Get a Job?!

In much of the "developed" world people define themselves and each other by their job. How many times have you met someone down the pub and they've asked you what you do, like your job is the perfect representation of your personality. The fact that most of us hate our jobs doesn't seem to matter.

Of course there are a number of people with careers that are important to them, a professional doctor for example should take pride in his (or her) career. I know that if i was actually earning a living from my music i would be proud to call myself a musician when asked that question. The fact that i don't earn money from my hobby for some reason seems to devalue it in terms of "what i do". Yet the reality is that musician is a better description of my personality than anything work based.

The concept of work is a major factor in our society, if someone doesn't work, and theres a lot of people that can't for one reason or another, their social status is automatically devalued. I put this down in part to jealousy as most people would rather not be doing their jobs, but a lot of the stigmas come down to that sense of worth that comes from being a part of the system. If you don't work, people assume you are some sort of layabout living on benefits paid for by the taxes of those that do work. Yet those that can't work due to physical or mental illness are often the people who actually want to contribute the most to society.

On the subject of this idea of "worth", i can't help but feel those people temping or working in factories for £6 an hour are selling themselves short. Can anyone really say that their lives are worth so little as to spend so much of their waking time doing something that they either hate or at the least have no personal attachment to. Factoring in the time involved for travelling and everything else directly associated to work the average persons life is pretty much dictated by their job. Even what little free time they have at the weekend is spent drinking and trying to achieve that feeling of release before the pressure of Monday morning.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people end up having to sell themselves short for a low wage just to be able to pay their bills and feed their family. A life without work is not the most prosperous career, the system forces us to comply and conform here.

The real benefits are for those at the top of the social heirarchy, far more than the average person. You earn minimum wage working for some big corporation, your money gets taxed before you've even seen it, then you spend whats left on goods made by and sold by big corporations, all subject to further taxes, not to mention the interest you have to pay on your loans/credit cards and mortgages. Every single employee of a big company is nothing more than a cog in the corporate machine, moving money from one fat shareholder to the next one.

The only way to be even remotely free from this is to avoid the whole work thing altogether, get yourself some benefits (you've paid for them in taxes all these years) and go and do something worthwhile, learn about things you want to know (education is always valuable), do a bit of charity work or spend a bit of your free time doing something for the community. There are loads of voluntary organisations out there that always looking for help. There are people less fortunate than you who need help, it might not pay well but its rewarding in a different kind of way.

Money is not the most important thing in life, it will cause you more pain and suffering than it will help you. Next time someone asks you what you do for a living, ask them why it matters. Tell them what you do for fun instead. If you want to work for a living, train yourself, get a skill or a trade, find something that you want to do that pays. Ask yourself how much you think you are worth, don't settle for less.

I know that life ain't that easy, we all have to do things we don't want to do. If you really do have to work in a dead-end job, then so be it, but never stop believing that you can't improve your life. If, for whatever reason, you don't or can't work for the system, don't feel like you are any less of a person, whatever anyone says. Instead make the most of your time, because its a luxury most people can't afford.