Comments on: Career Envy

By: Psychonurse

Psychonurse — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:04:58 +0000

One thing I’ve learned with working various jobs is that there really is no ideal or perfect job. At one point in our chosen careers we get hit with the career envy bug….I should know,I got bitten several
times. Yes there would be times when you find yourself asking “am I where I am supossed to be?”.I for one consider myself lucky…even after 12 years I still love my job!I wake up each day thankful that I get to practice my chosen profession. but don’t get me wrong,it’s far from perfect. There would be days that I would be on my feet all night,12 hours non stop,no breaks no pause. One secret to putting a lid on this career envy bug?learn to
love what you do….it’s gonna make everything easier!And think about this….it could be worst!

By: Rich

Rich — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:58:49 +0000

Ah, career envy! Don’t I know! Basically, I envy *everybody’s* career. From the nerve and resourcefulness of people who can strike off on their own and weave together a career out of what looks to me like ideas and thin air (tip o’ the hat to Jason), to all my contemporaries who became lawyers and businesspeople and made very comfortable lives for their families–and accomplished a great deal in the world as well–to the persistence, commitment, and courage of a few others who followed a passion for music, or for teaching and scholarship, and managed to gain a foothold doing what they truly love; even to those who have forged successful careers in my own worthy but profitless profession; everywhere I look I seem to see something I lack.

Basically, I guess I envy the traits and habits that make for success in any profession, and one of my bitterest regrets is that I didn’t understand their importance and start trying to cultivate them before it was too late. As you can imagine, it’s something I try at least to impress on my kids.

By: Austin

Austin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:08:38 +0000

My wife and I go through the same thing – she envies my regular full time job, but I envy her part time stay-at-home job. Such is life!

By: Dan Erwin

Dan Erwin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:37:05 +0000

In thinking about why envy is just not a big deal, I remembered that in my 20s, 30s and early 40s it had impact on my emotions. My suspicion is that the power of envy is tied to how we manage the stages of life. Using the traditional stages of Erik Erikson (yeah, I know there’s better stuff, but Erikson is simple), in 20s we’re probably still dealing with identity issues–envy more pronounced, stage of intimacy vs. isolation–if successful, intimacy probably pushes much envy out, then generativity–getting a bang out of helping others and leaving a legacy in them…if successfully generative, not much reason for envy. Final stage is ego integrity vs. despair…if a strong sense of life satisfaction, envy probably irrelevant.

I’ve never seen a deadly sin (envy, jealousy) tied to successful handling of the stages of life, but my guess is that it’s appropriate.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:45:45 +0000

Hi, Jason,

You provide a great service to job seekers and others with Jibber Jobber, your blog, and your books. Your business was born from a need you saw in the job marketplace. I am confident you take great pride in all of those achievements. You also have a great family and colleagues who love you and support you. In my heart, I believe you are already happy with what you have, and with the future to come.

Your post and all the comments to it, are reminders what we all need to be thankful daily for what we DO have. It helps us keep our eyes off what others have that we feel we don’t. I know that Life can turn the other way on a dime when we least expect it, so I believe in cherishing today for all its blessings.

Kudos and hugs to you,

~Kathy

By: Jim Horrell

Jim Horrell — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:32:40 +0000

Hello, Jason,

I have been looking for work since October, 2008. In my search, I contacted one of my previous bosses. She and I got together to have a cup of coffee and chat. In her e-mails, I noticed she included a quote:

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

I took the inspiring advice of Dr. Wayne Dyer and although I am still on the job search, I also have been spending time writing my first book. Sometimes the opportunity we search for is right in front of us.

My belief: Maybe the grass is greener on the otherside, but you cannot be sure of that, so maybe you should go to the paint store, buy your own paint, and paint your own grass green.

Take Care,

Jim Horrell – jrhorrell@live.com

By: Robin - FiredUP Careers

Robin - FiredUP Careers — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:54:33 +0000

Bingo Jason! It’s the old story ‘the grass is always greener…’ – I think we all have this at various times in our lives (if not days).

A good read for being happy with what you’ve got is Jon Kabat-zinn; Where Ever You Go, There You Are – excellent book.

Take care –
Robin Ogden

By: susan kuhn frost

susan kuhn frost — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:33:51 +0000

Envy is a very useful emotion because it points us toward something we want. Someone lost in the mist of time told me to take envy as a very serious indicator of something I can set as a goal. Making the thing “something I wish I had” into “something I want to have” and even better “something I am workiing toward” turns a passive emotion into something useful.

There is a finer emotion of “something I realize I never will have” but I can tell you from experience that this emotion is a lot more pleasant when you have tried and failed (or changed your mind about the goal) than when you’ve never tried at all.

By: A Question That Haunts Me Wherever I Go | Official Website of Thom Allen

A Question That Haunts Me Wherever I Go | Official Website of Thom Allen — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:29:49 +0000

[...] are two parts to me; the one I need to be, and the one I want to be. I read a blog post on JibberJobber yesterday about Job Envy. I guess my failure to successfully convey what I do stems from years of [...]

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:36:42 +0000

I left a steady job seven years ago when I realized I was actually more stable on my own with multiple sources of income rather than just one. In the end, I started seeing my regular job as a freelance gig with only one client. I’ve been busy ever since, make more than I would have if I’d stayed, and have never regretted going on my own.