While many people do fall into that unfortunate habit, this post focuses on the tendency to rely on a job to attain happiness.
There's no question that being gainfully employed beats unemployment.
Even if our jobs may be far from perfect -- and let's face it, no job is -- they still provide structure in our lives, they make us feel useful, and they allow us to feel the sense of pride that comes with earning a living to provide for our families.
However, society and the media are to blame for peddling the notion that, much like a soulmate, a job should complete us.
Should we try to get into a line of work we enjoy? Absolutely!
You'll quickly come to hate life if you spend 40+ hours a week doing something you absolutely despise.
But here's the thing: There are way too many factors outside of one's control in the workplace to depend on it for fulfillment:
- What if you get laid off tomorrow?
- You may love your boss today, but what if he resigns tomorrow and they hire a slave-driving maniac to replace him?
- What if co-workers turn against you?
- What if they decide to pile loads of work on you all of the sudden and you find yourself working 60-hour weeks?
- What if the work gradually grows dull and repetitive (which happens very often when you've been at the same job for a long time)?
For many people, the quickest fix to any of the scenarios listed above is merely finding another job at a different company.
But who's to say you won't run into these or other difficulties elsewhere? The grass isn't always greener on the other side.
No job is ever perfect. There is something not to like about every job we take. It could be the people, the salary, or the endless red tape.
Again, I'm all for doing work you enjoy, but a job is called a job for a reason.
If it were fun -- and if we had total creative freedom to do as we wish -- it'd be called a hobby.
Now, hobbies on the other hand are what we should look to for enrichment.
No one is going to tell you how to play the guitar, what you should paint, or which movie to see when you're not getting paid for it.
The second you attach money signs to something, it starts feeling like a job, and you no longer get as much satisfaction from it.
Mind you, there are a few exceptions, like managing a personal food blog, or working part-time for an animal rescue shelter on the side.
If there's something you would do for free if you could -- and you get paid for it (even though it may not be the job through which you earn a living -- that's always a plus.
But expecting your full-time job to complete you opens the door to disappointment because, as I said earlier, there will always be factors you can't control -- from layoffs to a boss's crazy antics.
Happiness comes from within -- not from another person, and certainly not from a company that doesn't see you as indispensable.
And while money certainly helps us buy things that make our lives more enjoyable, no amount of money is enough to buy a single second or minute -- all the more reason to make the most of the time we have. We can't take our money or belongings with us to the grave.
Work to live -- don't live to work -- so that you can carve an enriching life for yourself outside the 9 to 5 grind.
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