Just entertain the idea for a second. Imagine you wake up one morning having enough money to do all you ever wanted, all you ever planned for. Living a long life with the financial means to do whatever you wanted for the rest of your days on earth. In this instance, with money being of no more concern or relevance, would you stay at your job?
Looking at this question should help us understand what elements we value in life and give perspective to our ambitions. Are you mainly working for money to pay the bills? If so, are you doing this with the aim of surviving or with the hope of climbing the ladder to a better paying job when you have more experience. What else is keeping you at your job? Would you rather travel more but dont have the money to go? Or are you simply using the excuse of not enough money to stay in your comfort zone?
Separating yourself from the assumption that you have to work and the reasons why can help you really know why you are living your life in a certain way and why you are employed at the job you have. Its easy to imagine that if you didn’t need the job you had you would walk away immediately, but in reality, would you? Although we live in a world quantified by money (capitalism), its important to consider the other factors at play when planning our careers. Do you get fulfillment from your position? What about the working environment? By knowing what we think about all aspects of our job, we can better asses at what time is best for us to move onto a different position, or assure ourselves that we are currently in the best place.
Knowing what we want in our job and career by asking ourselves these tough questions can help us climb the career ladder quicker and be more fulfilled. A recent article from Forbes argues that employees should change jobs more frequently arguing a whole range of advantages including job performance, perspective and salary.
So, if you could retire from work tomorrow, would you?