Purpose or pay? Have you had that moment in your life when you feel you are forcing yourself to do your job and stay with it because the pay is high? Ever wondered about doing a job you like without worrying about how much it would pay?
Out of school, we start looking for a job. Some may have planned out their careers but most of us took on the first job that offered us money. While we had moved from one company to another or even shifted careers, a good percentage of us chose to stay where we started and we may have grown to like it but, most are just stuck with it because the money brings food to the table.
My former boss once told me that he loves his job. He is available almost 24×7 and even when he is on vacation, he checks his email. That may be his way of dealing with his work but to me, that’s not what I want.
A person I know who owns the company I worked before works even on holidays, Christmas. On the eve, he called me while I was in the church asking for financial projections. I answered it as the mass has not started and that was my wake up call. To him, his company is his life. To me, my family is my life.
These two examples could be telling us that they have seen their purpose in what they do or they are doing it because of the financial return. I could not honestly tell which is which. All I am trying to say is if we are doing the work because of the money and do not see the purpose in what we are doing, it is not the way to live.
Saying to yourself, “I love my job” would not cut it.
What is it that you want to do? What brings you joy and pleasure when you do it? What makes time go fast when you are doing something? I think these are the questions we could ask ourselves to find our purpose.
If we are in a job and aiming for that promotion just because of money and not considering what could the promotion enable us to do that is aligned with our purpose, I think we may be in the wrong place.
For those who know me, I decided to stay at my level because I felt I am not doing the work I like. I would rather have a more direct impact in helping others grow in our current field as opposed to being far from their reach with relationships broken.
Someone told me that it is all about the money. Yeah. Maybe. But, again, why would I feel stressed and depressed every day doing the work I do not want just to get more money for the work I do not see any purpose.
Hope you get to think about it too. We only got one life. There is no better time to enjoy it than now.
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