I have worked as the face of several different types of industries — from food chains, to boutiques, to electronics stores, to a wide range of kiosks — when it comes to customer service, I’ve done it all. All of these jobs weren’t perfect, obviously, as no job ever really is. That’s not what they’re meant to be; the paycheck is compensation for putting up with whatever doesn’t spark joy. But if there is one takeaway that I found in common with all the different jobs I’ve worked, it’s that the quality of your job depends not on the work environment itself, but your attitude towards it.
When perspective is reality, what you choose to focus on shapes your experience.
(By the way, this philosophy can be applied to pretty much everything in life.)
I’ve experienced a wide range of work environments and an even wider range of coworkers. The one consistency is that I always tend to get along better with other people who are slightly more optimistic about their work, even if the work environment generally, objectively sucks.
There is a logical fallacy that was first articulated by Scottish philosopher David Hume that is called the “Is-ought problem” (aka, Hume’s Law). This fallacy explains a common flaw that taints logic in which people base their reality on what they think it should be, rather than what is. The more this concept is understood, the more prevalent it seems.
There is a clear problem with thinking this way: everyone is not going to base their reality on the same thing, yet have still have expectations as though they do.
The the gap between the Is and the Ought houses disappointment and dissatisfaction.
The bigger the gap, the more room for unhappiness.
I’ve seen this affect people’s quality of work in several different ways. I’ve seen coworkers kill their own reputations with managers because rather than accepting their job for what it was, they were unable to adapt from what they thought their job was supposed to be.
It’s very easy to become a victim to this logic. It’s natural to make assumptions on what is based on what should be. But this doesn’t have to be the way. You can change this to increase your quality of life and inner peace with a little bit of mindfulness.
Accepting things as they are is the closest to a fully common ground that we will ever reach.
When everyone can exist in the same reality, we will be able to cooperate and coexist peacefully, and together.
Have a blessed day.
