My entire life I have been taught that education was important because I would need to get a job as an adult. Jobs are not supposed to be fun, they are boring and mundane. Money is important because we need it to survive, so you need to get yourself working so you can make an income.
My parents never taught me to settle. I grew up watching my mom decide that she wasn't thrilled being where she was at, so we would decide to move somewhere else. She might have been a little extreme since we ended up moving over eighteen times in my childhood, but the message still stuck. My family created a life for me in which I wasn't afraid to live. I can't get excited about doing something that doesn't fascinate me.
After you finish high school or college or whenever you're ready to start that new big shiny job of yours, ask yourself, is this the job I want for the rest of my life? Can I sit in this bank or restaurant or office or wherever you are applying, and truly feel like you are gonna be happy. Some people love restaurants. They love helping people and making a place function. Customer service and a great attitude shine off of these people and if that's what they love doing then good for them. A job shouldn't be a job. Not if you're stuck in it for life. Sure we take opportunities when we're young. We have to sacrifice in order to make a few bucks, get our first houses, our first cars, and be able to pay our rent. As we get older however though, it's like we think that this is all there is for us.
I believe that everyone should be able to wake up in the morning feeling excited for their day. If you aren't happy, if you aren't thrilled to be going where you're going, if you have to drink coffee and take aspirin and bang your head against the wall before you can leave your house, FIND A NEW JOB. Everyone is so stuck in this idea that you get what you get and that's it. We have an entire life to live and so many places that we can go, so many things to explore, and so many abilities to do whatever we please. Why should we continue to make ourselves unhappy?
I've been told time and time again that it's a job and you shouldn't have to like it. How much time are we going to be spending at these jobs? We spend the majority of our lives at work, providing for our families, but yet we accept that our job is supposed to make us miserable. If you're job is making you miserable then I guarantee that mentality is going to overflow onto the rest of your life. You can't work 9 to 5 in a shitty work environment whether you hate sitting or standing all day, working with people or animals, being alone or among a group, and go home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled.
You might say well not all of us are lucky enough to be able to obtain our dream jobs. I say why not? Excuses are all I hear. If you believe in yourself enough to make something work, anything is possible. Stop living in this bubble of I can't. Stop telling yourself that you are not smart enough, you are not capable, you are not strong enough to step up and make some changes in your life. Everyone has motivation deep within themselves to strive for something greater, you just have to find what it is that brings it out. No-one deserves to live there life unsatisfied. If you need a degree to do it, go get that degree. Pick up an extra job that you can enjoy temporarily, and go back to school. Make it happen. You cannot follow your dreams while you're sitting back settling.
Take some time to go back to when you felt like you were happy. Discover what it is about yourself, what qualities that you have, that would fair well in a job. You are your own unique person, you fit in all kinds of places, but just because you fit doesn't mean that's where you belong. Trying new workplaces, experiencing different atmospheres, interacting in a variety of environments with new people will give you a better idea of what it is that you are looking for, and ultimately bring you that much closer to your dream job. The pursuit of happiness is important because in the end, isn't that why we're all here?
