Last week we talked about risks. I suppose I was thinking about physical risks at the time, because it surprised me when one reader said one of the biggest risks he ever took was to give up a high-prestige corporate job. He didn’t like the direction the company was taking and needed to make a change to keep his personal life from becoming meaningless.
That was food for thought because for me the biggest risk in situations like that is to stay stuck in the job, to not have the courage to move on. Yes, change is scary, but I’m much more afraid of being trapped in a situation where I have to waste my time and my life. When I’ve found myself in positions like that I’ve plotted my escape. And presumably that’s what the reader did, he lined up another job before he quit.
I learned early in life that other people’s ideas of success weren’t for me. One reason I married Andy was because he enjoyed working but wasn’t interested in status or a lot of material things. We always lived below our means, so in our case when our jobs became meaningless we had the freedom to take early retirement and have control of how we spent our time.
What about you? Were we that unusual?
“One reader” is flattered! A very unusual emotion!!
rummuser,
I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be mentioned by name. This seemed like an easy way to let you make the choice. 🙂
Thanks for your post and for responding so quickly.
I’ve been outside the mainstream workforce most of my life (except for perhaps three years).
I value my independence very highly.
“Freedom to take early retirement…” Yes, as early as I could.
A couple of years earlier, in extreme frustration because of my work situation, I told a manager, “If I was 45, I’d quit and, if I was 55, I’d retire…. but, where I’m at now, I CAN’T!”
Ironically, my management tried to get authorization hire a contractor to provide some relief for my situation, but was unable to. I guess part of what gives me a measure of satisfaction at being able to work there periodically now as a contractor is knowing that I’m helping take the pressure off the guy that is doing the job that I used to do.
My husband is 78 & still riding his bicycle to work even tho’ he no longer gets paid. (Government ran out of money.) He loves his work & riding his bike.
I want complete control of how I spend my time now. I had no control when I had a house full of kids. But I wanted that.
1st comment: I read ‘one reader’ exploits and a friend did a similar thing except he was being turned down left, right and centre for advancement because he was not NZ born. 3mths before his long service leave (3mths worth) he resigned! There was a stunned silence as he was worth his weight in gold…
He took a temping job for sometime, worked in other fields. A year later he bumped in to the HR person who said “we never did understand, but I sure do now” – in the end he was ‘bought’ by another smaller company and until they finally went under he was happy…
I have taken some dramatic risks during my life – some of which were not particularily a great idea for others but for me they seemed right…a couple forced upon me especially when I was in my teen years but they panned out good.
The latest one that I took in mid 2006 is about to come to an end – getting a BA degree at Auckland University…it has been a long haul – with ups and downs but I am nearly there 🙂 🙂
Now everyone wants to know what I intend to do next but something is evolving which is rather interesting because it stems from my background. At first I thought, I had no experience in the field but then my memory brain stick kicked in and one of my long-time friends thinks it’s really rather ‘cool’
Sorry cannot elaborate right now…will do that when things are starting to gel i.e. before the concrete sets etc 🙂
Evan,
So do I!
Mike,
That’s too bad you had to go through that. How long did it last? I’m glad you’re no longer full time…the periodic contracts sound ideal.
bikehikebabe,
Yes, it’s great being free to decide how we spend our precious time.
Cathy,
Good for your friend! And good for you for getting your degree. I’m looking forward to hearing about your further adventures.
About risks:
That particularly intense situation only lasted a few weeks. We weren’t particularly short of people at that time, but it had gotten to the point that, due to regulatory restrictions and management decisions, I was the only one immediately available who could legally do the job. There had been two of us and that was a stretch, but he was a rotate from the plant and his department had pulled him back, so that left just me.
Now that retirement is within my sights, I just wish there was a secure way to work less than 40 hours a week or to get some more time off. Living “below our means” is considerably more difficult here on the Left Coast, but we managed it also.
Looney,
Years ago they had a system at the lab where people could working less than full-time so they could ease into retirement. We were lucky that I had worked long enough to gamble on early retirement. Then Andy got some part-time contract work that worked out nicely. We didn’t know that would happen ahead of time, of course. There are no guarantees.