What I liked about it so much? Everything. If I had a decent job this time round I’d definitely enjoy it more too, but the job wasn’t bad. I worked in a factory, and the money was OK. The hours sucked. 6am – 12pm, sometimes till 4pm – and over weekends 4am – 2pm.

Now I have a comfortable 8:30am – 5pm office job. Nice and cozy, plus I don’t work with people so much. However, in a factory you don’t always realize how clever people are. It doesn’t take much brains to chop cucumbers, as opposed to my current job, where everyone is expected to think for him / herself. Not that they do, which makes it so frustrating at times.

I was talking to someone the other day about simple jobs. If the money is good, why not? People who do simple jobs, like chop cucumbers, don’t have stress. They wake up each morning knowing what is expected of them. As long as they wash their hands and don’t eat the veggies, they should keep management happy. If they work over time, its optional, and they get paid well for it. It really is a simple life.

You might say that these people don’t have dreams and ambitions, which might very well be true, but for myself, I have more than enough dreams and ambitions that are not work related. If I had more time to follow those dreams, I would definitely do so.

The older people who I worked with in the factory were really nice people. They were warm and friendly, and most of all content. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that a simple job will give make you content. But I am saying that an important position at a big company with millions of rands will not make you content. It is what is inside of you that counts. And with a simple job one has more time and energy to spend on the important things.

I believe it is important to set goals for yourself in different areas of your life: not only work. Personal goals might score a bit higher with me even. These are the goals which we set voluntary – things that are close to our hearts. Usually the sort of things that ‘really matter’.