Tag: Money

Would you look at the time? Oopsie daisy, I’m running late today. Sorry about that! Anyway, let’s get cracking…

Career. “And what do you want to be, when you grow up”? Goodness, gracious, I can’t tell you how much I dreaded this question when I was younger. Likely, because I had no idea what to do with my life – at any age – and therefore, no satisfying response. Deep within I felt a little bit of jealousy towards those of my peers, who knew exactly which career path they wanted to take, and actually ended up following through with it. Ask me now and I still don’t know. Some office job, probably. Nothing specific. If it pays the bills, it’s good enough. ‘Career’. That’s such a daunting word, no? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not lazy. My former employer would tell you otherwise. It was always my goal to give the job 110% effort and to meet or exceed the employer’s expectations of me. I have to wonder, though, if some people are born to have impressive careers, just like some people are ‘born leaders’? And then you have folks like me, who certainly want to work and be independent. But does it have to be a career? I had various jobs throughout my years of employment in America, none of them paid exceptionally well. And still, my bills were always paid on time, I could afford extras, buy a brand new car and save up for a house. All of it was possible without a ‘career’. Perhaps this topic begins and ends with the fact, that money was never a motivation for me. Sure, you need enough to live somewhat comfortably. But anything beyond that would require a ‘live to work’ attitude, rather than ‘just work to live’. Maybe, that’s where I drew the line. Because all too often we had to work excessive overtime. And while some of my co-workers were happy about the additional money, I hated it because having the evenings and weekends to myself to recharge those batteries was not just a preference, it was a necessity. How many times did my co-workers say things like “Uh! Someone’s gonna be grumpy today, because her weekend was cut short again” on Monday mornings? It goes without saying, that every employee is expected to keep personal issues and grumpiness at home, or under control. I do have to admit honestly though, that during those times I had to put more effort into keeping my attitude in check, while my work was being done via ‘auto pilot’. In short, a career is not for everyone, including me. And that’s okay, too.