day job,  feelings and fears,  motivation

If I can’t QUIT my job, I don’t want to LOVE it either

July 7, 2013

How’s that for an opening?  Do you wonder why I wouldn’t want to love my job?

Until recently, I hadn’t realized that liking my job vs. loving it would even be an issue.  There are many authors who work while they try to write…it’s just par for the course.  Until you can make a living doing what you love to do (or win the lottery, whichever comes first), you have to make a living doing what pays the bills (and covers your health insurance). 

But what happens when you forget about why you got that job in the first place? 

What happens when so many factors seem to pull you away from what you love to do?

Sometimes you become immune to the initial idea of the original plan, you become equally complacent in your role and you get comfortable with what you know. 

That, right there, is where the problem lies.

Many factors came into play when I had to make a career change and decide to work for someone else rather than myself.  It’s not a decision I especially wanted to make but it was necessary at the time.  It’s not a decision I can regret making but recently I’ve realized it’s also one I can’t become comfortable with.

When I get comfortable, I resist change.  When I get complacent, I ignore the fact that there are other fulfilling possibilities out there. 

I don’t want to get comfortable.  I don’t wish to become complacent.

Due to this, I’ve discovered I also don’t want to love my job.  I want to like it and the people I work with but I can’t become satisfied to the point that I forget I have dreams to realize, I have goals to reach and I have so much more to do in this life than plod away at an 8 to 5 job (whatever happened to the 9 to 5 job?).

As I said, initially the idea of liking my job vs. loving it wasn’t a factor.  It was just a job.  I liked my job, most days, and I enjoyed the people I work with, most of the time, but every long day kept me from what I truly wanted to do.  However, the past few months the job has provided me with more satisfaction and less frustration and when I thought about my future, it somehow involved more of the job than it did my writing.

That is not where my mind needs to be.

I have to remember not to forget myself…my plans, my goals, my dreams.

So now what? 

Well, I’m keeping the job, of course.  I’ll continue to enjoy my job when I’m at work but I’ll leave it behind once I walk out that door every day.  The rest of each day will be focused on those goals that will eventually help me move on from the regular day job to something I can truly enjoy and call my own. 

Until then, I’ll keep reminding myself that the day job can’t get in the way of the dream job.

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