Urg. Zombie need job. Pay bills. No brains anymore. Work for brains.

November 10, 2008 7:08 PM

NewJobFilter: Wrestling with new opportunities and quashed dreams.

I've been offered a new job in one of my career paths that seems to have a bright future, but I just can't get excited about it. One, I'm too jaded from previous promises of directions and possibilities. Two, it pays less then I was making 8 years ago. Three, I'm finally making a little progress as a freelancer, so giving up the freedom causes me existential pain.

But I need to pay rent and eat.

How can I approach this job with an attitude of everything is possible?
&
How can I make sure my dreams don't fall by the wayside?

posted by emptyinside to work & money (7 comments total)

Go have an extended holiday before taking the job.
Laying on a beach in a tropical paradise gets me motivated (after a few weeks)!
posted by avex at 8:02 PM on November 10, 2008

How can I approach this job with an attitude of everything is possible?

You cannot

How can I make sure my dreams don't fall by the wayside?

You cannot

Sorry xxoo
posted by parmanparman at 8:26 PM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've always regarded freelancing as freedom to make as much money as possible... it should at least pay the rent. If this new position sounds attractive because it will help you make ends meet and because it is in a field you are interested in, you should take it. If you are making more money by freelancing now that you would with this new job, you should stick with freelancing, for the time being, until you can figure out the next stage in your career.

But I have to tell you, that a year and a half after I left the world of contracting/freelancing for a government job with a pension and a health plan, I am plotting my return to self-employment. Having a steady paycheque actually seems less secure to me than going out and hunting for that next paycheque does. If I lost my job tomorrow, it would take me at least three months to secure a contract. When I'm contracting, I'm always looking (because it's okay to look, whereas it's not when you're on salary).
posted by KokuRyu at 9:37 PM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

How can I approach this job with an attitude of everything is possible?

Decide that you're going to. Fake it till you make it. Smile. Be positive.
The most important thing is, do NOT let yourself be dragged into the office gossip or bitching until you've been there for six months. Smile, be polite, but don't hang out with those people. It will NOT help your attitude.

Find someone 'on the outside' you can vent to, a person who knows about your outside aspirations and can commisserate. It could be a friend who's slaving a way to save up money for architecture school, or a paralegal trying to put the bucks away to pay for law school, or a novelist toiling away as a copywriter. Put a time limit on the venting for both of you - 20 minutes, go for it- and then you talk about what you're doing towards your goals for 40 minutes.

Keep a gratitude journal. Get up every morning and write 5 things you are grateful for, and do it again before you to go sleep. I know it sounds sappy and new age woo-woo. Do it. It forces you to find things that you can honestly be grateful for.

How can I make sure my dreams don't fall by the wayside?

Schedule the hell out of your life. Book time to work on your dreams. No matter what it is, half the battle is just showing up. Before you tell me it's cliche, I will point out that every single expert on this type of thing says this, and every single successful artist/writer/businessperson will tell you that discipline is vital. Book time. Put it in your calendar, and then nothing, not being tired, not being sick, not wanting to lie on the couch and watch reruns of West Wing - can get in the way.

As the sign over my desk reminds me, "You're not going to become a household word watching cable."

Do something EVERY DAY that reminds you of who you are. Read, write, think, take 15 minutes, find something inspirational, a web site, listen to music or audiobooks - SOMETHING. I'm not talking about taking six hours. I'm talking about finding 10 minutes.

Can you still take on one freelance project, even with this new job?
posted by micawber at 8:38 AM on November 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

Pay attention to micawber. Utterly ignore parmanparman.
posted by WCityMike at 9:45 AM on November 11, 2008

As the sign over my desk reminds me, "You're not going to become a household word watching cable."

I like that.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:30 AM on November 11, 2008

wonderful, thanks!
posted by emptyinside at 8:57 AM on December 11, 2008