How My Job Controls My Life

Anonymous 2m 463 #myjobmylife

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

My Job Defines Who I Am

When I first started writing this, I wanted to write “controlled” but that would be wrong. Our jobs do, in fact, control our entire lives. No matter what field you get into will define who you are, your behavior, how you act, and how you interact with others. Our lives are centered around our jobs, from what we do to the hours we work, to the hours we commute to and from work, and even our sleep patterns revolve around work. A curse and a blessing! Work for what you want, and yet never get what you really need.

As I have gotten older and have now held over 20 different jobs in my life, ranging from hard labor (unloading Target trucks) to selling cannabis legally, to mental labor as a web developer, I know that while I enjoyed these jobs in one way or another, I really hated them as well, because they all defined my life. I spent more time at work and less with my wife. I spent more time on a computer than looking at the very living things in front of me. I spent more time dreaming than awake.

As I’ve grown older, I came to realize: I got too old to enjoy anything, and then I died. I overlooked the love of my life, who is not my wife, for whatever reason; I knew. I felt she knew, but we both said nothing, and let our lives pass us by, secretly desiring to know each other, and likely wanting to make love to each other, and living our lives with each other, and yet — it never happened, and instead, I just spent years wondering if who I was with was who I was meant to be with, despite not really feeling like it was.

When it comes to the workplace, the drama of work itself and the drama among employees can have a big impact on your life. No matter what your job pays or how good of a dream job it is described as that it brings you happiness. May your life bring you the happiness you deserve. You may have a house with a wife and children. You may or may not love them, but if they are your offspring, you probably should try to have a relationship with them. Having a family means giving up some form of control; a control that you never had, nor will you ever get. So while it is definitely okay to find complacency in your life, you deserve happiness too, even if your life is controlled by your job. Don’t let your job define who you are. Ensure that you are living life to the fullest by being who you want to be.

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