Ever wonder why some people spend the last 5 or 10 years of their careers just counting the days till retirement, while others would work through their dying day if you'd let them? For example, when I asked one sister recently, what was the best thing that happened to her this week, her reply was an enthusiastic "Our financial advisor said I can retire at 62!", which was followed by "Have I told you lately, how much I HATE MY JOB?" And then, there's my hubby, whom I'm beginning to suspect may never retire.
It got me to thinkin', and here's what I came up with: Most people need to feel like their efforts are going towards building or creating something, and they need to be needed. The minute they stop feeling that way, that's when they just start biding their time - 'cause no one wants to feel like they're just keeping a chair warm. Had John stayed in his previous position with a large engineering firm, I think he too would have been counting the minutes until he could say "Hasta la vista, Baby!" But, because he left to help create a new company, and feels needed by his partners and employees, he's happy to keep on keepin' on.
I think maybe that's why I love being involved with The Bountiful Sprout. It's not that I especially like attending board meetings, taking minutes, posting agendas, inspecting farms and kitchens, or doing PR, 24/7. I'm not real crazy about any of that, to tell you the truth. What keeps me going, then? Well, I guess it's knowing that I am helping to build something important. We're creating something out of nothing - something that people need, and which just might leave the world a better place. What better reason to keep on plugging away, eh?
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5 comments:
You hit the nail on the head. People need to be needed. People who love their jobs are indeed fortunate.
I think it may also depend on the kind of work you do. If you have a boring, repetitive job, a job a trained monkey could do, you're more likely anxious to retire than a person in a job situation like your husband.
Don't stop posting such themes. I love to read blogs like this. BTW add some pics :)
Great post!
Sherri
Perfect. What's scary is how a few years stuck biding time can cause it to become a mindset that's difficult to break later.
Add pics? Hmmm, don't think my sister would volunteer to let me take a picture of her, pulling her hair out!
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