Soo……
You find yourself in a job you hate, understandable. Welcome to the club, current member count, 7 billion. In our club new or “rookie” members get treated like children and are given lots of work for poor pay. Where as our long standing “veteran” members have to deal with the same old …rubbish… different day.
Now, here’s the kicker, the answer, the number 1 rule to enjoying work…. [insert generic rubbish here]…
Yeah, there isn’t one sorry, thanks for listening.
….what?
…still here?
Okay. So here is my answer. It all comes down to how you perceive your job, for which, there are 2 choices in the entire lifetime of a persons career. To you personally, is your job:
- A job that is your love and passion?
or
- A job that pays for your love and passion?
Now, the first option is always the preferred choice, but, for everyone to be happy, the odds that there is someone out there that actively enjoys each available job, is quite slim. Even if everyone on Earth actually enjoyed their jobs that would not last. Why? The population keeps growing and jobs don’t. The competition for those jobs adds stress, killing any sort of enjoyment we scrape together.
That leaves us with 2 main problems with work (I know another 2): unneeded stress or mind-numbing boredom.
I would be willing to bet that every single person who has read this has experienced both in there working life. I know I have.
This is why people hate there jobs, we need enough pressure just to keep things interesting but not so much as to make associate a job with discomfort or stress.
Everyone is capable of working under pressure, just different amounts. When we reach our limit, that’s when pressure becomes stress.
As of the time I am writing this there is a pandemic which, rightly so, adds the extra stress to you work life, reducing the amount of extra pressure we can endure.
Is your current job the issue or is it stress from your personal life melding with work stress. Some of my previous jobs were excellent with nice little perks which kept me content. But, I know that I would have up and quit, with them being front facing jobs, as my personal stress would have been unsustainable with work life.
Anyway, let’s leave that annoying 2019 associate there, that might not concern you.
Now, back to job choices.
Since I was young I have chopped and changed what I wanted to be so many times I developed an odd miss match of skills and interests leaving me a bit of a Jack of all Trades and, unfortunately, a Master of Non. But, this has left me with the realisation that it is far easier to get a job that funds what I enjoy doing than getting a job I enjoy.
This may sound sad to some of you, but please stop and think about this for a moment. All jobs, whether you love it is or hate it, have their ups and downs, let me give you an example.
How cool would it be to be a stunt-person. You’re physically fit and talented enough to perform awesome fight scenes, jump over cars and all of the crazy stunts you wanted to do when you were just a child. You also get paid to do this, whilst hanging out with famous actors. Awesome right…What about injuries? Being contracted to do stunts you have never done before, that are potentially fatal, if you get them wrong. Must be stressful, no? What about the old adage, “Never meet you heroes”, turns out your favourite movie start is, a piece of work, upsetting, no?
Now, think of something that is widely considered boring…accounting. Looking after spending documentation of others enjoying there money. Boring, no? Well, accountants get paid well. With most accounting you…
Do the job, then go home.
Lots of my points sound silly, but the amount of people who don’t consider these things carefully are immeasurable.
“A job you enjoy is not a job at all”…
…Sure, but that also means you are always thinking about work. A stunt-person has to ensure they are always at the top of their game, physically and mentally, to perform well and safely. An accountant, whilst being an incredible difficult job, that’s not even up for a debate, will get very good at their job due to the more repetitive nature of data science roles, meaning they can work through logically and finish at the end of each day.
For me, there is no job that I could do, with my current skill set, that I would say is “so excellent” that I would give up a job to do it. I am happy with what I do now because it gives me time to do things I enjoy. Like all jobs there are ups and downs, but nothing that would stop me from doing my role or think, “I can’t do this anymore”.
Anyway, that was a long tangential ramble, let me try again.
Is it better to find a job that you love or find a job that pays for, and gives you the time to do, the things you love? I will always argue the latter. Especially for people who don’t know what career path they wish to take, yet….
Find a job that allows you to do the things you love. Work to Live!
Russell
For me, I wanted to be able to travel the world and explore everything and learn all I can. For that I need 2 main things (really 2 again): money and time. So, I am always looking for jobs that give me enough money to support myself and give me time to use it on the things I want to do. Which, honestly, when you simplify life, is what everybody really wants.
Now that I think about it, it almost seems to good to be true…
Anyway, just something I am always surprised no one thinks about.
A job that you enjoy or a job that pays for what you enjoy. Both make work more bearable, but 1 actually separates your work and your life. That balance is the most important of all.
So, what do you think?
Should you enjoy your job like a hobby?
Do you agree with me?
Do you like your job.
Leave a comment below, any questions please, Leave a Q!