Your work constitutes a crucial part of your life. An average person starts working from the age of 23 till the time that he or she is about 60 years old. And during this period, a large proportion of your time is dedicated to your job for at least 5 days a week.
Therefore, it is very important to spend some time defining the goals for your professional life and deciding how you want to go about achieving those goals. These goals could be anything – good pay and benefits, interesting work, a chance to work close to your family, or anything specific to your profession, like becoming a senior executive in a particular company.
A job that you do not enjoy can lead to dejection and cynicism even if it is accompanied by lots of money. It is more important the find meaning in your work than undertaking a job only for financial reasons.
Of course, it’s great to have a good salary so you can take care of your family and give them all that they need. A pre condition for seeking happiness in your job is a minimum level of financial safety and no debt burden. But according to Abraham Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs, once the basic needs of survival are accomplished, increase in income does not add to your happiness and well-being. Peace of mind, character, clear conscience and sense of satisfaction are among a few things which money cannot buy. Beyond a certain point, the nature of your work and how happy you are in it becomes much more important.
Although it is not easy to give up financial benefits in favor of finding work satisfaction, in the long run, work dissatisfaction may lead to apprehension and insecurity. The sooner you realize that the sole purpose of life is not to earn money, the better it is. And the great thing is that when you are happy in what you’re doing, your hard work and dedication will also bring financial benefits.
Look for a job that leads you to satisfaction as long as you’re absolutely sure that you would not have to face financial distress in that profession. But don’t be afraid to make minor compromises in terms of money. Your family will understand your decision and when you’re close to your retirement age, you will look back at a satisfying professional life.
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