Hating our jobs . . . let’s do some extreme living!
You are in good company, aren’t you? Most of us hate our jobs. And it would be cool to have a job exchange.
I have another idea though. I found it on a list of unusual things to do before you die. It’s a kind of “extreme living”. The idea is this : very deliberately find a job that you hate, and do it. There!
Now why would we do that? Why deliberately find and do a job that we hate!
Because we can. Be. . . cause . . . we . . . can.
No, don’t walk away. Of course it is daft to do something unpleasant.
It’s enough trouble escaping what we hate. Why do more?
Because . . . well, you know what I am going to say. Because – we – can.
You dread your job because you are not in control and you think you will never be in control.
There are lots of times in you life that you are not in control.
But you can practice being in situations when you are not in control.
- When I was a graduate student, I very deliberately went to movies on my own. Other people went in groups. It looked odd for a young person to go on their own. So I did. Until I stopped being uncomfortable.
- A bit older, I spent three months traveling from city to city in Europe very deliberately arriving at midnight with no accommodation. Until I stopped being scared of finding myself with no where safe, dry and warm to sleep. Or rather until I learned how to find somewhere to sleep no matte where I am. You can imagine I traveled a lot more extensively because of the self-designed training course that I gave myself aged 25.
- A bit older, I decided to overcome my fear of speaking in public by presenting a public talk every month for a year. I did. Many times, hardly anyone came. But I wrote a new paper (a proper academic paper) and presented it. For 12 months in a row! I learned the art of getting on with it! And I stopped wasting time on anxiety.
So get over you dread of jobs you hate by deliberately taking a job that you hate!
Bet you learn a lot. Bet you come out the end knowing you can survive any job.
And there are many other things better faced head on.
Part of life is dealing with the dross. There is no better way than giving yourself a crash course.
Do it over and over again until you are good at it!
P.S. Great way to apply for a job. “I am applying for a job because I expect I will hate it . . .” That made you smile.
I’m not sure if I get this. I understand getting yourself out of your comfort zone and conquering fears as a way to success. But who has time to get a job they hate? I’ve had plenty of jobs I hated, and I stuck it out until I finally thought my only escape was to uproot my life and move to another country (once out of the US, and once back to the US).
I would’ve liked to say that I “conquered” those jobs, but what they did was make me feel like my soul was dying and just wore down my self-confidence and ability.
Isn’t about taking realistic challenges so you can build that momentum up and use it to accomplish?
I get your point, I think?, but I don’t think taking a job you hate is valid advice. Maybe just a hobby…..
Bye for now.
Lisa
MissMentor
Hi Lisa, I think I felt the same way to you. I like liking my work and I get frustrated when work sucks.
When I read that list, I found I had done so much of what other people found daring. But I’d never deliberately taken a job that I knew I would hate – just to show that I have the resilience and flexibility to do something that didn’t come easily to me.
It was a eureka moment for me that we let jobs get us down because we’ve never learned to turn a bad job into a good one.
It’s a bit like long haul flying which I find disgusting. But there is little point in wallowing in the disgust. So I chill. And when I chill I help others to chill and the flight gets better.
I don’t think we should do jobs we hate all the time. But it would be an interesting exercise!
Go well and do enjoy your life!