“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Thoreau, Walden
What is worse, a tolerable workplace or a bad workplace? It isn’t a trick question; however, I think a tolerable workplace is worse.
In a tolerable workplace, you come in every day. You don’t enjoy it, but it could be worse. Many people spend their entire lives plodding away in a tolerable situation. You get your routines and rarely deviate from them.
When I worked in Korea, the work was tolerable. I didn’t have many friends, and because of the time difference, I didn’t talk to many people in the States. The winters were harsh, and I mostly stayed huddled inside. However, I made good money for the first time. The base I was at was a “hardship tour,” and almost everyone only spent one year there, so not many people were looking for enduring relationships. Most Airmen played video games all day when they weren’t working. It was the only time in my life where the boredom and loneliness was palpable. It was completely tolerable, but it wasn’t living.
In a bad workplace, you realize you need to do something to change your situation. A bad workplace provides motivation. That might mean going back to school. That might mean moving to another part of the country for a new job, which I did. For me, that also meant finding hope in FIRE and finding a pathway to stop working.
Without the terrible workplace, I could still be showing up and staring at clocks until traditional retirement. However, now I don’t have a tolerable life but a great one. I am challenged by living in a foreign land in interesting ways, including learning the language and culture and fixing problems.
Have you ever been motivated by a bad situation?
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Pink Floyd, Time
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