I was sitting there in the park, during one late evening pondering why I couldn't make up my mind. I was confused. Confused about life, confused about my work situation, unhappy with the way things were, but they weren't so bad to be honest. I have a great job - they call me the freelance video - I sit at Cafes and edit videos for a living, Whoopee! But still, for some reason I am unhappy, unsatisfied with the whole situation. I rest my head on the crumbling leafs, and fell asleep.
Woken up by the sound of construction workers I slowly sat up and looked at what they were doing. They were taking down horse stalls, there was a horse riding festival the other day and it was time to pack it all up and leave. One by one the mental fences came down the stalls, one man on each side and "pop" and "clank" on to the forklift. I stayed there just watching as these stalls came down one by one.
Thoughts began to surface, "these men are working, they're working hard, and they're working together. And although they're working hard, they're enjoying it. They're cracking jokes, they're laughing". "Oh remember a few years ago, you did the same. Had to be up early, working in the cold of the morning, but still you had a purpose, you had a team, but now?", "oh shit, that's it!"
In the past men use to WORK. They didn't sit in offices, behind computers, typing away until their eyes turned red and their fingers had blisters. Instead they worked out in nature. They hunted together, they built houses together, they hiked together, they brought supplies from far lands, But nowadays it's different, we sit in our comfy chairs, looking at pixels and trying to convince ourselves that this is REAL WORK. But it's not.
As men we need to move, we need to do physical 'stuff', it's our biological need, and if not fulfilled then we get depressed, we get lonely, we feel empty and without purpose. Back in the old days building a house so that you had somewhere to be safe had a biological purpose, hunting for food so that your family could survive had a biological purpose, but typing at the keys doesn't fulfil any biological purpose. Yes we might make our living this way, but our Mammalian Brain (The limbic brain) does not understand this and so it begans to send us discomfort signals, and this is why we feel so yucky, or empty because we're not fulfilling our biological purpose.
It's about movement and community. These two things can keep you going for a lifetime, because they fulfil the biological needs. These are the fundamentals you should consider your jobs by, because if they are missing you will most likely feel depressed. That's why when I think back to the jobs I enjoyed most, they were usually ones where I worked with people, and where I was moving around a lot. For example I worked construction for a long time, and all though I hated the work I was doing, I was fulfilled because my biological needs were taken care of. Or one time I worked at a Ski Resort, I had to wash dishes, clean, prepare food, sounds like a shitty job, but still I was happy for some reason... and the reason being that I got to work with people and I was constantly moving and doing things.
I dreamed of being a video editor, and achieved that dream, but I'm not happy, and now I understand why. So if maybe you're going through a similar experience as I, then think back to the fundamental biological needs, because maybe the story you created of why you hate your job, or why you're not fulfilled is as simple as that.