The person who has gone to college, done all of the right things, got a corporate job, and then realized that it was all a great big lie will really benefit from this post.
Here is the phenomenon. Everyone knows that when you graduate college you are going to hate your job. That is, everyone except for the excited Graduate; wide eyed, impressionable and ready to prove themselves.
We’re Losing an Entire Generation of Thinkers Due to Learned Silences
What I didn’t understand is why no one tells you this? Why, in all of my years of college, did no one tell me how much it was going to suck? It would only take a few seconds.
For example: “FYI, when you get out of college you’re going to hate your job more than you like it.” That took no time at all, and it may have saved me years of struggle.
The teachers didn’t tell me, the recent grads who came to talk about how awesome it was going to be when we were finally engineers didn’t tell me, my parents didn’t tell me. In fact, the only entity that told me was TV. I guess I know who I can trust in the world.
So I thought it was a great big exaggerated joke TV used to get ratings and laughs. It is not. It really is that painful.
If you are like me, it will never get better.
The Elephant in the Conference Room
The most disturbing thing about this is that while you are working in a corporation you are not the only one who is miserable, even though you think you are alone.
Every single damn person around you is miserable. If you ask them how they like their job, they say “It’s great! Everyone is so passionate and supportive. It’s a great place to work!” It’s a conspiracy I say! This is a fact that everyone knows but no one will say, for fear of making it true if said out loud.
You’re left thinking that you are the only ungrateful bastard there who is miserable about getting an awesome salary and working for one of the top corporations in the world.
This discovery was a huge Holy F#ck moment for me. One of the best days of my life.But back to the issue at hand.
Self Immolation is NOT Normal Human Behavior
These happy zombies go home and complain and gripe and cry, only to return to the office to do it all over again. They think this is NORMAL. No joke.
Not once does anyone tell you during your visit to the company for an interview to save yourself before it’s too late. Not a single person! It’s because they are afraid to make it a truth. They’ve spent so much time living that life, that they can’t face the fact that it’s been misery the majority of the time.
So, by omitting information another generation of robots gets sucked into the cycle. It will go on and on until someone points out the elephant in the room and kills all of the destructive beliefs that support it.
Start the Revolution!
I am proud to say that I have begun this revolution. Three months before I quit I became a chaperone for interviewees. During this time we had together I explained how evil it was to work there and to run away and not look back.
I succeeded a few times. Most of the time they were so brainwashed that they thought that I was the crazy one. Poor kids.
In closing, here is what I propose. Every time you meet someone who works in a culture of corporate slavery, tell them that they are unhappy and that they should live for themselves. Then let them go into all of the arguments they tell themselves and others about the benefits and necessities of a corporate job. When they are done, tell them that most of the argument was fabricated by them to cope with the fact that they will never own their own destiny.
You’ll piss off some people sure; and change won’t happen right away. But if we plant enough seeds, I think that eventually we can get people to start thinking for themselves again.
This post first appeared on A Life On Your Terms.
