The story of an idealist who became a manager
July 4, 2007
I’m the kind of person that can be convinced by n number of people (n being a finite number >= 3) that expecting something that ‘feels right’ can amount to idealism. Idealism being a word that is currently synonymous with stupid/dreamer/overambitious/silly.
I’ve said rather nasty things about managers who:
- breathe down your back asking for status after they’ve already sent you 3 reminders
- assume you will work late and over weekends to meet the oh-so-crazy deadlines
- call you up on your personal number to clarify silly doubts and check for updates
- inwardly cringe when you discuss vacation plans
and lo and behold, mine is the case of the ugly duckling in reverse. I’ve magically transformed from a white swan into an ugly duckling of a manager. I mean, I have to meet the deadlines right?!
My neverending TODO list ensures that I’m always surrounded by a weird sense of guilt and a false sense of urgency, no matter what I do. While watching a movie, in the middle of work, while sleeping! And suddenly I’m disillusioned. If I got sucked into being what I did not look up to in others, is that the norm?!
I’m confident there exists a job/career/whatever that is enjoyable, challenging, pays you well, is not stressful AND gives you enough time to indulge your other interests. This is roughly the point in similar conversations where people look at me and say, “you’re being idealistic”. And that always makes me want to kick this person. Proving is believing. I will find such an occupation. Wait and watch.
-kanch
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. .
2 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
Pratignya | July 5, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I will most definitely be interested in the result. Let me know as soon as you succeed.
PS: alternatively, feel free to give me milestone updates
2.
anandbalaji | July 5, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Do you know why they named ‘Wonderla’ so? Its because if they called it WonderLand, it wouldn’t have been believable!!!
Seriously – I think such a job exists. I don’t think it is any one job, but actually any job that each of us loves dearly! So if i were to look into what I really like doing – its doing nothing! So if I had a job that paid me for doing nothing and doing it well, I think I would enjoy it a lot and be totally stress-free!!!
Look at people like say Roger Federer or Sachin Tendulkar. They love what they do so much that even though it seems like their ‘jobs’ can be stressful, to them, the passion is so great that it doesn’t feel like a burden!
So in your context Kanch – I think you will enjoy teaching. It is something that comes naturally to you, you are in school teacher mode most of the time anyway and it wont feel like a job at all!!! Go for it!!!