Daily Mood Quotes
Day 148 – September 28, 2011
All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.
~Mohandas Gandhi
When you are looking for work and its been a while, it is very easy to accept something beneath your skills and education; an underpaying job, or a position at an under performing company “just to have a job.” Financial pressures can needle at you and make you believe you are forced into making compromises, and so begins the slow decent. Slowly, job by job, self-esteem, self-respect, and your reputation begins to erode. It is an exception, not the rule that an excellent employee can change the path of a company's fortunes if his/her bosses are “status quo” people. Like Longfellow Deeds (played by Adam Sandler) said in the movie Mr. Deeds, “Its hard to soar with the eagles when your surrounded by turkeys.” The point is, compromise can be a dangerous game, especially when you begin to accept less, then you begin to compromise the fundamentals of your dignity. Negotiation, is one thing, surrender is quite another.
The decent has many steps: step one is settling for less in the hope that something better will “come along” sooner or later. That kind of thinking is like a cold and desolate, desert road... nothing ever “comes along.” At least not before the traveler withers, compromises and takes the second step. That is when on the job, you begin to settle for “acceptable results” then blame it on budget, deadlines, other people in the organization. Whatever! The facts will be they settled, and so that step is tread. Slowly, over time, step three shows up; “compromise” on the quality of your efforts. “Just do the job and take the money.” Self-loathing shows up grinning on this step and it begins to whisper into your ear, a litany of negativity and so the fall continues... Well, you get the point.
When we give up and give in for short-term gains and/or compromise our skills and dreams, then long term goals and our dignity begin to suffer. Dreams fade and the reality of now is all that is left. It can take us into some very, very sad places. Another great quote, also by Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), that goes right to the heart of the matter is, “We all had these dreams, and then we got jobs to achieve those dreams. But we wanted more money, and we got rid of our dreams. You know, if your nine-year old selves saw you guys the way you are, you'd get your butts kicked right now! I mean, look what's happened to us!” When we compromise dreams, dignity, or moral compass, to make money we are letting down more than just ourselves. We let down the dreamers we once were. Do they really deserve that? Our spirits will not accept cash in lieu of honor. I guess what I'm trying to say is; Dream big, never stop reaching and don't ever settle for less than you can be. Hold fast to your dignity and believe in your gifts. “Never give up, Never surrender!” (thanks Tim Allen as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart from Galaxy Quest).
How will you reach for your “dreams” today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
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