Life In 19x19

Magicwand wrote:i dont mind doing whatever they task me to do

Magicwand wrote:an officer of the army

Chew Terr wrote:How do you find something that would make you happy, though? Apart from something like moving to the islands and becoming a charter boat captain, to take tourists fishing, I've never really had anything sound appealing.

xed_over wrote:But remember, romanticized dream jobs can have their unpleasant parts too. So if you can't find a way to enjoy your job now, its not likely that you'll enjoy your fantasy either (not always true, but most usually true).

Chew Terr wrote:

xed_over wrote:But remember, romanticized dream jobs can have their unpleasant parts too. So if you can't find a way to enjoy your job now, its not likely that you'll enjoy your fantasy either (not always true, but most usually true).

This is kind of what I figure, and part of why I just try to have a job that's as low-stress as I can. Still trying to brainstorm for something realistic that I could do that I might enjoy.

xed_over wrote:

Chew Terr wrote:How do you find something that would make you happy, though? Apart from something like moving to the islands and becoming a charter boat captain, to take tourists fishing, I've never really had anything sound appealing.

Does moving to the islands and becoming a charter boat captain sound appealing?

Then go do that. Its really that simple.

Yes, there might be some hurdles along the way. But nothing that can't be dealt with one way or another.

But remember, romanticized dream jobs can have their unpleasant parts too. So if you can't find a way to enjoy your job now, its not likely that you'll enjoy your fantasy either (not always true, but most usually true).

I enjoyed almost every job I ever had. From flipping burgers to operating printing presses to software testing. The only time I didn't enjoy my job was usually when the people I worked with were difficult (which was actually quite rare)

I’ve spent some thirty years now in a technical field – electronics, to be more specific. At various times, I’ve found this career choice to be interesting, fruitful, rewarding, frustrating, and boring. One of the best features has been good pay. (That’s the rewarding part.) But, I cannot honestly list “fulfilling” as one of the adjectives. I think I’m pretty good at what I do (although I know people who could run circles around me in my field), and I’ve usually tried to do a good job at it. At times it has brought personal satisfaction – but not often.

And not lasting satisfaction. After all those years designing high-tech goodies for various applications, nothing I designed a decade ago still exists, and the things I design now will not exist in another decade.. Nor do I “own” anything I’ve designed. Products I’ve designed are owned by the companies I’ve worked for, and none of them are anything I would want to own, anyway. Any satisfaction I get from my work is short-lived; it’s the satisfaction of making something work, of fixing problems in our products, of coming up with a clever design or new solution. But where are those things, now? I cannot point with pride to anything from my professional career and say, “I did that!”

Life is rarely simple. It doesn’t always go as one wants, and challenges are ever present. For me, this lack of professional fulfillment is one of those challenges. The transition I am undertaking is an attempt to address this challenge.

It may prove difficult, for many reasons. I can’t simply give up my career – personal and family economics and responsibilities prohibit that. Finding time to develop a new vocation is difficult – work, kids, and life’s activities and commitments take up a lot of time. New skills must be acquired, investments made. Starting anew will involve making many mistakes, and perseverance requires a certain fortitude – or maybe a certain naive optimism (which doesn’t come easily to me!) And, of course, there’s fear of failure – for all I know, I’ll be a total bust at this new vocation! Maybe I’ll hate it.

But difficult isn’t impossible, and the fear is entirely my own making. And as they say, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

kirkmc wrote:Find a new job? Train yourself in something different? Go back to school? Don't resign yourself to being unhappy?

It may not be easy to make changes like that, but if you're really unhappy in your work, every day you put off trying to change is another day of unhappiness.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Try not to be one of them.

Chew Terr wrote:I've heard of a guy who owns a yacht in the Pacific, and makes his living teaching rich kids how to sail in it. The kids pay to sail his boat for him from island to island. Apparently, they buy and sell goods from island to island, and once he's taught the kids what to do, he sits back and enjoys the ride, in addition to the double income (sold goods and 'tuition'). I know it's probably more work than it sounds like, but I'm still jealous.~

entropi wrote:
Man, it is not so dramatic I am not really soo unhappy with my job. A job that I would enjoy doing, could for example be as a musician. What I do instead is sitting 8 hours a day in front of a computer and checking whether some stupid technical ideas are inventive enough to deserve a patent. It is not hell, but it is also not something enjoyable.

To be honest, I can hardly imagine anybody really enjoying that job. But the salary is good, benefits are good and it is a relatively secure employment. I don't ask for more from a job, especially after having children. Tommie is a colleague of mine. Tommie, if you read this thread, maybe you would comment on that