A Poor Man's Happiness

When I decided to quit my job back in August and leave the "prestigious PR firm" I had worked at for almost two years, most people thought I was crazy to leave without another job lined up. Co-workers, my new roommate, and even random people I met thought I should stick it out until I landed something else. I mean who quits a job in this economy, right?

Well obviously they were thinking the same thing I had for the past 3 years of my career...find a job and stick it out. Gotta pay the rent somehow.

But is this really how we live our lives? Working just to pay the rent even if it makes us miserable and unhappy?

Look at how life plays out - as children we work our butts off to get good grades and get into the right college. From there we pick the right major and do internships every summer to get the right job directly out of college. Then we spend the next 30 years of our lives climbing the ladder, trying to make more money to get the nice new BMW series and the big house in the right neighborhood, and continue to save up for retirement. So what do we do with retirement? Use all the money we've worked our whole lives to get to travel the world on one of those senior citizen cruises and then be able to pick our grandkids up from school.

This is the ultimate structure in our career lives...work all our lives to save up and stop working.

But what if we like working and keeping active? I don't mind working when the work is something I love. I loved volleyball and played my whole life, but I didn't have the talent of Kerri Walsh, or maybe it was just the dedication. Ball players become engrossed in these million dollar contract deals and the whole production of it all, but they got into the sport originally because they loved to play. Really what professional baseball or basketball player took a job just because it's the only thing they could land to pay the rent?

Also, I know I won't retire at 60. Hell I'll probably have just gotten started on a new project. And sure I want to travel and see the world, but I want to do it while I'm still young enough to hike up mountains and have the energy to see every inch of it. So if I don't want to follow the "structure" why should I be stuck in a job that makes me miserable?!

I won't go into the details of what finally made me leave...the last straw per se. For those who were there for the last few weeks you know what it was like and how miserable I was. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my mother and getting her approval...she paid for all my education on her own and has helped me monetarily while I'm still trying to get steady on my feet - I felt I owed it to her to ask for her approval and make her proud. But the one thing my mother stuck by was telling me to "do what's going to make you the most happy."

And that was it. I turned in my letter of resignation the next day.

Now I've basically been unemployed for three months, minus the part-time at a restaurant and a couple temporary gigs I've landed. I've been on a bunch of interviews and was even turned down because I was "too overqualified" - no joke. And on most of the interviews I've gotten the same question..."Why did you leave?" And it's funny how I can tell the quality of people and the company just by their response. The people who are shocked that I left for myself or just because I wanted something new want another answer, don't even believe me or give a disappointed look on their faces. Then those who have congratulated me on making such a bold move, respect me for doing it and say they can empathize - those are the people I want to work for. They get it. They're human. They're not corporate lemmings.

The past three months have been incredibly hard with the economy as it is. I've barely been able to make rent. I constantly stress about my credit rating and bills. And I am always wondering if there is any hope on the horizon. But every time I talk to my mom on the phone as she tries to calm my nerves and reassure me, she always asks the same thing - "But Meg, are you still happy you quit? Aren't you a happier person now?" And my response is ALWAYS "Yes!" And every time I answer I let go a big exhale and realize that all this stress is worth it. I wouldn't trade anything I've gone through in the past three months to be back working at that firm.

I made the best decision for me that I could. And every time a recruiter calls with a position, I really think about whether it's something I want. For those who can respect that, thank you. For those who think I'm still nuts for quitting, so be it. But it's my life, not yours. I will take a poor man's happiness over a rich man's wealth any day.