Everybody has a sob story; Here is mine

I have stopped going to work since the past two days now. Given the approaching weekend, that will make 4 days of no work. So why am I not going to work? One reason could be that I have put down my papers and so am not inclined to work. But did this happen the last time I had quit too? The answer, funnily, is no. I worked as usual till the last day. So what was different this time? At first, I was quite inclined to blame myself for it, citing laziness and classic indifference. On delving deeper, the answer is much more complicated than that.

The missing factor was motivation, all other things being equal.

The last time I worked, it was my first job, a job against which I had no preconceived ill feelings against, and most importantly, was game enough to test waters. Just as I was getting out of the honeymoon period and had started feeling like a seasoned hand at it, wham! I was knocked off my high post into doing an MBA, not entirely to my liking too. After two years of MBA, due to more of circumstances than initiative, I landed where I was working (or as the case is here, not working).

However much as I was not interested in it, it would be unfair to say I was unwilling to give it a chance. Sadly, things went from bad to worse and from there to frightfully dreadful, and all in a span of 6 months.

The firm was a good firm. So what was it that drove me against it? Now, after much discussion about over endless pints, long distance phone calls, impromptu treats at Barista, and finally sighs drawn in between quick puffs, a few things congealed into hazy mass-forms:

1. A very small percentage of the working population is actually happy with their work.

2. Another very small percentage is satisfied as much as smug about what they do

So how did these people manage to do it? What did their jobs offer that mine did not?

The answer seems to be more of a let down than anything:NOTHING

Seemingly, the people who can be stuffed into the list above thought that their expectations were matched by the company actually never had any expectations in the first place.

So, is this the secret to a happy, motivated work-life then? This is what I am set to find out now in my new job. Hopefully, the jinx is finally broken!