job = purpose?
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so ive been on a major job-hunt lately, which i am NOT thrilled about. if i had it my way, i wouldnt work at all. i dont like how im chained to a desk 9-5, M-F. to me the ultimate freedom is being able to live your life, every hour of the day, the way YOU'd like. after all, its ending one minute at a time.... we rarely get time for the important stuff.
obviously i realize that there are alot of people who LIKE working, who actually feel like a job is important to their every day life... case in point: i was talking to my friend who is running herself into so much debt with loans going to college, now applying to law school... she said she's going to be $120k in debt by the time she gets out.. good luck paying that back! i cant even imagine. so she said hopefully the market will be better by then so she can get a job! and i said hopefully by then i can NOT have a job lol
and she said something to the effect of "if i didnt have a job id feel so bleh, id feel like i have no purpose."
to me thats VERY sad. life is SO much more than a job! thoughts?
obviously i realize that there are alot of people who LIKE working, who actually feel like a job is important to their every day life... case in point: i was talking to my friend who is running herself into so much debt with loans going to college, now applying to law school... she said she's going to be $120k in debt by the time she gets out.. good luck paying that back! i cant even imagine. so she said hopefully the market will be better by then so she can get a job! and i said hopefully by then i can NOT have a job lol
and she said something to the effect of "if i didnt have a job id feel so bleh, id feel like i have no purpose."
to me thats VERY sad. life is SO much more than a job! thoughts?
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Replies
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Unless you are independently wealthy there isn`t much choice.0
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When you love what you do, it's not just a job. My first career was 20 years in the military. My job had a definite purpose, and it was more than just making money. In fact, the pay wasn't all that great, but I had the satisfaction of knowing my efforts served a greater purpose.
My second career was working on the space shuttle. Again, a job with a distinct purpose and a calling for the greater good. Just knowing that my efforts were making the next shuttle mission safer and contributing to the completion of the ISS made all the long days and early mornings worth it.
I'm now laid off and job hunting like you. And I hate it. The market in my area is pretty slim in my area, so I'm probably going to end up taking some job just for a paycheck. Without that sense of purpose, I fear that I won't be nearly as satisfied day to day as I was before. I understand completely how your friend feels and I agree.0 -
I understand! I have no desire to sit home in an empty house. With that said, under no circumstances do I want to work my life away and under no circumstances is my job my life. It is just a part of it.0
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Unless you are independently wealthy there isn`t much choice.
yep.0 -
I completely love what I do, and I think that this makes all the difference. I spend my days helping people, and there is no greater thrill then that. Then I spend my weekends singing in my band (which doesn't make me as much money, but oh well)....all things I love. I hope one day you can find something you are equally as passionate about, so you don't feel that way anymore!0
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I work to live. Not live to work.
Edit: I love what I do but when my 8 hours are up I am outta here!! I have a co-worker who stays really late ALL the time. I couldn't do that.0 -
I hope one day you can find something you are equally as passionate about, so you don't feel that way anymore!
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i think the most annoying thing about it is no one UNDERSTANDS that its not that im un-ambitious, its that i have a different set of priorities....0 -
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i'm assuming there will be a partner involved that will have to work to support this freedom of yours and purchase a house for you and your children to live in? that hardly seems fair...0 -
I hope one day you can find something you are equally as passionate about, so you don't feel that way anymore!
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i think the most annoying thing about it is no one UNDERSTANDS that its not that im un-ambitious, its that i have a different set of priorities....
oh you dont want to work!
you're unique!0 -
For some people their career is their life's purpose. All the people out there who run charity organizations or help others in some way for a living are fulfilling theirs life's purpose. Your friend wants to go to law school. What kind of lawyer does she want to be? A defense lawyer strives to ensure their clients receive a fair and unbiased trip through the justice system, an environmental lawyer lives to protect the Earth and its wonders. A child advocacy lawyer protects children. For her, not working is like being a waste of space. It doesn't mean that she sees others this way, just herself personally. If you're not doing what you love, whether that's being a stay at home mom or an astrophysicist, then you're not happy and can easily feel like you have no purpose. There is also a difference between a job and a career. A job is just a paycheck to pay the bills. A career is something that you enjoy doing and strive to do your best at every day. A career isn't about the money first and a way to fulfill your life's purpose whatever that may be.0
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oh plz, enough with the 'careers are for people who actually LIKE what they do'... thats a bunch of BS
very few ppl in this world are lucky to make a living out of their true calling.0 -
you already know i'm with you. unfortunately, we must work
the world seems so screwed up to me sometimes that this is how we all have to live our lives, but it is what it is...and there's nothing that will change it. i hate my job. i used to like my job. i guess it just depends. im not doing what i want to right now but i know its helping me to get to where i wanna be.i try not to add any extra stress. but i do just go to work, then come home after my 8 hours. i don't work any extra, its not worth it. i like coming home and not having to think about work or work more when i get home like some people i know do..yuck
i do plan to work forever, even if its just soemthing part time, just to get out of the house and make a little spending money...but that's just me.0 -
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i'm assuming there will be a partner involved that will have to work to support this freedom of yours and purchase a house for you and your children to live in? that hardly seems fair...
my hubby has to support me. It's just the way it is. When you have three kids you are looking at over 2000 dollars a month in childcare, and I just wouldn't be able to make that much. I would kill to have a job. Stay at home Mom was never one of my ambitions.
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i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i'm assuming there will be a partner involved that will have to work to support this freedom of yours and purchase a house for you and your children to live in? that hardly seems fair...
haha youre right im a terrible person! thanks for the enlightenment!!
fyi he loves and supports me
we're completely in sync, i dont have to worry about things like that because we're meant to be together and he actually understands who i am as a person you probably dont know whats thats like. not if youre that judgemental to strangers
id be raising his children.. have you done that lately? its not exactly an easy job and its 24 hours and lasts for 20+ YEARS.0 -
I work to live. Not live to work.
Edit: I love what I do but when my 8 hours are up I am outta here!! I have a co-worker who stays really late ALL the time. I couldn't do that.
I could have written this word for word! I like my job, but not enough to become the workaholic that one of my coworkers is. My job is what I use to fund everything that I do outside of my job. It makes it possible for me to go hiking, to the movies, make dinner with my friends, have a cat, collect books, volunteer at church, and I could go on and on.
But for my one coworker, yes, her job is her purpose and her life. Maybe that is what makes her happy, though!
What makes me happy is my life outside of my job - there is so much to do and see in this world... I'd rather be soaking up life than working!0 -
I hope one day you can find something you are equally as passionate about, so you don't feel that way anymore!
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i think the most annoying thing about it is no one UNDERSTANDS that its not that im un-ambitious, its that i have a different set of priorities....
oh you dont want to work!
you're unique!
LOL im not trying to be unique!... does that even exist, really? uniqueness...0 -
I've been laid off twice since 2009. I have lived both lifestyles, so I can speak to this. Currently, I've been unemployed for a year and a half. I've worked a total of 7 months in the last 2 years. I was an accountant. I was chained to a desk for an average of 50 hours a week. Sometimes less, often more. My last job had many 70 hour work weeks. The money was great, but I was miserable.
While I was going to work everyday I felt trapped. I was unhappy and living for the weekends, which often, were also spent at work. The first time I got laid off I was devastated. I thought my world was ending. I thought I was going to end up homeless and starving. Or I thought I was going to have to move home to live with my parents at the age of 34. I was depressed and miserable. Then 8 months later I started working again. I thought things were going to be ok. But then I realized I was STILL miserable. But with a lot of money. Then 7 months later I got laid off again. And then I had a huge paradigm shift. I finally realized that this was a sign. I was so unhappy and I felt like I was torturing myself every single day. I was a little nervous about being unemployed again, but this time I knew I would be ok because I had been through it before. Now, I've decided to go to school to get a masters degree in teaching. It's a total 180. It's going to take time and some more money in student loans, but to me, it's a small price to pay for happiness. I'm also giving up a lucrative career to pursue something that will pay very little in salary, but I think it will pay off big in job satisfaction.
If anyone is still reading my ramblings, here are some things I've learned from unemployment. Life is too short to slave away at a job that makes you unhappy. Free time is priceless, but we live in a world where we have to work. The key is to find a way to make money doing something you enjoy and find rewarding. I was getting no satisfaction out of creating financial reports and managing the payroll of executives who were getting paid half a million dollars+ a year. While I was slaving away for a fraction of that salary. I've also learned that I can live on a lot less money than I thought I could. To me, I'd rather be able to have time to enjoy myself and work a job that doesn't feel like torture, than be able to afford a $50,000 car and buy sushi for lunch several times a week like I used too. Now, I'm still out of work, but I'm happy living a simple life. I've been working since the age of 13, full-time since the age of 19. I'm sure this is the only time in my life I will ever have this much time off, so I'm trying to make the best of it and not stress about it. My life has a purpose. It is to be present every day. Stopping to take note of the world around me while interacting with people, culture, and nature. I no longer define myself by my work like so many Americans do. Once I was able to fully free myself from the bonds of corporate America and the rat race, I finally started to really look at my life and be honest about where I want to go. I don't want to wake up in 30 years and say, "Where'd my life go?" I think that's the track I was on. The fast track to retirement and old age.0 -
i just dont want to work! haha i want to spend time working out, sewing, being in nature, raising kids and a dog, cleaning the house, being FREE!
i'm assuming there will be a partner involved that will have to work to support this freedom of yours and purchase a house for you and your children to live in? that hardly seems fair...
Raising children and maintaining a household is hardly freedom!0 -
That's their choice though. It's the American way to just throw up your hands and say "I have no choice." It's not true. It's all related to lifestyle choices. We live in a consumer culture, which makes it difficult for people to work a job that makes them happy because they wont be making enough money. But the reality is that we all think we need a bunch of crap that we really don't need. It's all about priorities.oh plz, enough with the 'careers are for people who actually LIKE what they do'... thats a bunch of BS
very few ppl in this world are lucky to make a living out of their true calling.0 -
oh plz, enough with the 'careers are for people who actually LIKE what they do'... thats a bunch of BS
very few ppl in this world are lucky to make a living out of their true calling.
Yep, I'm one of them :happy:0
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