Things Can Always Be Worse
Dec

If you’ve read any of my blog posts then you know exactly how much I hate my job. If the whole point of this site wasn’t about getting out of a miserable job, I guess I would just be complaining…
Even though I am walking around in a constant state of misery, I sometimes will take a moment to look at the lives of others. For example, it’s been about 25 degrees every day this week, just brutally cold and windy. Now, I happen to work in an area of town that has a number of homeless folks, and while out on a walk earlier this week, I noticed a few of them standing outside huddled together. What an awful thing to not have a place to live.
As much as I hate being at my office, it sure beats being stuck outside freezing my ass off. I won’t say that I’m thankful for my office or job, because I am an ungrateful bastard, but I am a little happy for it on a day like today.
I could also be the guy who gets laid off and has to go work at Walmart earning $7.50 an hour. Come to think of it, that might actually be me if I keep up my job rantings…..
Also, if you’re wondering why I have chosen this photo for my post, it’s my actual desktop wallpaper on my work computer. Most people have beaches, sunsets, or mountains to liven up their spirits, but not me. I make sure this picture of D-Day is the first thing I see when I turn my computer on every morning. Why? Because I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than having to storm Omaha Beach. What these men went through is every man’s worst nightmare.
Certainly I can handle a few spreadsheets and phone calls, right…
If I can put myself in the mindset that my day is a cakewalk compared to what transpired on June 6, 1944, then I might just have a decent day at work.
With that said, as much as I like to talk shit about my job, boss, and life, things could be much worse.
Believe me, it’s not easy being such a pessimist. Unfortunately, it just comes naturally to me and I have not yet figured out how to change it. From time to time, I will read an article, see a movie, or hear something that helps me to remember all that I do have.
Some Things I Actually Appreciate
So, in un Ending The Grind like fashion, I am going to list 5 things that would make my life worse if I didn’t have.
1) My family. Having a loving wife and 2 amazing little girls is the greatest gift possible. Going through life alone seems like the saddest thing one can do. After all, what good are all lifes experiences if you can’t share them with your family?
2) My friends. I won’t say that I have a lot of friends (actually I have fewer and fewer each day because of this blog…), but the friends I do have are awesome.
3) My home. I grew up in a tiny apartment with my mother and brother and it sucked. I told myself that I would not do that to my children because I really wanted them to have their own rooms, a big yard, etc. I’m lucky enough to have a beautiful house in a great neighborhood and am very thankful that my girls can grow up there.
4) My fortitude. I think a lot of people in my situation would have given up on their dreams of finding their passion in life a long time ago. Life has a way of wearing us down and I refuse to be worn out! I am not in a great spot financially or career wise currently, but I know I will be someday. I also have realized that my real passion is blogging and trying to spread the word that life does not need to be a grind.
5) My readers. This is the reason I enjoy blogging so much. I absolutely love when I see a comment or someone tells me that they really like my blog. I check my site analytics every day and get so excited when I see that I have actual readers coming and reading my posts!
The moral of the story is that as much as I like to complain, I really don’t have it that bad. Who knows, maybe someday I will need to change the name of this blog to Ended The Grind!

Fernando
Wow man, we have the same goals!
Let’s quit our 9 to 5! Hope 2011 will be a great year for us!
Hope to see you around!
Steve
That’s the plan! Quitting my job would be the highlight of my year for sure! Good luck to you as well..
Sandeep Verma
Nice one Steve…it is indeed good to enjoy the good bits and pieces of life and think that things could be a lot worse….that said, the reality does hit hard on Monday mornings when you think of 40+ hrs of your life, yet again, blown away doing things we don’t appreciate or like (a desk job)…I enjoy giving myself a kickstart to the week by reading your blogs for 10-20 mins first thing when I get to work…And Thank You for mentioning a word for your readers 🙂
Steve
Thanks Sandeep. Some days it’s really tough to stay motivated. Knowing we are going to spend (waste) 40 hours this week is a depressing thought to say the least. Focusing on a few good things can certainly help us from doing something we may possibly regret, like quitting and leaving ourselves without a source of income!
Gibson Goff
You’re a wise man, Steve. You’re article is a very simple and poignant message of counting your blessings -and you blessed all of us with that. Thank you.
Steve
Thanks for the kind words. For as much as I like to complain, it’s always nice to reflect on the wonderful things I have in my life.
arina nikitina
Whoa! Wow! Wonderful! Befitting the last few days of this year. We need to sit down and reflect MORE on the good things that came our way. Even thing of the better things borne out of a not-so-good event this 2010. When we view life like “It could’ve been worse,” we’re learning and giving ourselves the valuable lessons from setbacks, failures and losses. And yet, we still grasp the positivity about what lies ahead!
Well-explained, Steve. Really. Happy new year to you and your readers!
Steve
Thanks Arina, I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
If we look hard enough, we can always find the silver lining in any situation. Too many people take the wonderful things they have for granted.