Clearing Out the Clutter
Here’s another one from my archives, written in September ‘09 for Jobacle.com. Apologies once again for the irregular posting on this blog. While I haven’t been here, I have been working on a couple of exciting projects behind the scenes – expect an announcement soon. In the meantime, enjoy this old post.
***After moving eight times in the last nine years, I have come to the conclusion that I really hate moving.
Aside from having to put everything I own into boxes, moving is the only way to truly appreciate all of the garbage that I own. Dumping the contents of my junk drawer on the floor revealed, among other things, Weezer tickets from a concert I attended in 2003, a broken Tamogotchi and my old pager.
I guess a part of me is hoping that the items I’ve outgrown will serve some sort of future purpose. That’s highly unlikely, though.
It’s important to know when to clear the clutter out of our lives because if we don’t, we get bogged down with useless junk and have no room left for new and exciting things. This doesn’t just apply to our personal lives, of course – we need to know when to “clear out the clutter” in our personal lives as well.
Have you ever seen the film Office Space? remember Milton Waddams?
After giving his life to Initech poor ol’ Milt was was banished to Storage Room B. As a final slap in the face the bastards in charge took away the one bright spot in Milton’s day - his trusty red stapler. Unfortunately Milton’s fate is a common one in the professional world; most companies have a glass ceiling and once that ceiling has been reached there’s nowhere else to go. While Milton may be the victim in this scenario, it’s his fault for allowing himself to fade into the background. Getting bogged down by the routine, day-to-day responsiblities of a job – the “clutter” if you will – and not taking the time to grow (both personally and professionally) is a sure sign that you will one day become obsolete.
When that happens it’s time to start looking for new employment.
I know, I know – change can be scary. But change is a helluva lot better than wasting away at a job that isn’t challenging or fulfilling.
I’m pleased to say that my Tamogotchi and pager are now sitting in a garbage bag at the end of my driveway. Getting rid of my clutter wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it was actually kind of liberating.
I couldn’t part with the Weezer tickets though – those have been tacked to my fridge.
Baby steps, right?
Hey, cut me some slack - taking a small step in the right direction is worlds better than not moving at all …