Must. Get. Power.

The good kind, of course.

Agreed? To that end, here are some ideas for (nonviolent) ways to acquire power vis a vis your job:

1. Only do work you really truly enjoy. You may be downtrodden, overworked, and put-upon, but you won’t care! (Much.)

2. Feel able to do the work. Avoids that icky helplessness feeling in the pit of your stomach.

3. Failing that, feel able to learn to do the work.

4. Work with people you like and/or respect. Is this too much to ask?

5. Be given the resources you need (like, say, time!). Again, doesn’t sound like too much to ask.

6. Be able to see results (a tough one–lots of work is, to the naked eye, results-free).

7. Be recognized for those results. Wouldn’t that be nice? It sometimes happens (not often enough).

What do you think? Too Pollyanna-ish?

Certainly it’s all, yes, much easier said than done. But there’s good news! Note what’s not mentioned: lots of money; job security; ability to set your own schedule. Those things, while very nice, are not essential to a stress-free, powerful work life.

A good thing, too, as they are in scarce commodity nowadays.