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Unfolding Nature Shop: Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order

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The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost
    #16800519 -

So I had a corporate type job last year and I lasted ~2 months (was miserable and it was low pay). Recently, after being out of work for almost a year I got desperate and started applying to corporate jobs again. Got a slew of interviews but realized I just can't do it.

I am uncomfortable in the phony, self-important corporate mindset. And the senseless rigidity in everything they do makes for high stress levels daily which leads to me being miserable.

Everybody who does the corporate life at one point or another realizes that they paid a high price for their comfortable pay check and job title to drop so they feel important in social situations. You give up your soul. You give up your passions. You give up your dreams.

All to get on the treadmill which provides you big pay checks (that are more than you need to live). You think that big pay check will make things great, you'll be so happy. But in reality, you just adjust your standard of living to your new income level, you stay unhappy, and you feel like you need more and then you'll be happy. Its never ending. You'll never be satisfied chasing stuff like that.

Socrates said “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.“

Now im not some 16 year old in some rebellious phase ("don't give in to the corporate man, man!"). I'm closing in on 30 and i've watched countless friends who used to have a genuine spark for life but their soul has been sucked out of them because they are constantly stressed/exhausted about work and they just seem like lifeless husks now.

I don't want to feel I have to impress people with my luxury car. I don't want to have to talk to people only about my career so I can feel important because i'm constantly insecure about how society judges me. I don't want to be jealous of some TV personality who makes much more than me so I up my overtime 60 hour weeks. I don't want the 'me' who exists independent of society to be thrown away because there is no time outside of 'career me' because I am consumed by the life cycle of work/eat/sleep.

I want to be that 60 year old guy that works at the grocery store but is always smiling. Or the small business owner who barely makes a profit but enjoys seeing the direct results of his hard work so it makes every day worth it.

And I think more and more people are starting to see things this way. The economy is shrinking and I think its because people are realizing, as it was put in fight club, we are working jobs we hate to buy shit we don't need.

ps I know 'corporate' isnt the best word so without getting into semantics, I hope you understand what I mean when I say 'corporate jobs', or 'corporate life' (suit and tie in the big office building working long hours).

Thoughts? Agree or disagree? Is your experience similar or different?

Edited by Anonymous (09/06/12 06:46 PM)

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #1] * 2
    #16800686 -

Anonymous said:
I'm closing in on 30 and i've watched countless friends who used to have a genuine spark for life but their soul has been sucked out of them because they are constantly stressed/exhausted about work and they just seem like lifeless husks now.


this happens to most people as they get older, might as well take a corporate job and be well compensated for pretending to do work and use that money to go on elaborate vacations where you recreate that spark until you have to come back and get into the program again.

if you find a job that nurtures the passion and fuels the spark, you're one of the lucky few.  it's celebrated when it happens for a reason: it's incredibly rare.

as for the fight club reference. i really liked that movie too, then i realized it was an idealist situation that'll never happen with people. most people prefer to follow, leaders take advantage of that, xyz we're where we are today because it's how people want it.  nothing's stopping us from rebelling if we want, we don't because WE don't want to.

people work jobs they hate to buy shit they don't need (though many view them as necessities now), and also in order to survive in comfort.  the alternative scares people, which is why it keeps grinding and most people become lifeless husks.  i've known drug dealers, prostitutes, alcoholics, orphans, businessmen, carpenters, all sorts, and everyone's the same.  if you can't find the spark in work, look elsewhere, and if you find it elsewhere consider yourself lucky because there are a lot of people who look as hard as everyone here on the shroomery does and they still don't find the spark.

Edited by happymealplease (09/06/12 07:25 PM)

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #1]
    #16803164 -

If you were married you'd feel different. All corporate workers are married and sacrifice their needs for their spouse's.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #2]
    #16806996 -

Very good post OP - i've just turned 27 and have become one of those lifeless husks you are talking about. I am in a labour/trade/technician job though not corporate.

It is killing my soul, i am absolutely miserable. I don't know what to do with myself...

I don't really make much and work a ton of overtime, all the time. I'll bring in about $50,000 this year, but will probably have about 400hrs overtime (what good is this money?) I don't have time or energy or even a lifestyle to be able to enjoy life the way i need to.

I've been trying to justify it to myself - "just 8 more months, then you'll have a good chunk of money for a down payment..." - but everyday, every second of the day, the reality of my misery is screaming at me "what the fuck are you doing with yourself...."

I always used to adventure and live aloof, living in communal houses, cheap rent, few possessions ... able to do things on a whim... I don't know if i'd want to go back to this because my mindset has changed, but it's alot more appealing than exchanging my life and sanity for money.

I also crave to be a small business owner, or developing several passive or part time revenue streams which allow me to travel or life abroad and work from home or at least for myself...

More and more i realize that i don't fit in structured environments and that i would thrive on my own, if i can get past this lull in my life.

I actually just applied to be a mail man - but it is quite a long haul to get full time as a postal carrier.

I am also interested in firefighting ...

I guess all i can do is try something else until i find something tolerable.

Unfortunately i feel quite bound to my current job, the prospect of making less elsewhere is quite scary.

(holy rant - the OP really brought out my own feelings on this.)


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GO OUTSIDE.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: PDU]
    #16808332 -

Save your money for 5 years, just live at the bare minimum and bank everything you can and then quit your job and live off your money for a while, buy a motorcycle, travel, go camping, meet people


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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: LastBreath]
    #16809237 -

Hi!  Corporate drone here.  I'm happy.  Thanks :laugh:

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #1]
    #16809435 -

Anonymous said:
Thoughts? Agree or disagree? Is your experience similar or different?


Disagree due to different experience. The stimulus for me being part of corporate life is not the paycheck. It's the people I meet, the chances I get for observing how people interact, how they perceive the world around them and to get a really up-close and personal view of how the economy works. As a bonus, I get to do stuff that (hopefully) makes the lives of other people a little bit easier.

I currently work for two (very different) organizations, both of which are going through hard times. In both cases, there is the risk of hundreds of people losing their jobs within the next 12-24 months. In both cases, I think there are things that can be done to position the organization better in its environment, demonstrating that it adds value. I try to contribute to this, in my limited ability to do so. Thereby, I hope to contribute to those hundreds of people retaining their jobs, securing an income that allows them to make the choices in life that they want - that allows them to travel, let their children study, to develop themselves through their hobbies.

And like I said, for me, the added value is in meeting all those people and finding out how they function within their organization, but also seeing what drives them personally.

OP, I think if you start seeing 'corporate life' less from the viewpoint of your own accomplishments or financial situation but more as an opportunity for you to contribute to the happiness of others, things may start looking less bleak. Also: 2 months man, that's not exactly enough experience to make a judgement on 'corporate life' as a whole. You haven't even stuck around long enough to start to grasp the dynamics of one organization, let alone of corporations in general. There's still a lot to learn out there about people and society, and there are various opportunities for you to make a difference - and not only in an economic sense. So either get stuck in the supermarket job and make a minimal contribution to society, or try to look past the grey suits and the pay checks and use your talents more effectively. The choice is yours, mate. But complaining that corporations suck the life out of people is just a cheap shot. It's up to you to decide where you stand in (working) life. Take responsibility; take control!

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: LastBreath]
    #16810616 -

LastBreath said:
Save your money for 5 years, just live at the bare minimum and bank everything you can and then quit your job and live off your money for a while, buy a motorcycle, travel, go camping, meet people


You see, this doesn't address the problem at all. I need to find a way to generate income while living aloof.

I already live on the bare minimum and save all my money.

I classically quit my jobs.

I already own a motorcycle.

That's exactly what i do, traditionally - quit my jobs, and go camping/traveling/adventuring while having no real home or obligations.

I am so caught up on the rapidfire stimulus of not knowing where i am going to shit, eat or sleep and just being caught up in a worldwind of uncertainty and going with the flow of life during said adventures that...

Now - living a stable life, with a nice comfortable home, decent job and a live in girlfriend that i am extremely uncomfortable and unmotivated, uncertain of what to do with myself.

I find it so much more rewarding and easier to ... live in a tent, constantly on the move.

I doubt vagrancy is sustainable long term ... but i find myself chasing a bit of the typical "American dream" the past couple years, and i KNOW it isn't sustainable for me either.

I feel like i have little choice but to find a way to generate multiple passive revenue streams and stay aloof.

So i guess the goal right now is to save up a nest egg, and purchase a rental property. Next summer/fall I am going to wwoof and further explore my life and interests in the hopes of finding a different direction to pursue...

So far my life has been a handful of experiences in what not to do.

I am just counting down the days until i can get rid of my shit (possessions and job) and hit the road again.


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GO OUTSIDE.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: PDU]
    #16812756 -

PDU said:
I am just counting down the days until i can get rid of my shit (possessions and job and girl) and hit the road again.


fixed :smile:

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: memes]
    #16813067 -

Ohhhh.

We'll see what happens.


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GO OUTSIDE.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: PDU]
    #16814778 -

Fuck marriage and fuck corporate.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #3]
    #16817093 -

Corporations are dangerous because of their legal status and selfish motivations. When a quick profit is all that matters and everything else is secondary, someone inevitably gets trampled into the dust when they lose the race or refuse to race at all. I don't think they're inherently bad, but combined with this fallible economic system and group-think survival reflex, they can come to resemble a cornered, rabid animal.

I don't want to work for a corporation if I can avoid it, but I realize that my current job is an extension of dozens of corporations, and my business is just a brick in their wall. As long as we buy from massive corporations and not local farmers it will be that way.


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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: SWEDEN]
    #16819797 -

Im at the time in my life, where the next move is to step away. Im a freshman in college in my first semester. I need to travel and experience life beforee I join the sheep.  I got handcuffed and charged with possession yesterday. Its all adding up, time to move on. Life is too short, the first step seems scary but also essential.

I always dream/wishi lived in the time of the old west or with  a native American tribe. work to live off the land. Not to flourish the rich.


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“You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.”
Terrence Mckenna

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: MoondanceDan]
    #16824701 -

Any job can feel like its soul destroying, even working a small business or whatever you think is ideal. I personally like working for myself but you put in long long hours if you want to get ahead and it can turn you into a zombie same as any other job.

Find work that you like and enjoy and which makes you feel good about yourself. Do that and you will never work a day in your life. Most people never find that line of work or find it late in life. Working at a desk when you like to be active or like working with your hands will make you unhappy. Same as working manual labor when you are an idea type person will not be satisfying.

If you are making good money then save save save and you will be able to explore other options. If its going back to school, that takes money, starting a business, takes money too. If you are wanting to start a business, learn all you can about it. That may mean going to school, taking an apprentice program or working for someone who does what you want to do. There is an old saying "don't quit your day job". If you can moonlight while working that is ideal because you can test your new idea without committing yourself financially. Most new businesses fail and usually due to not enough money. The second biggest reason is not knowing the business well enough, not knowing your market niche and so on. You can have a great idea but not be able to fund it.

If you could have your choice of jobs, what would it be?


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“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.” (attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville political philosopher Circa 1835)

Trade list http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/18047755

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Stonehenge]
    #16825595 -

Stonehenge said:
If you could have your choice of jobs, what would it be?


Probably a rhetorical question, but i'll answer anyways, it's something i've been thinking alot about it lately...

I am fascinated by fine woodworking (ie. high end furniture building mainly, although also post and beam construction and innovative high end finish carpentry/cabinetry.)

I am a creative minded person, but have no artistic outlet. I am also a bit of a perfectionist with an eye for fine craftsmanship.

Building amazing things out of wood which lasts for generations seems like a very satisfying and noble pursuit...

I've been avoiding it, because its a major uphill climb as a career and industrial (non high end) cabinet making is a bottom tier job... But i do think i would be really challenged, intellectually stimulated, and happy by doing it.

However, i am also interested in field biology or geology aswell as fire fighting, and postal delivery.

*shrugs*


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GO OUTSIDE.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Anonymous #1]
    #16829089 -

I feel you. I don't want to become a cubicle drone. It's looking like I'm gonna be an entrepreneur once I get outta school.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: Amber Trichome]
    #16830209 -

Amber Trichome said:
I feel you. I don't want to become a cubicle drone. It's looking like I'm gonna be an entrepreneur once I get outta school.


Clutch your dream.  You're going to get out of school and likely:

1) not have an idea on what to entrepreneu
2) realize your great idea needs a huge capital investment
3) get stuck paying bills and have to get a shit hourly job to keep a roof over your head.  free time dwindles.  you clutch to social life.  'grand plans' get pushed aside.
4) THe economy will have imploded by then and credit won't exist.

Stay motivated.  GL

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: memes]
    #16830266 -

I am curious as to the OP's plans.


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GO OUTSIDE.

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: PDU]
    #16831006 -

work @ a local owned bakery/restaurant, been here 31 years, and the only one in the world. people always ask why we don't expand, and recently the owner's are talking me into it. our sales consistently stayed up through the recession. i literally live in one of america's fattest cities.

if you want to split hairs, change "entrepreneur" to "business owner"

Edited by Amber Trichome (09/11/12 07:33 PM)

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Re: The corporate lifestyle just isn't worth the cost [Re: PDU]
    #16832466 -

PDU said:
I am curious as to the OP's plans.


Plans? I don't really have any big plans. Much you like you I love the feeling of freedom and dread the feeling of being tied down.

I don't want to completely give up on normal societal functioning (be homeless), so I have been looking into all sorts of super minimalistic living. I love living frugally anyways. I love small and efficient living spaces. I love coming up with new things to cook on ~$5 a day. I plan on moving my cell phone to pre paid because I rarely use it. The only thing I want besides shelter food car etc (basic needs) is a computer/internet.

Basically my plan is to find a zero stress retail type job and live a minimalist lifestyle, not tied down by career or family. I like where I live but I like being free to get up and move if I feel like it.

Later on in life I would like to do something like buy a house to live out of for a couple years while I work, while also doing renovations in my spare time so I can turn a profit off the house then move on to a new one.

Also as I said, I would love to have my own business. Nothing fancy but just something like owning a small pizza place. I love how in other countries you can do this with a super low entry cost barrier by just opening a food stand on a busy street. Unfortunately here in the US, if the right people arent getting their money they won't allow you to do stuff like this.

Also did you know its illegal in the US to live in a house under a certain size? They did this (so i've heard) because builders and banks wouldnt be able to get a big enough cut out of small cheap houses so they made them illegal under a certain size. I would love to buy a plot of land and build my own cheap cozy small house with my own two hands.

But ya besides that, basically my ideal situation is finding low stress, low commitment work and live cheap.

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Unfolding Nature Shop: Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order

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