A Happy Career

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people complain about their jobs. I don't mean those occasional, aw man I had such a sucky day today, work sucks! type of complaints that happen every once in a while, but that on-going, makes-me-want-to-strangle-you type of complaint that last weeks and weeks, and months... and months... and -- well, you get the picture.

Seriously, I have just one word for those kind of people:

QUITTTTTTTT.
(And save us all the ear-headache).

I have always felt that a person's career is one part of life that they are able to COMPLETELY exercise control over. After all, you choose your study path in high school, major in something you find interesting in college or university, work for a few years in said interesting field, and then whether you decide to keep on working or to pursue additional studies in graduate school, you have ultimately reached a certain destination that you worked hard to get to. It is okay to take credit for it!

But then there are those people who do all of the above, and they work years and years and just fall into a rut. Instead of trying to find a new job, studying something else, or simply taking a break, these individuals keep going at it and OH MY GOD let the complaining begin! They complain day after day, week after week, and month after month, to the point that they make their own lives miserable and the lives of those within an ear-shot of them miserable as well. I feel like grabbing them violently by the collar and saying through gritted teeth, Listen... you got yourself here. If you don't like it, then GET. YOURSELF. OUT!

Let's just say I am a very passionate person.

Luckily there are a few ways to avoid becoming this surly type of individual. The most important? Don't follow a career path that your parents (or anyone else for that matter) are pressuring you to pursue. Rather, do what you like. Your natural interests and talents are something that should give you a clue as to what you should be or want to be doing from a fairly young age.

For example, when I was eight years old, I made a bookmark for myself using construction paper and pencil crayons. I thought the idea was so ingenious, I made fifteen more, asked my mom to get them laminated from the print shop down the street, and then sold them for twenty cents a-piece to the students who would come for Quran class at my home. Guys, in two days I made three dollars solely by selling bookmarks, and then I proceeded to blow off all my profit on candy. Prior to that, I had also had a lemonade stand where I sold fresh lemonade (obvs), and once organized a garage sale where I sold all my stuffed-animals. I did these things by myself. Not once did my parents suggest that I do the above.

It was finally in my freshman year of high school that I realized that this thing that I loved doing since childhood actually had a name (Business?!) and that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life because I LOVED it. I am in university now doing a Specialist degree in Management and Political Science, and I couldn't be happier. The day that I begin to resent my work, I will know that it is time to hang my coat up and either a) change what I am doing, or b) take a break. There is no c) complain option, people!

It makes no sense for someone to work years to achieve a certain credential that they are not even proud to have. Instead, exploring your options from a young age and most importantly, pursuing what you love, is the only way that you can guarantee yourself a happy career.