379. Know When to Quit or Persevere
Due to the prevalence of social media and new technology, young people are now faced with so many options for their careers. Increased options can be good but also can be detrimental. With increased options comes increased expectations about satisfaction from their job. Many young people pursue a dream job, where they will experience 100% satisfaction. This kind of expectation is unrealistic and unhealthy. This illusive dream puts many young people into disappointment when they are faced with reality.
I heard a famous TV host in Korea being asked this question - “How much are you satisfied with your job?” As he makes good money doing his job, enjoys what he does and is highly respected in his field, I expected his answer to be around 80-90%. But he answered that he is 70% satisfied with his job. The other 30% he doesn’t like comes from living up to expectations and the responsibilities he carries as his experience goes up. Though surprised, I realized soon that this is the realistic expectation of any job or ministry we do. There is no such thing as a 100% satisfying role. But it would be good to shoot for 70%.
When we reach the end stage of our career, maybe we can reach 90%. By that time, we should’ve delegated most of the responsibilities to others and permitted to pick and choose what we wanted to focus on. But until then, giving up on our role because of 30% we don’t like doing wouldn’t be wise. We can always be thankful for the 70% we like doing and find fulfillment there.
But if 70% of what we do is something we hate doing, that would be the time to call a time out and maybe consider quitting or moving on to something else. But I think even 50-60% satisfaction has a chance to go up with a changed attitude. (Which happened to me before) When we look at the scripture, what is commanded most of the time is how we are to view our situation, not how to change our situation. It is because our attitude matters more than our aptitude. And when we endure by focusing on our attitude, God often promotes us to a better place where our satisfaction grows higher unexpectedly.
