Monday, April 16, 2012

Monday Musings: Do You Love Your Job?

On a recent evening, faced with the prospect of an all-nighter at work, I thought about how lucky I am to be doing something that I love. I don't mind working overtime for this job, and even when I'm faced with challenges, I just want to figure out how to overcome them (as opposed to just raising the white flag). It made me think about how many people are stuck in jobs they have lukewarm (or ill) feelings for. That, in turn, made me think about how people can tell if they have a job they truly love. And THAT reminded me of a story I read earlier in the day about three Mega Millions lottery winners in the US who'll be receiving $35 million apiece (*whistle*) after taxes.


Image from Maryland Lottery, via Yahoo!

The winners were two public school teachers and an administrator who pooled together to buy a bunch of tickets. The article said:

"The three winners have chosen to remain anonymous but did allow the lottery officials to reveal some details about them. All three reportedly currently work multiple jobs just to pay their monthly bills. Even with their newfound fortunes, all three told [Maryland lottery director] Martino that they would keep their jobs at the school. 'One said "I can't give up on my kids,"' he said."

How about that?

So that got me thinking: If you won megabucks at a lottery, would you quit your job? If your answer is a resounding "Yes!" then it might be time to think about going after your dream job. Life is too short to spend at least a third of your day doing something you don't have strong feelings for. If you're afraid of making the leap, seek professional advice. You can even email Good Housekeeping's career columnist (ghphils@summitmedia.com.ph) to help you figure out your next step.

And my answer is no.:)

10 comments:

  1. im glad that you like your job. not a lot of people have that attitude in the work place.

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  2. Not really -- I'd love to stay on as a consultant :)

    Great story, Tisha! Thank you for sharing :)

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  3. A big fat NO from me as well...

    Took me several years to finally land my dream job so nothing (or no one) can make me give it up. :)

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  4. YES, in a heartbeat.

    My job is lenient enough to let me pursue my other passions (something that I factored in with the pay cut) and so for that, I'm very grateful for it. But if I suddenly find a similar source of income, with the same or less amount of stress, then it's sayonara to the legal profession for good:p

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  5. Hmm, a NO from me, too. My inconsistent unpredictable low-paying pseudo "job" is VANDERFUL! The extra money will help me heaps. I will build my dream home office with some of ze monies. Haha.

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  6. If I won that amount of money, I'd put 75% on investments that would allow me to travel the world and earn at the same time. I can go back to working any time I want :) Or maybe not at all.

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  7. You are blessed. Not a lot of people can say that they love what they do. Some are stuck in jobs they don't like because they do not have the financial freedom to make the leap just yet :)

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  8. I always said no, I wouldn't quit. But today I would....I might not even tell them I quit. =)

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  9. I'm happy you love your job tishie :) and you're really great at it, I must say :)

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  10. Oh! I love my job... At one point, when I was planning what I'd do with my lottery winnings (because I was convinced that I'd win) I was even sad because I felt that I would have no reason to work for a living anymore if I'm 300million richer.

    But then, I realized that if I did win, I would build myself a commercial center --- or buy the building where my clinic is so that I no longer have to pay rent --- improve my practice and make it truly hightech, and then I'd open several branches all over Manila and then I'd start hiring dentists to work with me.

    I'd love to be -- not so busy -- but I know I'd be sad if I couldn't be a dentist anymore.

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Oh, so sweet of you to drop a line!:)