I Am Not My Job – I Am Me
I am not my job.
My job wishes that I was, I see it all the time. Heck, they even make us memorize these things called ‘core values’ which are:
Service Before Self
Excellence In All We Do
Integrity first, ok that’s fine. It’s like a knight’s code. I won’t point the finger elsewhere and will take the blame for my fuckups. So, ok sure.
Excellence in all we do. Hmm, you got me on some of that bud. Let me slightly modify that to fit - excellence in all I do. There it is, much better.
Service before self. Woa! Gonna have to call bullshit on this one. I am not putting my job before myself. It is just the path I chose to get to my future. It isn’t me.
You see, I am my own person and I do things that I want to do. They want people to continuously be in school taking classes to get new certs and to be the treasurer of the booster club and other crap like that. Nope. You haven’t brainwashed me.
I do enough to just enough to jump each hurdle they throw into my path. I wear exactly the required 15 pieces of flair.
In their eyes I am a marginal employee, a failure maybe. They can't understand why I don't do the things they want everyone to do. They even made it clear, sort of like a checklist. "Just do these things we wrote down here and you can get a good chance to get advanced."
I don't do it and it baffles them. You know what I do with that time they I don't devote to their list? I do things and I learn things that I want to do or learn. I better myself in the way I want to, or I spend more time with my family. It's just not their way. I don’t expect to ever be promoted again because of it either.
They give me the simple things to do, probably to show me how little I am worth to them. I don’t care. I get paid the same either way.
It actually helps me out since I can get it done pretty fast and that gives me time to do the things I want to. In my current situation that means writing new posts. Last year it meant bringing in an extra $25k from some side hustles, to prove to myself that I could do it. The year before that was me putting in tons of sweat equity into the house I had just purchased.
They try to make me feel bad, but it is me who feels bad for them.
They are the type of people who can't imagine not having to work. What would they do with themselves?
What they are saying is "What would I do if I had freedom?" /shudders
Are their lives so empty that they can't think of a better way to spend their time?
They are their job. They can’t imagine doing something for themselves, something that hasn’t been directed for them to accomplish. People say that to get promoted here you need to ‘check all the boxes’.
I am too much of my own person to fit in those tiny little things.
It’s not just in my job, its society.
We hear it from when we are just little kids “What do you want to be when you grow up?” An innocent question. But it sets the tone.
I bet you have been somewhere where you have to mingle with people you don’t know and soon after a conversation starts the question comes out “So, what do you do?” It’s the grown up version of the kid question. It’s all rather automatic, isn’t it. I don’t blame them for it either. I know why they say it.
They want to know what I trade some of my time for in exchange for money. So I tell them what they want to hear and normally get a “Thank you for your service,” which I never know how to answer. So I usually say something like “thanks.” (anyone from the United States that has been in the military feels the same way when that statement is uttered)
They ask that question because, for so many people, their job is their identity. So they think the same about you.
They don’t care what your job is, how could they? I don’t even give two shits about what my job. I give just the one shit, enough to keep it for a while longer.
For them it is a nice way to box you up and stick a person on a shelf in their brain. That way later on they can go “That’s John, he is a programmer.” Nice and clean, stacked away and labelled.
I get it. If you aren't labeled and in a box that means you are just freely running around in there. They can't have someone running around in the room full of stacked boxes, they could cause the whole thing to fall over!
Somebody like that probably has labelled themselves too. They take their job as their source of identity.
The problem with this labeling is that this limits our freedom. You can’t have freedom while you are living inside a box. Don't get put into a box.
Happiness
We understand, somewhat, what a job is. What I mean is we don’t know every aspect of a job, but we have a notion of what a paramedic, taxi driver, or teacher does. The thing is people become unhappy when they fail at what they have identified themselves to be. They think themselves a failure and become sad.
If I said I am a blogger, and then my posts do not get the rewards and attention I feel they deserve then I would think myself a failure. Or, some might go pointing fingers and blame ‘the system’ for not rewarding them properly.
If instead a person was to just write but not identify as a blogger, than just by writing something they have succeeded. By doing this you make failure, and so unhappiness, unlikely.
Whatever you are not, you are free from. When you do not allow yourself to be put into a box, you are free from all boxes. Without the burden ‘to be’ it, you are free to do it as you wish.
You are not your job. It doesn’t define you unless you allow it to. So don’t allow it to and be free.
Because freedom is happiness.
I write, but I am not a writer.
I’m in the military, but I am not a soldier.
I remodel houses, but I am not a contractor.
I’m a hustler, but I don’t hustle.
Don’t be a paramedic, but save lives.
Don’t be a taxi driver, but bring people to where they need to be.
Don’t be a teacher, but do teach.
Be anything you want, but don’t let anything be you.
(Pictures: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8)
My moment of honesty:
- My interests vary but I strive for quality work, check my blog for proof.
- I will not fill up your feed with crap, I have only resteemed twice.
- I will also reply to all your comments if they warrant any reply.
- These things I promise to you. So follow me, or don't. I want you to do what you want to.
@getonthetrain
There's a guy that thinks like you - https://steemit.com/nonjob/@digitalplayer/building-a-non-job-when-you-re-broke-elliott-s-story
Good vid, I like his story
"Service Before Self"
Wtf... This is a clear sign of not living in a free country - or even in a country where most people want to be free.
It's those three sayings that are drilled into you on day 1. You could say it is the foundation of it all...
For thirty nine years I was an appliance repair tech. Every company I worked for was more concerned about how much money I was generating for them, regardless how long or what time it was. I remember one time being on a roof top at 1:00am, to fix a walk in freezer, in sub freezing temperatures. I didn't want to be there, but it was a "do it or your fired" attitude. I retired from that line of work last March. I have my own business selling rocks and fossils. You can't imagine the relief from stress I am now experiencing.
Congratulations! From working in shit to doing stuff for yourself. I have been there myself, I know the feeling. I am in a golden handcuffs scenario for two more years. Maybe I am a coward, but I have come so far and won't give it up. My job creates stress just to create stress for the employees, I think. So I made my life happy instead.
Oh god, core values my workplace is obsessed with them too. It's so cringeworthy. Great read!
Is this good for the company?
This is one amazing post its exactly how I feel about my job and how I see those sad people who ritually talk like they have everything but are so proud and stuck in these little cubicles all day everyday licking ass and taking all sorts of abuse from management, and what happens when they go out or have free time? Well they talk about work because thats who they can identify themselves with. How bizarre..
I can't hardly hang out with anyone from work because, you nailed it, they just talk about work. Once I am out the door, whoosh, it's outta my mind.
I so agree with what you are saying. I spent four plus years at Microsoft. They expect that you will continuously improve and take on more responsibility. Being good at your job, always finishing on time, and creating good work, your ratings will slowly decrease to the point where you are in danger of being fired, despite the fact that you are still doing a good job, getting your work done on time and creating good articles, code, or whatever it is you are supposed to produce. I have finally come to the conclusion that any job I have (I am currently entertaining two offers) will only be the way I pay my bills, and not who I am or even what I do for a living. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.
I hear ya there. It wasn't so long ago that there was a time where people would do one thing their whole lives. They would get really good at it too, people would send their kids to learn from the masters.
Some people just want to code or what have you and never want to have to supervise others. But there is this thinking that if you aren't always clamoring for the next rung on the ladder you aren't worth anything. It's ridiculous, but it is the thinking that has taken hold.
Thanks for the follow! :)
What a truthful and relatable article, @getonthetrain! Gameshows can be the worst culprits. How many times have you seen this introduction for the contestants.
"Your name is? "Blah Blah... "And you are a?"
Lol, "you are a?" Talk about putting someone in a box and sealing the lid! We are viewed all too often as just a tool for society, which you demonstrate expertly above. Great stuff, bro!
(p.s. Thank you sooooo much for the resteem.)
See, its so everyone can put them in a box right away. It brings comfort to those people. You ever hear something from someone who doesn't want to go in the box? They say something like I am a entrepreneur, pilot, rock climber, chef, artist, author, sea captain, hang gliding enthusiast.
The other person usually goes like "Wow, you do a lot of things!" As they buy time to try to stuff all that in a box in which it will never fit. Its like this gif.
You know how frugal I am with resteems, but you earned it! :D
Interesting. I would however not agree: my job is a part of me. In the same way that what I blog is a part of me too: I like what I write and I share what I like :)
But it is true that I choose my job and it is not the opposite ;)
Hmm, I would imagine that the jobs that require years of schooling and dedication would have an increased amount of people that identify with what they do. They would want to present that facet of their lives since it required so much more to attain. Just my guess though.
This is probably a very person-dependent statement :) Even if my domain, I know people, 40+, single, without any non-colleague friends, who start to think they missed something.
So before I go into my thoughts on the opposing view, I wanted to let you know that I did upvote your post because I thought it was an excellent well written article, and you did a great job presenting your view.
I do agree with the part about not making your job your identity, but I take issue with your lack of work ethic.
I don't want to be at work anymore than you do. (I would rather be at home spending more time on Steemit.) Most people have to do some type of work for society to pay for all the things they get in return - food, clothes, a house, entertainment..
We should do work for other people, rather than just always benefiting from the hard work that everyone else is doing. To not provide society with some form of contribution in return seems selfish.
I have made an entire post about your comment here :D https://steemit.com/life/@getonthetrain/you-are-100-replaceable-lucky-you
:)
I don't believe that I said I didn't do everything that was required of me. I just long ago stopped jumping through the never ending hoops for treats. I don't go to medical and claim some injury that would get me a waiver to not do work either. If I have to be at work at 6:45am, then that is when I am there - not 6am. Same goes at the end of the day, if shift is over at 3pm, well I am out around then too. I don't leave my work out all over the place, I make sure everything is accounted for and in its place. But I am done right around that time. They can make me stay later, but unless they do I am out.
I give my 15 pieces of flair, as that is the requirement. You won't find me in the club that plans the Christmas party (that I don't attend) or in the club that is planning the next bake sale or in any of the other endless clubs that have been created so a person can say they are a member. You won't find me working 12 hour shifts unless I am told to.
I've been on seemingly never ending 14 hour shifts, 6 days a week for years on end. All I did on that one day off was laundry and sleeping in. For three years. No dating, no going out with friends, nothing else but work - sleep - work.
The thing is when I was doing that I didn't get a single extra cent. My paycheck was the same as the people that do other jobs in the military, that just did their normal 8 hour shifts 5 days a week.
So forgive me for not doing one darn thing extra that I am not forced to. Instead I have used this time to do the things that I want to do - things that bring me closer to the life I wish to lead.
Just explaining my reasoning, thanks for the upvote :)
Haha omg having the time for dating with works commitments or even family is a whole other article in itself also.
I'm loving the positivity feed this week - lots and lots of good writers on here. Thanks for this :)
I was always a outcast until my last job - they regarded their employees higher than the customer, it was quite an outstanding place to work. Their motto was
"If you're not taking care of yourself how are you supposed to help anyone else?"
Wow, what a rare company you got yourself into. Appreciate the read and comment :)