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I first encountered Jonathan Yabut’s book, Everything Will Be Alright at a time when I was not really planning to purchase a new book. But for some reason, a thought kept nagging me at the back of my head to spend a fortune on something to read. So, after a week, despite not really in the mood to splurge on something, I found myself leaving the bookstore with his work on my hand.
Little did I know that in the course of reading this, a number of realizations will flood my mind. As I went through each page and finishing chapter to chapter, his fourth book conceived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic would turn out to be the lifesaving career guidebook that I never thought I would need.
As I browsed and immersed myself in its pages, I learned a lot of things about dealing with my own work life. I have been working for 18 years and just when I thought I was hurdling and handling things well, apparently, there still are things where I needed some guidance. It is in this reason that the book served its purpose. I must confess that prior to owning a copy of Everything Will Be Alright, I was trying to deal with some career-related struggles a silently on my own. And after concentrating on a number of topics from the book, I realized that there are things in my work life that seriously needs revision.
It was from the book I learned that it won’t hurt to ask questions during a job interview. I always had that misconception that as a potential applicant, it would be a bit intimidating to ask HR with questions. But as the book advised, one can only get the right answers only if they ask the right questions. It would be more scary and problematic if an applicant isn’t getting the right and adequate information regarding a job he/she will potentially devote an amount of his/her time to.
Another interesting point I picked up from reading the book is the principle of Multidimensional Identity. I have encountered the question “tell me something about yourself” countless times whenever I meet up with HR for interview in my previous job applications. In his book, Jonathan Yabut gave out a sound advice: that in order to stay motivated, one must not anchor their identity on just one person or thing, and instead learn to diversify their inspirations and energy to a number of areas, skills or interests. This way, we are not limiting our identities to becoming one-dimensional beings and being often defined by our jobs. Learning about this surprised me that it got me thinking “so this is probably why that tricky question of ‘tell me something about yourself’ exists. By having different sources of motivation, a person will be able to bounce back in the event one of them (say, your job) gets taken way or fails to work.
While Everything Will Be Alright also included chapters on effective leadership and dealing with work conflicts, what made me give this book a thumbs up is its helpful chapter related to managing mental wellness. Maybe, the difficult period that was the COVID-19 pandemic somehow had some silver lining too; because aside from proving that work-from-home and telecommuting arrangement can also yield productive results, people were informed on the importance of discussions and raising awareness on topics surrounding work-life balance, mental health and putting a premium on mental wellness. The said part of the book described the different types of rest (and no, it’s not just limited to sleep!), as well as significant tips on utilizing and maximizing vacation leaves and rest days.
Despite buying the book during a time when I wasn’t even intending to have it, I must say that it was something I didn’t regret purchasing. It arrived to me at a time when the Universe exactly thought and saw that I needed it. And while I have the tendency to donate old books after a few years, this one will be an exception as I intend to keep it in my shelf to re-read when the the moment arises and I would need some career-related SOS again.
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