I have a big problem. I care too much. I was talking to M today about my increasing frustration with work, and it seems like a lot of it boils down to the fact that I just care too much about what I do. I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and I can also be rather impatient. I defend these qualities by saying that it’s just because I care. But maybe I just care too damn much.
My question is, how does one stop caring? How do I change this in myself, so that if something doesn’t go right with a project I’m managing, instead of getting more and more frustrated about it, I just accept it and brush it off? After all, I know my job does not define me. I know there are more important things in my life, such as my family; my loved ones; things I’m passionate about, such as my music and writing … all of these things bring me a great deal of satisfaction and joy. Perhaps I should just accept that those are the things I need to care about, and the other things are just fluff; they are just things I need to deal with in this day-to-day called adulthood.
All this is so much easier said than done though. Every time I think I have it, I catch myself caring again. But I do realize that it seems like no matter how much I care, no matter how hard I work, I just can’t seem to change the fact that at my job, things are a damn mess. M tells me I’m too emotionally invested in it. He’s probably right, because that’s just how I am. I really do give a shit about what I do. But that attitude seems to be getting me nowhere.
Any suggestions?
but seriously, it does seem like I’m not alone, and yeah, I think the day I stop giving a shit is the day I become even more worried about myself!
