As the person who interviews professionals around Columbia for our weekly “Professional Profile,” there has been one common answer that tends to bother me.
There have been multiple occasions when I ask them what led them to their profession and the answer has been, “I needed a job.” Nothing against those people whatsoever, but the answer worries me.
Though, I do get it. A lot of people end up at a point in their lives when they just need any sort of job that will give them a consistent income and relieve them of their financial worries.
I’ve been there — it isn’t exactly easy to find a job right after you graduate from college. The overwhelming majority of jobs that require a degree also require you to have several years experience in your field. How are you supposed to have experience when you just got out of school? It’s hard, and I spent several months working in a hardware store and bartending until I got hired in my field.
What bothers me about it is how common it is for people to get complacent and not go after what they truly want. You can’t be scared to go after what you want in this life because you don’t get another one. You don’t get another chance to walk on this earth and chase your dreams and ambitions.
If you’re down on your luck and end up accepting a job that you don’t love, there’s nothing keeping you from continuing to chase after a job that you will love.
There are detractors who will say that you’re not supposed to love what you do every day. If you were supposed to, it wouldn’t be called work. But I disagree. It’s very difficult to reach your full potential in anything when you’re not passionate about it. You’re not going to put in that extra effort and work to improve when things are hard. More than likely, you’re going to end up doing the minimum to get by.
Even when you get into the field you want to be in you can’t be complacent to remain in the same position you’re in if you want more than that.
I didn’t give up when I didn’t receive calls from the majority of jobs I applied for. I kept searching. I kept dreaming. And I’m still dreaming. I have plenty of goals for my career that I’m nowhere close to achieving. One day, I either will or won’t achieve them. If I don’t, it won’t be for lack of effort. I refuse to accept being complacent.
This thinking doesn’t just apply to careers either. It’s something I take into consideration with relationships as well. The ultimate goal of dating is to find someone who you are going to enjoy growing old and building a life with. So why would anyone settle just because it’s comfortable?
That kind of rationale — just accepting your current reality because it’s A-OK and not terrible — just doesn’t make sense to me. Why not go after everything you want in this world?
I understand life can be difficult and can often get in the way of making those difficult decisions like making a career change or breaking up with a significant other, but we should all want to lead the best lives we possibly can.
It starts with looking inward and refusing to be complacent.
Joshua Campbell is sports editor of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at joshuacampbell@columbianprogress.com.
