I read on a poster somewhere that “the 80% of people that quit their first job work for the 20% that don’t” (or something like that). I was also thinking about this in the context of accepting other offers or otherwise moving from job to job.
When you’ve been in a role for a while, you get bored, feel like you’re not progressing, or just want a change. A lot of times we expect all of that from our job. I’ve tried to think about my job as more static. I try to keep my career on a linear projection where I’m moving forward and learning skills and taking on challenges—but for the most part it’s a routine that doesn’t change too much. So when I feel the need for a change, I try to look for that outside of work: a new hobby, a new habit, a new weekend routine, or a new group of friends.
As I’m learning about the world of promotions, bonuses, and vesting stock, etc. Not to mention the inherent skills gained and personal development from sticking with a tough challenge for a long time. I’m realizing there’s a lot of value in staying.
I think this applies to relationships too. We get bored. We want something new. But often it doesn’t have anything to do with the relationship itself and it has everything to do with us just being human and needing creativity and inspiration in our lives.
But work and relationships are not the only two variables that you have to change, and there is a lot of value from keeping these two static and committing to a job and a relationship long-term. In the meantime, you can cure your boredom with new hobbies and new friends.
Now obviously there are toxic relationships and bad jobs. And that has a lot to do with making smart decisions ahead of time. But if you’ve got something good, stay with it.