Do you feel like Having to Work is un-natural?

As many have said get into the type of work you enjoy,You work crazy hours and that doesn't help either,remember your attitude plays a big part as well,go into work thinking it's gonna be crap and it will be crap,maybe try to look at working in a more positive light and you may feel better about it.

Personally i would rather work than be a subsistence farmer as many here are suggesting,If people want to live as subsistence farmers good for them,but if these people are suggesting we go back to year zero and restart civilisation Pol Pot style,think again,The majority of people will not accept this madness,and blood will be spilt,

Others suggest everything should be free with out working, LMFAO trippers ,Well how do we enslave to work and produce the things you want but refuse to work for,Africans Asia's New Zealanders? who decides ?

If you want live off the land do it,but don't force your life style choice on me and mine,

If you want everything handed to without work,maybe rob banks (to strenuous maybe?) or become a dictator of a small nation and live high on the hog of the blood sweat and toil of others,

Originally posted by Extralien
I love genuine work.
tilling the soil to plant seeds, cutting wood for fires/cooking, weeding planted areas, thinning out wooded areas to allow new growth/feeding area for animals. Keeping certain areas untouched for wildlife. building walls with natural stone from the ground.
Being busy with my mind and hands.. Experiencing the outside air every day...................

..............Knowing that your food is planted and growing, the wood's all prepped for its various uses, your home has a new roof and that the rest of the day is yours, you'll find you got lots of time to go anywhere and do what you want to do.. even if it is sitting in the garden all day.

When you're with your friends and family working the land, you find you don't worry about having to shave so often. You don't notice that you all have a slight whiff of sweat from your days labour, you don't mind cracking open a few beers and you stop worrying about how you'll feel when you wake up the next morning...there's no rush.

I envy you.
How did you end up in this lifestyle?
And how would one go from a suburban type lifestyle to that?

reply to post by NoHierarchy


How am I falsly believing I am free?

It's easier to say that the world is #ed up and blame the world on your problems than it is to actually face them head on and do something about them. I hate the minimum wage, and in ways it is like slavery, but I don't succumb to minimum wage anymore. I go to school, I'm on my way to get myself a degree, and I have investments in alternative energy.

I have the freedom to travel, the freedom to write, the freedom to express myself, and the freedom to basically do whatever I want, because I'm not tied down to a 9-5 job.

So no, I don't think I'm hopelessly enslaved, but I mean if you want to think that, and start pulling quotes out of your ass than go for it lol.

The problem is finding work suitable to you.

I've worked many jobs with none feeling right, my calling seems to be one thing but it's like I'm never allowed to do that thing due to time factors, money and other issues.

Unless you're doing the job suited to your needs, tastes and talents, it will never seem natural and you'll always hate it. I just believe that those like myself are more susceptible to those feelings than those who act like drones and don't seem to mind as much.

He doesnt mean he doesnt like to work.. he just doesnt like the lifestyle corporate America is providing him.

Originally posted by Acid_Burn2009
For those that answered yes to the OP...

Well, I venture to say you are all younger?
You want everything given to you without you having to shed one drop of sweat. If you want anything, you have to work for it.

I have read and re-read the OP and I just don't see that.

It just sounds like most of today's youth who expect everything to be spoon fed to them, without them putting forth any effort.

My brother is the same way and there is only 6 years difference between us. He thinks he is entitled to the same things I have, the same opportunities as me; It makes me angry because I see it all the time and I have busted my hump for the last 20 years to get what I have. He has the nerve to get angry that I went out and bought a new truck and he is stuck with the same ol' busted hoopty...and he has been unemployed for like 2 years now.

Originally posted by ThreeThreeThree
He doesnt mean he doesnt like to work.. he just doesnt like the lifestyle corporate America is providing him.

Originally posted by Acid_Burn2009
For those that answered yes to the OP...

Well, I venture to say you are all younger?
You want everything given to you without you having to shed one drop of sweat. If you want anything, you have to work for it.

Originally posted by lance_covel
"The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."

Well if its so easy to be self sufficient as people keep telling us why are Tens of Millions of these
people abandoning their farms south of the border and illegally coming to the US. And yes I understand Nafta depressed the price of corn but if these people were really self sufficient why couldnt they just eat their corn or feed it to their chickens. Instead they come here to live 25 to a house and become wage slaves.
I have a garden in Orange County,Ca and I grew tomatoes and every other day during the harvest season I gave away 10 to 15 lbs of them. Then about 3 years ago a tomato virus crossed the US from Fla to Ca. Last year I planted 15 tomato plants, half produced almost no tomatoes,the rest produced poorly. I had almost none to give away. I dont think the virus is going away. I tried growing tomatoes in the high desert and got nice looking plants with zero tomatoes on them. I could be self sufficient if I had ten square miles of land with lakes full of fish for me only and a land full of game for me only.
to hunt, but not on an acre.

Even if the same careers that are stable now, may not be stable in 5-10+ years (less pay, less hours, or completely gone due to technology/outsourcing). The amount of jobs in the US will become less and less as technology and outsourcing increases. Or at least the workers will be affected by less hours/lower pay.

You also have the increase in competition which can drive wages lower.

Of the available jobs, that doesn't mean the OP or any person for that matter will like the job.. And thats what the OP is getting at. Liking the job you work at.

Whats the point of going to college just to get a job you don't like? If someone likes a job they can get through going to a college, then its worth it. But alot of people go to college just because its part of the norm. They are part of the herd that goes to college. Then they are in debt and can't find a decent paying job- what a real crappy position to be in.

What I hate most about jobs is no control.

You have no control over your salary. If i want to make an extra 10k this month, most jobs that won't happen. With my business it can.

No control over what times you work. You work when your told to work. What if i want to take a week vacation every month? Most jobs won't allow that. Owning a business that can happen. I can run my biz anywhere in the world with a cell phone and laptop.

What about long term wealth? When you quit, fired/ leave your job, you don't have equity in it. You don't have an empire that will support you and your family for the rest of your life.

Jobs limit freedom for the majority of society... and I'm pro freedom 100%

Originally posted by Steam
Now if you go to college and get a marketable degree then you will be able to find a good job. Things aren't that bad for engineers like you said. Maybe for automotive and computer engineers but other than that all other fields of engineering are booming (chemical, biomedical, aerospace, etc.).

Now days a bachelors isn't really worth that much. You will need to find something that is secure from economic downturns. That is why going to professional school is such a good idea (doctors, pharmacists, and to a lesser extent lawyers).

The health care sector has largely been secure from the bad economy. People will always get sick and there will always be a need for doctors.

edit on 12-2-2011 by Steam because: (no reason given)

Maybe we see it differently since i'm part of that younger generation. I was also in sales going job to job like the OP..

I agree that alot of people (not just youth) expect to be spoon fed without putting in effort.

I mentioned Daniel Pinks book "A Whole New Mind" a few times now.. In it he describes the shift thats taking place economically and also emotionally within people. People want more meaning out of work they perform, from his research. Not only does he provide research for this, but I agree with it on a personal level. Its part of my experience of life since before I read his book- so naturally I agree.

The OP works, so he's not being spoon fed. He says he doesn't mind working. He says he makes good money.

It seems hes just fed up with the corporate america lifestyle as a lot of people are. I get it, because I was once there.

Originally posted by Acid_Burn2009
I have read and re-read the OP and I just don't see that.

It just sounds like most of today's youth who expect everything to be spoon fed to them, without them putting forth any effort.

My brother is the same way and there is only 6 years difference between us. He thinks he is entitled to the same things I have, the same opportunities as me; It makes me angry because I see it all the time and I have busted my hump for the last 20 years to get what I have. He has the nerve to get angry that I went out and bought a new truck and he is stuck with the same ol' busted hoopty...and he has been unemployed for like 2 years now.

Originally posted by ThreeThreeThree
He doesnt mean he doesnt like to work.. he just doesnt like the lifestyle corporate America is providing him.

Originally posted by Acid_Burn2009
For those that answered yes to the OP...

Well, I venture to say you are all younger?
You want everything given to you without you having to shed one drop of sweat. If you want anything, you have to work for it.

I just spent a few hours reading through this thread, so allow me to drop an appropriate quote from one of my favorite films (and one of the best films of our generation I might add):

You are not your job.
You are not how much money you have in the bank.
You are not the car you drive.
You are not the contents of your wallet.
You are not your ****ing khakis.

-Tyler Durden, "Fight Club"


Truer words have never been spoken my friends - not in 1999 when this movie first came out and not today. What's funny about all this is that back in 1999 I was still a sophmore in college - partying hard with no real focus or desire to enter the 'real world' upon graduation of college. And when I watched fight club for the first time I really didn't begin to fathom it's message until I entered the working world myself a few years later.

Well fast forward to 2011 - here I am, another corporate slave. Another worker bee pretending to fit in with the rest of the misfits of a generation definied by superficiality and greed. But I refuse to become another mindless stiff trapped in a cubicle. I refuse to believe this is what is called 'living the american dream'.

I'm also in sales - and recently I had my review and despite being a top performer, my boss called me a 'problem child' and said that I need to be more of a 'team player'. I also need to be more 'positive' and quit influencing fellow sales reps despite the fact that my company is rife with all kinds of issues right now - both internal and external. Now stop me if you've heard this before, but the bottom line is that I'm branded a problem because I don't shake my head and say yes sir to every stupid and pointless idea that management force feeds down the companys throat.

You know what else is funny - my company recently changed their 'human resources' department into a 'human capital' department. Well at least they aren't sugar coating things anymore and realizes that employees are nothing more than disposable assest that can easily be replaced. Just let one guy go and either backfill his position internally or place another ad on monster.com full of drivel and misleading descriptions.

Bottom line - I too am sick of the BS. I'm sick and tired of pretending to enjoy my job despite my income. I'm sick and tired of hearing how lucky I am to be employed right now in such a bad economy when there are 1000's of people that would kill to be in my position. I'm sick and tired of all the mindless 'water cooler' talk and hearing about all about how all the other mindless sheep keep marching the same direction in the pasture. I'm sick and tired of walking into my office everyday and fighting off the sick feelings in my stomach everytime one of coworkers opens their stupid mouth.

It may not necessarily be 'unnatural' to work - but human beings were not meant to be stratified among greedy corporate hierarchys while they are told what to do by braindead morons towing the company line and trying force corporate mission statements down our throats.

One day the entire system is going to fail - and when it does then maybe I'll actually find some pleasure in my job. But until then it's nothing more than a paycheck to me.

Originally posted by streetspirit
reply to post by NoHierarchy

 

How am I falsly believing I am free?

It's easier to say that the world is #ed up and blame the world on your problems than it is to actually face them head on and do something about them. I hate the minimum wage, and in ways it is like slavery, but I don't succumb to minimum wage anymore. I go to school, I'm on my way to get myself a degree, and I have investments in alternative energy.

I have the freedom to travel, the freedom to write, the freedom to express myself, and the freedom to basically do whatever I want, because I'm not tied down to a 9-5 job.

So no, I don't think I'm hopelessly enslaved, but I mean if you want to think that, and start pulling quotes out of your ass than go for it lol.

The worst part about attitudes like yours is you just carelessly act as if EVERYONE can just do whatever they want and have nothing tying them down and everything that happens to them is their own fault. Sorry but we do not live in a vacuum, some things are personal choice, some things come upon us by fate of the universe, and some things come upon us by the choices of OTHERS. When the choices of others, even collectively and as part of a system, cause oppression to be spread amongst the majority of people then this is inherently wrong and should be changed. You cannot act as if there aren't larger systems at work and that everything is just random choice. To a degree yes we must make a choice, but before acting we must understand our environment, our world, and to understand our world we must become familiar with systems thinking- which means looking at the LARGER systems which are invisible but still affect the population without individuals being able to have a real choice or alternative, EVEN IN a supposedly "free country" like America.

Originally posted by GeminiSky
I would like everyone on this thread to understand that by posting my OP, I am in no way looking for an excuse to be lazy and sit around the house all day playing video games. I am a hard worker and very dedicated to whatever it is im doing at the moment. It just feels that working most of the day is not how my life was meant to be lived.....

--GeminiSky

Dude, I feel ya. Honestly, it bothers me when ppl assume that just because you have the audacity to ask for a lil MORE outta life, you're automatically labeled, "slacker," "underachiever," or they make comments like, "DUDE, i love my job. idk what ur talkin about LOLZ"

I feel like employment can be a really touchy subject for a lotta people (almost like religion sometimes). I've had countless debates with people over the flaws of the monetary system, and the way employment works in the Western World. A LOT of people get REALLY defensive and usually end up changing the subject, or become insulting/condescending, OR shrug it off and say, "well, that's life."

I honestly think most people feel the way you do, but are afraid to admit it to themselves because it's hard to admit that you're wasting your life in a useless cycle of EARN-SPEND.

We're slaves to $$$, and nobody seems to notice. Yes, you have the option of not selling your life to the pursuit of $$$, but when you do that, life GETS HARD/DANGEROUS. Homelessness is not a safe alternative.

Right now, I'm in the process of trying to monetize my passion for music so that I can skip the 9-5 grind all together. F*CK that. Slaving away for another man's raise? Are you JOKING ME?! Getting up and doing the SAME THING over and over EACH #$(*#$ING DAY??!! Get outta here. I ain't a zombie.

Yes, Human's are creatures of habit, but I feel the lifestyles we're expected to embrace entail unhealthy amounts of monotony.

Sometimes I wish modern civilization would collapse so that we could all just focus on the IMPORTANT aspects of life... LIKE STAYING ALIVE! I feel like that would be slightly more therapeutic for those of us that find the grind of modern-life almost intolerable.

reply to post by GeminiSky


I agree. I am 28 and feel completely burnt out. I think there will be a lot of differing opinions on this though. I know people who would go insane without their daily grind. These are simple people, not dumb by any means, just simple in the way they look at life, and the way they look at themselves. Their job, no matter how meaningless, is how they measure their worth. Then you have people like me, the original OP, and probably a lot of people here. These people are very curious about the world, and constant working takes time away from learning new things.
Although I will say this. Keep the whole not enjoying work thing on the D.L., or next thing you know, you got a doctor giving you pills to help make you more "normal" and to fall in line.

Of course work is unnatural. But being unnatural is human nature.

Just like school has always gotten in the way of my education, jobs have always gotten in the way of my work.

Even those on the furthest fringe know that work is at best a punishment from God for eating of the Tree in an attempt to gain knowledge of our divine/alien selves, or immortality, or whatever gods are insecure about humans knowing.

But Earth is too crowded to live without pitching in to help at least a little. Someone's got to fix the roads and make me pizza. Plus anyone who has had nothing at all to do knows that a little work can be healthy.

It's just that working 40 hours and more a week is ridiculous. It occupies most of our attention and it makes us use what little free time we have entertaining ourselves with images and music on gadgets and events we spend all the money we make working on.

We should get about 6 billion folding chairs and have a meeting to get everyone to relax and not be so relentlessly selfish. Corporations would need to be happy and hold steady for awhile. It'd be nice to work 4 days a week, maybe 9 hours a day. Taxes would go toward a room, food, electricity, and heat.
Everything else would be a luxury.

I know, I know, it sounds good idealistically and there's a lot of little details to hammer out.
Completely rehauling society's workforce would be a lot of work.

And that, of course, would be unnatural.

I've got to be perfectly honest and ask why I,or anyone else in my position who is well off and comfortable should, or would want, to give up our free time to ensure someone elses dream comes true!? Why should I feel the need to take part in ensuring that someone else uses unemployed peoples need to work for whatever money is available, to protect the rich and the well off?
I'm going to to be honest... I want no part of Camerons big society. If you want me to work you'll pay me an honest wage for a honest days work or I'm quite happy to sit back and enjoy my leisure time. This is the problem with this corrupt dispicable government. They want you to work for as little money as possible, then have you pay back over half of that money back in direct and in direct taxes, and just to add insult to injury, have you pay tax on your disposable income which you have already paid tax on!!
This land of lions are now controlled by money grabbing sheep!
Freedom is a god given right not something that has to be either earned or embraced by
us none believers.
Live your life as you want and not as other outsiders believe you should!

I agree with the OP. No amount of money or "financial security" is worth feeling like a slave for what is in all practical purposes 24/7.

It's well worth taking a financial hit, if it gives you a realistic chance to enjoy your time and life more, by simply having time to choose to do what you feel like doing.

First step IMO, do not allow yourself to continually work 12 hour days. Refuse it, walk away from it, do whatever it takes to rid yourself of that kind of work day.

Originally posted by pinkeltje
reply to post by GeminiSky

 

You are absolutely right!!!!! I do feel the same.... I call it the slaved humans we are not free even in the rich west we are the working slave monkeys who have to work work work, spend spend, spend and die die die and do not forget shut up your complains.....

When do people realize that WE ARE ALLLLLL Slaves if we do not earn at least a biljon a year!!!!!

Then you become a slave with a different master, money.

reply to post by GeminiSky


I completely agree with you and have been having this feeling. It is not natural for us to be slaves as humans. The problem I think you are encountering is the fact that you are working for someone else's vision, that you are not allowed to have your own vision, that you are not allowed to improve your own life, to have your own house, to create anything... you are a slave robot, and every movement is controlled by someone else to the point where you might as well not even exist.

The problem is not with working, the problem is with not being allowed to have your own vision at work, not being allowed to follow your own goals and dreams. And this is EVIL and I AM AGAINST THIS as should be ALL HUMAN BEINGS. As a society, we would be much better off if everyone was allowed to follow their own vision as God intended. There is no point in living in a society or supporting a society where people have simply become replaceable robots.

reply to post by lance_covel


Great story and it got me thinking... When your life's purpose is to become wealthy or obtain "success", what happens when you finally reach that goal? Suddenly you have no more purpose. That's why those who have obtained wealth or financial success are still not happy with their lives. Sure they may be -content- but they are still not truly happy.
Really- it should be the opposite.....your goal in life is to have a purpose. For some it is to be a good husband or dad or mother or friend...for me it is to know God better and grow in a relationship with Him, and for some it is still being sought after............ But I can say with certainty that whatever 'it' is, it certainly isn't about working our butts off for 20-30 years just to retire in a nice house with expensive stuff.

i've always despised working. every time i work i feel it's a waste of eight hours of my life where i could have done something productive. fortunately, being a student has saved me from working more than four months of every year. your feeling of work being unnatural is how i feel about it, which is great to hear. no one ever agrees with me about it. people always say "that's life!" well, it is if that's how you want to look at it. work has been a part of human life for so long, a lot of people can't see life without it. it's like we're unable to function without it - suddenly everything is pointless. "oh god," believers and non-believers in god will say. "what do we do now? we need this! we need the money. we can't live without money! how will cancer be cured?! only money can find a cure." but it's true - it's life. the life of our civilization anyway. maybe there's a world where work doesn't exist. if it does, i would love to join it.