Unfortunately, society has developed around the concept that it takes money to survive. So we find a job, get on a schedule, and find a way to coax our minds into allowing ourselves to grow old going to work, coming home, eating, sleeping, and repeating the ritual until we are out of time. (Damn…that sounds bleak*).
Doing what we feel is unnatural can be depressing.
Depression is natural. We have drugs, however, that can put us into a stupor of
acceptance. There must be a better way.
When we are at work, we still need to BE ourselves,
as we are unique –not like everybody else! We also need to acknowledge the
uniqueness of others in order to allow ourselves to be unique. Work is not so unnatural,
but working for money is.
One thing separates humans from animals (though both
are to be respected) and artificial intelligence as it is today. That is
creativity**. Individuals are more productive, both at work and at play. At
play, there seems to be more time to be creative, but there needs to be a way
to introduce creativity onto the job.
Now, we don’t want UNBRIDLED creativity, where we
have an air traffic controller (for example) trying to see what will happen if
they arrange aircraft in the shape of a heart on the radar, but we DO want them
to be able to think creatively and solve problems that arise. We can apply cognitive
creativity to work situations.
Dare to be different! It helps when we creatively
define our workspace. Did I hear you mention being in an office without
windows? In the seventies, there used to be a poster of a window. It was meant to be lighthearted, but many people
bought these posters and put them up in their offices. It turned out really brighten things up.
Frame some photos of the places you go hiking on the
weekends. Surround yourself with these
and don’t worry, there’s no rule that
you need to remember that you are sitting in that dismal dump. Of course if the
thought arises (as it will if you’re not where you want to be) that the reason
you do this is not because you have to be there. You do this in order to fund
your next real adventure.
Good lighting is another important environmental
sanity keeper. If you are not supplied good lighting, bring a full spectrum lamp to work and put it on
your desk. If you don’t have a desk, strap it to your forehead like a
spelunker. Good lighting is essential. It, in fact, is a rule –and the first corollary
to the rule is that bad or insufficient lighting is detrimental to one’s health.
Here, again I mention and indeed, emphasizefull spectrum..
If you feel your job is truly damaging you, you may
need to get a different job. Not always easy to do, you may even need a course
or two to meet requirements of a new
position, but when you get your resume together and start looking, there is a
ray of hope that can help you to make it through to the day that you leave that
place! Do take a few risks. They don’t have to be death defying, but a job that
detrimentally affects your mental health is not only a liability to the owner
of the company, but it is a liability to your health.
Depression can be contagious, and it certainly
shortens one’s life.
*If
you haven’t already, check out the movie “The Gods must be Crazy” (1980). It
says a lot about our society in a rather humorous way.
**although
animals do have sharper teeth and are allowed (and this is
not to be mistaken as a jealous tone) to
go naked as well as “take care of business” outdoors.
