Job Success

Affirming to ourselves that we’ve gotten something done is good. It gives us something concrete to say to ourselves. We’re competent because we actually have proof via getting something accomplished. You can’t refute what you have proof of. It’s a positive feeling to know that one is competent and capable. I think that’s part of why we like having jobs, other than getting paid. Hopefully we also have jobs that are satisfying and fulfilling to us; careers.

Those of us who aren’t lazy, enjoy the satisfaction of doing a job well. We like the rewarding feeling we derive from that. We like the structure in our day a job gives us, however demanding it may be. At least we’re needed for a purpose an average of five days a week (some more, some less).

I like having a good work ethic. I like doing something well. I like knowing at the end of my work day I’ve done a good job and proven myself competent, not mainly to my employers, but mainly to myself. We live with ourselves no-matter who else we live with. We answer to ourselves in all things we do. It’s pleasing and mentally satisfying to us to be able to tell ourselves that we are competent and valuable and helpful people.

I’m not someone who enjoys just sitting at home doing nothing, though the occasional lazy day as a reward for a productive work week is good. I’d rather have a paycheck that I earned rather than one that was handed to me too easily, though I’d rather not have one at all than not have one for work I do.

I respect someone who worked for the money they have rather than one who inherited it or gets it just from their parents, if they’re an adult. Some of this comes from my anger at myself for having been in college for so long then having been in mental health facilities for so long after that and not having had a job for most of that time.

I have to admit, I did the Vector Marketing Cutco kitchenware thing. My grades suffered for it, so at least at that time it wasn’t the right fit for me. I think if someone were to fully devote him/herself to that job it would go well for him/her. The thing is, a job like that has to become a sort of religion for that person, or at least a second one. I drove myself nuts getting the leads to new contacts from different people. Some customers wouldn’t readily give me a list of people they thought would like the Cutco products or even just to get a sales demo and give me more leads. It was all word-of-mouth and networking with those we’d presented to. It was not an ideal job, but for those who really enjoy sales, it’s good. That experience taught me that I’m just not cut out for sales.

I’d love it if I were a writer. I enjoy writing and blogging. I get my feelings and my imagination out in those ways. I like letting the characters take me on an adventure. If I enjoy that adventure, I think others will too. Yes, this means I have a lot of wishful thinking, that I tend to write about fiction that’s based on what I wish would happen to me. Someone once told me, “Happy people don’t write.” They meant that people who are happy with their lives don’t feel the need to imagine a world in which things are different for them, and so don’t imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes. They don’t need, emotionally, to imagine a different reality for themselves, because they’re happy with the way things are.

I’ll admit, I’m not a happy person. I’d like it if I had a job, but that’s why I’m seeking one. I’ve been applying every day. I’d like it if I had a sex life without the obligation of a relationship because I have too much of my own emotional heavy to take on someone else’s. I use dating apps and sites for that, though I tend to get negative feedback from men who are angry that that’s all I want. It’s not my job to tailor my priorities to their needs.

I think that job success is having the job you love, your career, and to be at least competent at it. Getting fair pay for what you do helps too.