Many of you know from my confession post that I’ve been meditating. Occasionally I receive updates from my meditation teacher about how to handle stress.
I want to share this article with all of you to get your thoughts:
Read Me!
It’s very interesting and comes at an appropriate time for review. Because of the current state of the economy, joblessness incites hopelessness in so many. This quote stood out to me the most:
The moral is that the most dangerous kinds of stress don’t feel that stressful. It’s not the late night at the office that’s going to kill us; it’s the feeling that nothing can be done. The person most at risk for heart disease isn’t the high-powered executive anxious about their endless to-do list — it’s the frustrated janitor stuck with existential despair.
I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people from all different career paths. They have said, time and time again, that they wish to find other work where they can be productive but understand there are no jobs to be had. Therefore, they have this option: stay in a job that is no longer a good fit for them, while they slowly decline in production and ambition until they eventually get laid off so that they can collect unemployment while they continue their job search.
Unemployment is now viewed as a better opportunity than working! What a paradigm shift we are witnessing! How and why has this changed? I think it is perfectly illustrated in the paragraph from the Wired article. It is because the workplace is stunted, growth is stunted and therefore your ability to produce as a worker is stunted. Not only that, but there is little opportunity to work elsewhere, making people feel helpless. People are stuck – they’re stuck in this kind of mentality – keep things steady, keep status quo, keep your head low, do whatever they ask. Because if you speak up, there are 500 other people begging for your exact position. Which is worse? Garnering zero income or garnering an income that will eventually have to fund your therapy bills?
Have you witnessed this general shift in thought?
