Getting A Raise: Not As Cool As Getting The Right Job

Getting a raise does two things to a person.

The first – it excites you, makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, and keeps you motivated to do the job you’re doing.

The second – it keeps you motivated to do the job you’re doing…

Getting a raise is only the coolest when it is at the job that you want to be doing. Otherwise it’s nice… but what it’s really doing is helping you procrastinate if you’re not too careful.

Everyone needs a little extra cash, especially at my age (25). I have school loans to pay off, car insurance, bills, rent, and more bills. A raise is great because it helps pay all those little monthly expenses that I’ve brought upon myself. But, it also breeds complacency if you let it. It’s easy to sit idle and remain content with your place in life if you keep gaining a little more than you had last year.

The real question to be asked though – besides the few extra bucks, how has your life advanced since last year?

You ought to be more concerned about getting an overall life raise, not just at your workplace, but for yourself – overall. Are you content with the progress you are making at work, in your relationships, and in whatever it is you are passionate about? If the answer is yes, then take that bonus at work and be smart about it. Put it toward making your life better with each passing day. If the answer is no, then take a look at those other areas of your life and figure out a way to get a raise in them too.

I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy the jobs I’ve had. I’ve worked with good people who care about what they do. They also care about me and I can say that many of my coworkers have become friends over the years. Work to me thus far has been a way to pay for school and to pay for the journey I’m currently undergoing trying to find my place in the world. Work has worked out so far. I’m grateful for the little raise here and there and for the opportunities my jobs have presented me.

There is an end goal though – and that end goal is to not continue this same path that I’ve been on for the past few years. It is to find the job or career or passion that will give me that life raise I am always graving.

It is that raise that gets me up in the morning.

 

It’s not earning more money. It’s not getting some kind of bonus at year’s end. It’s feeling that motivation for what I am doing renewed with each morning. Having the ability to get out there each day without concern for bills and rent and whatever else I owe. I seek to worry about my work, not if my work can pay my bills. I’m craving the day that I can focus on my passion, and not whether or not I’m going over my daily, or weekly, or monthly budget in my head each day.

For the time being, I will continue the path that I am on. But, I will do so with the mindset that the opportunity for getting that raise in life is right around the corner.

You can’t sit by and pass each day the same as the one before it. Something has to change in your daily routine if you ultimately want to change your life. So do well in everything you do, including your current job. Get a raise if you deserve it – you earned it. But, also get the raise that you really deserve – the life that you truly want.