But seriously, I remember when I thought maybe the road to a satisfied life was to find a career I could really lose myself in. Found one, too, only it turned out a brick in a wall was a model of social integrity and job security compared to me. Later I had another motto, which I actually tried to pass on to a couple of younger people I saw making my mistake: Work hard for the money, sure, that’s only fair. But don’t identify yourself by your job; after they use you up they’ll find another who looks just like you, and they won’t remember your name after you’re gone.
This all came to mind yesterday while I read a short essay Landlady sent me. Not sure I completely buy his premise, but some of the reasoning along the way is pretty good.
When you understand that what you make–whether it’s your career, business, or relationships–will disappear, you can control how you view everything that happens in your life.
You can view each failure as an opportunity, you can view each success as a way to practice non-attachment, and you can view every second as a reason to appreciate, celebrate, and rejoice.
Facing this fact gives you the power to find a game worth playing.
ETA: We need a theme song here…
“But don’t identify yourself by your job;”
I don’t know that I agree with that. Being good at what I did was always very much part of my self-worth. There is an old quote: “Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life.”
Not all of us are lucky enough to love our jobs, but I believe it’s a goal worth working towards; even (especially?) if your goal is to become a hermit!
I’ve found that there really isn’t any single secret to life just a whole lot lot little lessons to learn, hold on to and amend as to your particular circumstance. These life lessons are all important but no single one is more so than any other.