As I get deeper into my career and just older, I feel more of a desire to do work that actually matters. I fear getting old and looking back and saying, “Gosh, none of what I did really mattered.”
I feel there are quite a few dimensions missing in the argument. I’m sorry I’m jumping guns.
First off, I have been living with this sense of disappointment and a lack of sense of accomplishment for over a decade now. I still remember my late college days when I used to repeatedly tell my friends and family, “one day you’re born without your choice, you’re sent to a school, get your scores and degrees, you’re supposed to marry someone to compliment your hormonal imbalances, now you bring kids into the world without their choice, you make money to help yourselves and the kids run their life, you retire hopefully seeing they settle and relive your cycle of life, and you’re dead one day without your intended action. Is this all about life or anything else”. I’m not an internal auditor and before this I spent about 7 years being in the 2nd line of business. I always asked, does what I do really matter, compared to all those who directly help the business make revenue?
Now that someone else is asking the same question for a change, I feel like defending myself. So what I’m writing here is basically sooth up my sense.
I am from India. Life is not given on a plate. Most begin with first cleaning up their family-created issues before they start building their own life. I’m not getting into details. It sums up to this. You first do what’s necessary, before thinking of doing what you want to. For a lot of youngsters, parents still choose their undergrad degree. A lot of us fail to recognize what we like until too late to pursue.
The other dimension is this. If the goal is only doing what matters, you know it doesn’t always have to be the job. It can also be outside it. One should just feel like doing it. It’s that simple, now that I write on this topic which I never did before.
You helped me clear a giant mess in my mind and tell myself, “just do it! Stop complaining and cribbing.” And the story of your friends and your perspective on your B2B sales job is very inspiring. I’m glad I read your piece first thing after I woke up this morning.
Definitely agree with this: "You first do what’s necessary, before thinking of doing what you want to." Reminds me of Maslow's Hierarchy: the physiological tier at the bottom, then safety, and so on. You have to be fed and safe before you can start thinking about what you want to do with your free time.
"If the goal is only doing what matters, you know it doesn’t always have to be the job. It can also be outside it."
Good point. You can have a job that doesn't matter and do something that matters outside of your job. Then it becomes a question of balance. How much time are you spending on your job versus something that matters outside of your job?
I feel there are quite a few dimensions missing in the argument. I’m sorry I’m jumping guns.
First off, I have been living with this sense of disappointment and a lack of sense of accomplishment for over a decade now. I still remember my late college days when I used to repeatedly tell my friends and family, “one day you’re born without your choice, you’re sent to a school, get your scores and degrees, you’re supposed to marry someone to compliment your hormonal imbalances, now you bring kids into the world without their choice, you make money to help yourselves and the kids run their life, you retire hopefully seeing they settle and relive your cycle of life, and you’re dead one day without your intended action. Is this all about life or anything else”. I’m not an internal auditor and before this I spent about 7 years being in the 2nd line of business. I always asked, does what I do really matter, compared to all those who directly help the business make revenue?
Now that someone else is asking the same question for a change, I feel like defending myself. So what I’m writing here is basically sooth up my sense.
I am from India. Life is not given on a plate. Most begin with first cleaning up their family-created issues before they start building their own life. I’m not getting into details. It sums up to this. You first do what’s necessary, before thinking of doing what you want to. For a lot of youngsters, parents still choose their undergrad degree. A lot of us fail to recognize what we like until too late to pursue.
The other dimension is this. If the goal is only doing what matters, you know it doesn’t always have to be the job. It can also be outside it. One should just feel like doing it. It’s that simple, now that I write on this topic which I never did before.
You helped me clear a giant mess in my mind and tell myself, “just do it! Stop complaining and cribbing.” And the story of your friends and your perspective on your B2B sales job is very inspiring. I’m glad I read your piece first thing after I woke up this morning.
Have a good one.
Hi Anand, thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Definitely agree with this: "You first do what’s necessary, before thinking of doing what you want to." Reminds me of Maslow's Hierarchy: the physiological tier at the bottom, then safety, and so on. You have to be fed and safe before you can start thinking about what you want to do with your free time.
"If the goal is only doing what matters, you know it doesn’t always have to be the job. It can also be outside it."
Good point. You can have a job that doesn't matter and do something that matters outside of your job. Then it becomes a question of balance. How much time are you spending on your job versus something that matters outside of your job?
I’m sorry I meant “I’m now an internal auditor”.