I am an iphone owner. I jumped on this bandwagon back in the Summer of '08 after the 3G model was released. I loved my iphone. We had great times together. After we got together, I stopped getting lost because of its nifty GPS feature. I found shortcuts around traffic jams. I downloaded cool apps that let me listen to music or find restaurants or look up movies. I even used it to record class lectures. My iphone and I were closer than my cabbage patch "buddy and me" ever were.
But then, one dark day, the evil executives at Apple decided to release the new iphone 4. Why does this make them evil, you might ask? Well, instead of just peacefully releasing a new and improved iphone model, they decided to do something else along with it! They decided to release an update for all older model iphones that would install the new iphone's operating system. This new operating system required the upgraded hardware of the iphone 4 in order to run smoothly. On all older models (such as the 3G), it ran so sluggishly that it caused many users to take up swearing as a new hobby.
Why would they do this? What did I ever do to them? All I did was buy their phone, pay my phone bill, and buy an app every now and then. And I'm rewarded with THIS? That's not the type of treatment you would expect from your friendly big brother, Apple, right?? Then, my naive innocence shattered and the truth transformed me into a bitter cynic. They had sabotaged my phone so that I would be forced to buy the new one!
Like any red-blooded American, I became indignant. I furiously posted some kind of half-rant on facebook. Then I started chatting with one of my friends, and she told me that most people have to replace their phones every two years, so this is just Apple's way of making money. She said: they did such a good job on older models that they realized not enough people would want to buy the newer one--already being content with what they had. Well, all this made sense. She made a sound case.
But this didn't mean I had to accept my fate. Oh no--I refuse to fold to such blatant manipulation. Instead, I decided to beat Apple at its own game. Tonight I came home, googled "downgrade iphone," and found a way to install the previous OS onto my phone. It worked, and now my phone is once again speedy and happy. Now, just to spite them, I'm going to see how long I can make this phone last before it absolutely dies and I'm forced to get a new one. That will teach them for trying to bully this consumer into playing their game. Maybe I'll even hack my phone and get all the apps they don't want me to have, while I'm at it. Just try and stop me you big jerks!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Do you hate your job?
If yes, don't immediately blame it on your job. Time for some introspection.
One of my favorite books is called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. The author was the creator of "logotherapy," which is a school of psychology that focuses on therapy through meaning. To sum up this concept, Frankl quotes Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Frankl describes his experience in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. Frankl was able to survive because he sought and clung to some meaning or purpose that gave him a reason to live.
Now your job isn't life or death (hopefully), but let's think about it. Do you "hate" your job? If so, why? In my experience, I feel most dissatisfied with my job when I don't understand the reason for my task. If the ultimate goal isn't clear to me, then I get frustrated and am considerably less effective. This is why I try to ask questions and understand the "bigger picture" of whatever I'm doing. The knowledge of how my task fits within a larger project helps me feel more relevant: it's like what I'm doing matters more. Without this understanding, my tendency is to adopt an attitude: "Well, what's the point?" "Screw this." Like I said--less effective.
I think that's the first step. If you're dissatisfied with your job, first try to understand how your involvement fits in to a larger process. Ask your boss questions. Who knows, that in and of itself may show him/her that you are more invested in the work. It could inadvertently score you some brownie points.
But maybe you are already intimately familiar with the purpose of your job, and you still hate it. Maybe you find the whole idea pointless. Maybe you disagree with the ultimate goal. Maybe it doesn't sit well with you for some reason. (Maybe I think my client is in the wrong and I'm uncomfortable defending him/her.) What now? Well, now you have to get creative. You have to look deeper for a sufficient "why" to justify your "how." In the case of the "bad" client, I might think he's in the "wrong," but that doesn't change the fact that he should only be liable as far as the facts dictate. My purpose, then, is to minimize his exposure and make sure he doesn't get stuck for more than he is responsible. Or maybe I'm summarizing a very dull deposition (a deposition is where lawyers sit down with a witness and ask hours upon hours worth of questions--all of it transcribed by a court reporter). I know why I'm doing the summary, but it doesn't change how tedious the process is. In that case, maybe I will start looking at how the lawyer is wording his questions, so that I can detect his technique, style, and methods. Altering my focus makes the task more bearable and also potentially allows me to reap personal benefits that would have otherwise been unavailable to me. It also helps me become much more knowledgeable of the facts of the case, and the strategy of that particular lawyer in trying the case. In short, I have turned a tedious process into a learning experience. I have given it a "why."
The above examples are for lawyers, obviously. That's what I do so that is what dominates my mind. But any occupation will have similar opportunities. Like I said, you have to get creative. Once upon a time I worked the early morning shift at UPS, doing package processing and address correction. It was boring and monotonous. It was also 4:00 a.m. in the morning. To counteract all that, I would try to make personal bests in speed and accuracy. Nerdy? Yeah. Overachiever? Maybe. But--it made the job more bearable, and, dare I say--more enjoyable. And that was the whole point.
So if you don't like your job, don't immediately assume that you need a new one. The problem may lie in your failure to find sufficient meaning in what you do. If you can't do this, then you may find a new job just as dissatisfying.
One of my favorite books is called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. The author was the creator of "logotherapy," which is a school of psychology that focuses on therapy through meaning. To sum up this concept, Frankl quotes Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Frankl describes his experience in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. Frankl was able to survive because he sought and clung to some meaning or purpose that gave him a reason to live.
Now your job isn't life or death (hopefully), but let's think about it. Do you "hate" your job? If so, why? In my experience, I feel most dissatisfied with my job when I don't understand the reason for my task. If the ultimate goal isn't clear to me, then I get frustrated and am considerably less effective. This is why I try to ask questions and understand the "bigger picture" of whatever I'm doing. The knowledge of how my task fits within a larger project helps me feel more relevant: it's like what I'm doing matters more. Without this understanding, my tendency is to adopt an attitude: "Well, what's the point?" "Screw this." Like I said--less effective.
I think that's the first step. If you're dissatisfied with your job, first try to understand how your involvement fits in to a larger process. Ask your boss questions. Who knows, that in and of itself may show him/her that you are more invested in the work. It could inadvertently score you some brownie points.
But maybe you are already intimately familiar with the purpose of your job, and you still hate it. Maybe you find the whole idea pointless. Maybe you disagree with the ultimate goal. Maybe it doesn't sit well with you for some reason. (Maybe I think my client is in the wrong and I'm uncomfortable defending him/her.) What now? Well, now you have to get creative. You have to look deeper for a sufficient "why" to justify your "how." In the case of the "bad" client, I might think he's in the "wrong," but that doesn't change the fact that he should only be liable as far as the facts dictate. My purpose, then, is to minimize his exposure and make sure he doesn't get stuck for more than he is responsible. Or maybe I'm summarizing a very dull deposition (a deposition is where lawyers sit down with a witness and ask hours upon hours worth of questions--all of it transcribed by a court reporter). I know why I'm doing the summary, but it doesn't change how tedious the process is. In that case, maybe I will start looking at how the lawyer is wording his questions, so that I can detect his technique, style, and methods. Altering my focus makes the task more bearable and also potentially allows me to reap personal benefits that would have otherwise been unavailable to me. It also helps me become much more knowledgeable of the facts of the case, and the strategy of that particular lawyer in trying the case. In short, I have turned a tedious process into a learning experience. I have given it a "why."
The above examples are for lawyers, obviously. That's what I do so that is what dominates my mind. But any occupation will have similar opportunities. Like I said, you have to get creative. Once upon a time I worked the early morning shift at UPS, doing package processing and address correction. It was boring and monotonous. It was also 4:00 a.m. in the morning. To counteract all that, I would try to make personal bests in speed and accuracy. Nerdy? Yeah. Overachiever? Maybe. But--it made the job more bearable, and, dare I say--more enjoyable. And that was the whole point.
So if you don't like your job, don't immediately assume that you need a new one. The problem may lie in your failure to find sufficient meaning in what you do. If you can't do this, then you may find a new job just as dissatisfying.
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