Go Get A Real Job
The Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received
“Stop wasting time and go work for an insurance company or some other desk job. Everyone in your generation is so goddamn lazy and entitled!”
I will never forget these words, mainly because my stepmom yelled them through a door I had slammed shut seconds before.
This was during a pivotal time in my life: I had just graduated and was forced to move back in with my parents.
Sound familiar?
After months of struggle and frustration, I was smack dab in the middle of the same heated argument:
Why couldn’t I suck it up and go get a real job?
Honestly, that’s a really good question. I’ve always wondered why I was never able to commit to a full-time job. Was I really that lazy and entitled? Did I lack the discipline to “suck it up” and eat shit like so many others in the generation before me and before them?
Possibly.
I hate to admit it, but follow-through hasn’t always been my strong suit (I’m sure many of you can relate).
Growing up, I wasn’t able to commit to any one activity in particular.
Like a lot of kids I knew, I had the privilege to fumble through activities like baseball, soccer, tennis, Taekwondo, trumpet, piano, choir, drama, art, and countless other lessons I eventually abandoned.
Most people would probably agree drifting from one interest to the next tends to be a common trend among kids. There’s no argument here.
What I find interesting is when this restlessness finds its way into adulthood.
I can’t even imagine how many young adults still feel uncertain about their future, especially after committing to one path throughout college.
Obligation replaces this uncertainty thanks to pressure from friends, family, and other people whose opinions matter a little too much.
I have a confession: I still feel this way, and I know others do, too.
From old friends and new, I continue to hear the same self-doubt from people my age. It perpetuates with every antagonizing comment from parents and other authority figures.
Deep down, I know (most of) these people only want to help; they want what’s best for their children.
They aren’t aware that they’re projecting what they want onto the people they care about most (much like their parents probably did to them).
The only way to break this vicious cycle is to take what you’re told with a healthy grain of salt. We need to realize when to listen to others and when to listen to ourselves.
If I had listened to the unsolicited advice at the beginning of this story, I would have undoubtedly made the wrong choice for myself.
Who knows? If it wasn’t for my stubbornness, I might still be working for that insurance company…
Are you listening to others? Have you tried taking time to listen to yourself? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter at @williamfrazr.
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