Dream jobs need a reality check
- Karen Wilson: Family Corner
- January 17, 2024
- 484
Is it a dream or a job?
What occupation have you always dreamed of? Can you just see yourself in the middle of all the action? What parts do you think you would like the most?
Now how do you maintain your enthusiasm? Do you expect every day to go well and be fulfilling? What if it isn’t? Did you choose the wrong thing? Did you get stuck with the wrong boss?
The thing is dream jobs need a reality check. No matter how much you like a particular occupation, some days you just have to get on with what needs to be done to keep things going. Put your head down and work through the situation.
Some days a job is just work. Some days life is just work.
I’m lucky to do two of my dream jobs: farming and writing. I love working with animals, getting outside every day and putting words on paper.
I hope you have the opportunity to spend your time doing things you love as well.
But realize every dream job has ugly parts or parts you don’t like. Having my own business means I have to do accounting. I hate accounting.
I love working with numbers and calculations. In high school I was considering accounting or engineering as possible professions. I took my first accounting class, and the decision was made. I got a degree in electrical engineering.
After working in that field for a while and marketing and product management, I had the opportunity to stay home with our children — a great blessing. But some days I needed to concentrate on keeping them and myself alive and hope tomorrow would be a better day. We weren’t in any great danger, but lack of sleep and growing pains can make for a long day of work that doesn’t feel so blessed.
Often, we think if we just had the right job or could stay home, all would be sunny days and laughter. That would be nice, but expecting it to always be that way will likely leave you feeling frustrated and disappointed.
Kids get sick. They have bad days. Parents have bad days. No one gets enough sleep or exercise.
Bosses insist on extra hours. Business travel doesn’t always come at convenient times. Office politics get tricky.
The blank page stays blank. The internet runs slow. The printer jams.
Livestock sit around and try to concoct creative ways to destroy things or injure themselves.
It rains. It snows. Mud is endless.
Don’t let the reality ruin the dream. See the beautiful parts of what you do each day. Enjoy the company of the people you work with. Watch your kids grow and learn. Laugh at the antics of young livestock. See the sites as you travel. Enjoy the words when they flow.
Just expect not every day will be perfect so you don’t get derailed when reality steps in. Realize it’s there. Deal with it. Enjoy the best of what you do each day.
Your attitude will make a big difference wherever you are.