Break Down 'Job'

Let’s examine the term ‘job’. After hearing this generic term, if your excitement has dipped to a level lower than the sea level of the Dead Sea, I won’t blame you. We live in a world where a plethora of things are vying to get our attention simultaneously and so we have created ready-made opinions to get us out of the chaos.

So what is a job? I would say job is a way by which people reach the fourth level in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, namely ‘Esteem’.

In other words, it is a way by which people who don’t have a fixed purpose in life, make others believe that they are making significant progress in their lives. And this make-believe is important because it gives meaning to their lives, if any. Who wants to die a quiet life without honor, right? And accumulation of modern equipment is the signaling mechanism that there’s growth (no wonder the number of e-commerce sites is skyrocketing!).

Does this mean that people with a fixed purpose in life (like those pursuing music /business/ /sports) are better? No, as long as they too are concerned about the amassing of wealth. Some people won’t agree that accumulation of money is a bad thing which I’ll discuss in another article. But as far as people with a purpose are concerned, often passion sucks the emptiness out of their lives and gives meaning to it. Money then takes a back seat. Take any example and you will know what I mean.

For majority, job does opposite to what is conveyed by the quote by Carl Gustav Jung, “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become”.

The irony is, when everyone around is so lost, it doesn't feel wrong to be lost anymore.