Even the best job can give rise to 400 thoughts of quitting

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Even a good marriage will have 200 moments when one wants to get divorced, and even the best job will have 400 moments when one wants to quit. I’ve been very busy with work lately; to be precise, it became busy ever since I changed jobs. There aren’t many difficulties encountered, but there are many **in the heart. Every time I encountered **, I felt angry and wanted to quit, complaining about how unsatisfactory my current job was, but in the end I never actually wrote a resignation letter. In fact, no job can satisfy us completely; even when turning a hobby into a career, there are many difficulties that can cause distress. Because the payment is not a reward for repeating simple tasks, but rather a reward for overcoming difficulties. Those ongoing problems and the ways to solve them help us grow, as well as increasing the amount of our salaries. Sometimes it seems that if there are no major issues or problems that require calling someone, finding solutions, or negotiating throughout the day, then the day will pass more easily. But after a couple of days like that, one starts to feel uneasy and thinks they are really letting down the company by not using their salary properly. I have no idea where this utterly stupid idea came from; it’s quite self-destructive. When you first start working, you will encounter many difficulties, such as very low salaries that are not enough to make ends meet ； The rent is too high; it’s impossible to find the best value for money ； The boss is too strict; it seems like they’re always against me ； Colleagues are indifferent; they treat everyone with prejudice. Thus, when we leave behind a university environment that is friendly enough to allow us to use towels freely, drink from cups at will, and wear other people’s clothes without issue, we feel a sense of alienation and panic deep in our bones. So everyone envies those who lead a comfortable life, thinking that if they were in that industry and company, they could also live such a life – comfortable, with plenty of money, and free from any major worries. A few days ago, a netizen sent me a message commenting on people’s attitude toward hardship and rewards these days. She used a very illustrative example: when a small company is established and wants you to join, most people think there are no prospects, the salary is low and there are many difficulties, so they are reluctant to grow together with the startup ； They don’t want to accompany a small company as it struggles forward; they just want to reap the benefits once that company succeeds and goes public. But they don’t want to wait for small companies to grow into large ones either; they dislike the many rules, limited space, numerous hierarchical levels, cold colleagues, and all the other unpleasant aspects. What do people want these days? I’m afraid they don’t know themselves. This metaphor is very vivid; we all have such timid thoughts in our hearts. Not wanting to go through hardships, one always relies on luck, thinking that a company with excellent benefits might somehow include them despite everything, and that they would then be able to thrive there. But will that really happen? A few days ago, Winter told me that she was rejected for admission to the University of Hong Kong. I ask why? She said her IELTS score was too low; most of the students admitted to the University of Hong Kong had no work experience but good English skills, while she happened to have work experience but poor English skills. But if Winter really doesn’t need English and instead enters with a one-and-a-half-year background, it will probably be even more painful. Work experience is a soft criterion, and it’s difficult to establish standards for it; in contrast, English proficiency is something concrete – speaking, reading, and writing all need to be at a high level. If there is even a slight weakness, how can one cope with courses taught in English at the University of Hong Kong, how can one express one’s own opinions, and how can one understand what the professors teach? I’m afraid this is the most terrifying consequence. I shared my concerns with Winter, and sure enough, she began to feel better, less angry or sad. Sometimes I get panicked when I think that I’ve been working for three and a half years yet still only have a superficial understanding of many things in this industry. Especially at a pivotal moment like three and a half years, when ideals and dreams gradually turn into the salary checks that arrive one after another, it becomes evident that the realization of these ideals is moving rather slowly; the most fundamental impulses, as well as the courage and determination to overcome difficulties, gradually weaken. Many colleagues my age also frequently change jobs out of frustration. Sometimes I wonder whether changing jobs really solves the problems It was still Winter who said, \"Someone told me yesterday that in the client team at my previous company, the accounts were usually assigned on a campaign basis, with changes taking place every three months. But when I did the calculations, I was shocked to find that I had been there for 15 months and worked on 7 campaigns. I am truly grateful for this job.\" ”During these 15 months, she worked overtime almost every night until midnight, rarely returning home before 2 a.m.; she spent her weekends working or sleeping, earning a very low salary at a stingy Taiwanese-owned company, while living in the city with the highest prices in all of China. I advised her to change jobs at least 10 times and helped her submit resumes, but she kept holding on to her current job until now. She changed jobs once, and her current salary is twice what it was at this time last year. This doubling reflects the challenges she faces in her new job as well as her ability to solve problems, and it is by no means meant to allow her to carry out the same simple tasks as before. She summarized her one-and-a-half years of experience in these words: \"It can’t be said that after working for 1-2 years, an AE should automatically become a SAE; rather, it depends on whether you have gained certain insights and experiences, and whether you’ve realized that there isn’t a direct proportional relationship between job title and length of service.\" You can use your efforts to speed up this coefficient, or you can delay your youth and time. ”In other words, the most important aspect of any job is not what needs to be done, nor simply doing the work itself, but rather what can be learned from it, what insights can be gained that are useful for one’s future, and how those insights can be used to make one’s future more valuable. Such a journey will be very difficult; there will be many obstacles, numerous arguments, and nights without sleep ； Our faces will lose their youthful appearance, we will develop dark circles and puffiness under our eyes ； We will have many times when we want to quit, and you will have many times when you feel resentful. However, if we want a plain and ordinary life, we are destined not to have to endure such trials ； And if one wants an extraordinary experience, then one must go through difficult trials. All the hardships endured, the fatigue suffered, and the insults endured will one day come back and haunt you. One day, we will receive respect and admiration from many people, and that is the fairest reward.