I have had 7 careers. No wait, add the hobby careers–the score comes to 14. Then if I add all the courses I took for fun…the number would be around 20. The reason is that I am terrified of becoming unemployable. I like to keep my options open. The pace of knowledge creation in a hyper connected world is so fast, that any new knowledge becomes redundant in weeks.
Physical convenience has so far been confused with happiness. We assume that If we have more stuff, we are bound to have more of everything else–such as emotional connection, love and family. I am not so sure that owning things is the only way to have fulfillment. Despite more people than EVER before in history getting post secondary education, there is a real scarcity when it comes to reflection and depth, because google does it for you. It seems that jobs are shrinking and educational demands for the shrinking jobs are getting higher and higher. Large numbers of people globally suffer from never good enough i.e., Imposter syndrome and loneliness. There’s more general convenience and wealth, but it doesn’t feel like it matches the deficit in security and human connection.
If you have read until here, you are probably thinking, but whats the point?
Joy is present only when it is truly felt. It is not an outcome of a self aggrandizing achievement. The kick from posting your coolness on facebook, the pleasure from snagging that cute girl for a one night stand, or winning the lottery, or getting a 4.0 GPA doesn’t last–because that kind of trip puts MORE pressure on the self and a greater sense of spiritual separation from others. Successful people therefore are NOT necessarily happy. They may have a sense of self importance, but since when did importance create joy?
When people who constantly feel not good enough, look at their selfie or the mirror, they dont usually feel joy–o look thats my face. They look at what’s missing. I remember looking in the mirror and wishing my cheeks were flatter. Or my hair was straighter.
I can’t begin to express the joy I felt when one day I looked in the mirror and instead of looking at my physical flaws, I saw me as a person. Someone I could be proud of.
My sense of okayness did NOT come from my finances. It did not come from my size or if I looked young. It didnt come from my intellectual abilities. It wasn’t about some gorgeous hunk whispering “I love you” like Salman Khan, making me feel worthy.
No. The sense of okayness came because of the stand I took for my values. It didnt matter if my eyes were wrinkled. or my skin had freckles. What mattered was that I was me, still here. Otherwise the post modern world takes us all and crushes us, kills our spirit, makes us apologetic for feeling awful about being rapidly taken over by computers. I still sell my time and skills, I have no choice, because entire financial system is about selling either time or product and we all have to sell something. Whether or not I sell something, I still have to buy. Because of the layers of leverage in the system, regardless of whether I sell something. my data is worth something…my email has some value, my computer stores some cookies–plus I am connected to the network. Whether I make money or not, for an Internet company I have value–this value is why blockchain technology is going to make a lot of money for some people who get it.
Most people dont realize what they are doing when they join free platforms like facebook etc. They have no idea that they are making a few people extremely rich by giving them their data. They have no idea that companies like facebook or google, are going to make millions and billions of dollars over the next few centuries, because people like you, you, and you decided to sign up with a free profile to show off in front of your friends and keep in touch with people you don’t even like.
So here we are, the hardworking middle class. And there they are the millionaires. What’s the difference?
I personally know people who had business ideas at least as good as facebook. Why did facebook make it? there are hundreds of wise pundits analyzing these things,’ Why Apple and not RIM?’
Because, “Everything changes, nothing is without change.”…..Gautama Buddha (2664 years ago). It is not about you, and also not not about you. Suffice that you are an observer, and it is your choice how you observe. This is our existential freedom. So quit looking for yourself in the identity creation of a post modern consumer world. You will just chase a shadow that takes you to Neverland to the lost boys.
People who stay comfortable with change. People WHO DO NOT ASSUME that today or tomorrow can be, should be, will be the same as yesterday….are the wisest people on Earth.
Homework: Write the above quote a dozen times. Think of the last time, something unexpected or unpleasant happened and how you felt and acted. Were you afraid? angry, out of sorts, grief struck?. That most painful, most vulnerable place of total horror is where your greatest wisdom–your lotus blooms from. So stop running away from the discomfort. Stop being afraid of it. Let it remain sticky and messy. But don’t let it define you.
Career Advice for the coming years:-
Your job is not to create and maintain a perfect life with a great job. Your job is to flow with change. Say yes. Take that trip. Take a course. Spend on professional development. Talk to people you meet at work and keep connection alive. It isn’t just about the job, but about you keeping yourself engaged in your career. The way technology is evolving, individuals are turning into mini corporations.
The evolving truth of our post modern life: You are always out of a job. You are always in transition. You are always aiming for a better career. There is always a better job. There is always a better competitor. Individuals need strategy, the same as a business.
To answer the question, Which Career Is Right For You?…..They all are. Anything you want to do is right for you. If you cant motivate yourself, than no career is right for you. Your desire is the key here.
About me: I am a meditation coach, who believes that mindful living and mindfulness meditation holds the answers to the discontent of post modern life. We do not need to varnish the truth or rely on the charismatic lies of sociopaths to solve our problems. Complaining and venting wont help–unless someone pays you to do it, it is not skillful. What helps us face change is developing the deep resilience that comes from mindfulness practices. You deserve peace, even in the face of flying shit around you.
Visit http://www.saimameditation.com and sign up for the newsletter for developing resilience when facing change with meditation tools and techniques.
Behind The Veil 