this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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I used to have a job with a lot of downtime and if I wasn't doing real work I had a permanent sense of anxiety and guilt because I knew there were people in the same building as me in manufacturing roles busting their asses for the same pay while I sat and watched YouTube videos, and it also made it seem like I wasn't developing myself to move anywhere higher, just spinning my wheels making money.
That attitude did get me to ask for more work, but not more of the same work, new tasks, tasks that I then added to my resume and made me look much more appealing to jobs I later got instead.
do these jobs you got later pay you better?
Technically they don't pay me much more, though it is higher, but I did move from California to North Carolina, with a much lower cost of living and a much lower minimum wage. Comparatively in California I was living paycheck to paycheck, now I own a house.
More importantly the array of skills I could put on my resume was impressive to three or four different jobs I had afterward and showed that I had skills and versatility beyond my previous roles
There’s more to life than just wanting more money or time to consume the content and products of others (obviously with the major caveat that we need some amount of money to live)
Most people gain existential joy from making some form of impact on the world, and for many that comes in the form of their work.
Being able to look at something, whether it’s a building you helped build, a website you made, or a contract that you helped get signed and having the knowledge that it wouldn’t exist in the way it does without your effort is a feeling I think is critical for most people to be happy.
Obviously this fulfillment doesn’t have to come from work, and if you can find enough satisfaction in writing poetry or a hobby like that to fill that need then you’re lucky for it, and maybe can look into pursuing a career in that.
I personally have unfortunately never been able to feel like I’m making enough of a mark on this world with my hobbies alone and have pursued work that makes me feel like I’m contributing to society or improving myself