Dorey Had it Right – Just Keep Swimming
I was talking to a friend today and he mentioned that these first four months of this year had been the worst he's experienced in this 3 years at the job he's at now. Everything is a give and take... good times and bad. So it's tough to know the difference between being tough and committed and over staying your usefulness. Are you being dedicated, or simply ignorant of the changing landscape? It's not an easy decision for anyone to make. We're almost always too close to the 'problem' (the job) to be able to make a good, impartial decision.
Dorey's mantra - Just keep swimming is a nice thought to keep in mind. But if you're fighting a losing battle, when does the Discretion is the better part of valor come into play? It's tough. Listening to my friend, I can see what he's saying... lots of changes, excessive management oversight (micromanagement), inadequate staff for the expected deliverables, it's nothing new, but all told, it can make a decent job downright unbearable.
But is it temporary? I can remember a lot of times in grad school where I was convinced that this was the last minute I could possibly do this. I was about to scream. But I didn't. Somehow, the spirit of Dorey saved me - Just keep swimming. It's probably not the smartest thing to do in every occasion, but it might just be the wisest in most.
I made it through grad school... maybe if my friend sticks it out, he can make it through this, too, and be better for it on the other side. Maybe it won't last much longer. Good questions, all, and not a soul on this earth can possibly answer any of them. And in the absence of any real, solid, answers, we each have to decide for ourselves.
As for me, I think I'm going with Dorey, I just need to keep swimming until a change is clear and obvious to me. Maybe it won't last four months, like my friend - maybe it will. No way to know.