The corporate world is no place for a man. For thousands of years men have hunted, defended their land, conquered others’ land, and built massive structures. Only in the last 100 years has man been forced into ever shrinking cubicles and boring corporate jobs. As I wrote in “About This Site” it seems as though after a few generations some men have adapted and evolved into a species which does not mind boring work and finds satisfaction and fulfillment in creating spreadsheets and pdf’s. I am one of the few who has not been born into this new species and instead find myself trying to stimulate my mind while performing mindless tasks behind a computer monitor. In fact, I am sitting in my cubicle as I write this. It’s not that I have a necessarily boring job. Without revealing too much detail about myself I will say that I work in engineering in the energy sector, so it’s not like I’m doing data entry for a credit card company. The fact is that I was never intended to be shut up in a cubicle or office remaining stationary for 8+ hours per day.
Men were intended to be hunters and warriors. As such, we are in constant need of action, conflict, and achievement. It seems as though to fulfill this need men of today are taking their jobs way too seriously. For 40+ hours a week I am surrounded by people who are constantly in a state of stress, arguing over simple things like an assumption used in a calculation. Men have a need for such action and it seems as though those who have evolved are able to find satisfaction replicating the emotions men might have felt in earlier history. For others like myself though, this is far from enough. I find myself caring less and less about the day-to-day trivial tasks encountered in the modern workplace and instead seeking something more fulfilling.
I believe this new species of man I speak of is not born, it is made. Most men I knew in college were full of life and energy and were much like me in their opposition to being stuck in a cubicle for the rest of their lives. I have found though as time goes on I encounter these friends again and find them to be somewhat less energetic, talking less about the latest sports cars for example and more about who said what at the office or their latest assignment. If regular men like these can be neutered, if you will, by the confines of the corporate workplace then what hope is there? Are we doomed to be a society of pansy men?
I plan to write more on this subject, with tips on how to survive the boredom of the modern workplace, for example, as well as remaining a man and not allowing yourself to evolve. I would like to share with you right now though a technique I use, more a mindset actually, that helps prevent me from evolving and becoming just one more stressed out corporate sheep.
Imagine handing one of your daily work assignments to someone like Alexander the Great. What would he say? I would image he would take one glance at it and immediately disregard it as a pointless waste of time. “No one will die if I don’t perform this task” he might say. That is the mindset I try and keep throughout the work day. I see so many people working late hours and stressing over meaningless tasks, trying to meet some deadline. It is easy to get caught up in some project and lose sight of the big picture, that it doesn’t really matter. What is the worst thing that would happen if you didn’t get your work done on time? a slap on the wrist from management perhaps? a slight blemish on your career record? Who cares?
Now, all this is not to say you should slack off at your job because your work is meaningless. Your work does have value, otherwise no one would be paying you to do it. The point is that you should keep it in perspective. Stressing over the small things will only lower your quality of life and turn you into someone you probably don’t want to be. Remember to keep in mind the overall outcome and consequence of your work and most importantly, don’t be a pansy about it.
