi ce their individual beliefs and backgrounds
ultimately express one-third less satisfaction with their jobs and almost twothirds
less satisfaction with their lives. (Franklin and Mizell 1995)