Living the (Real) Dream

The question is often asked: What's your dream job? The answer, of course, changes over time as your tastes get refined and you become more and more familiar with the downsides of jobs you once thought of as being blissful. And then one day, you wake up and may find yourself perfectly content in your present state in a job which looks nothing like the "dream job" answers you gave when you were young. This dawned upon me as I read about the interesting story about Keith Fitzhugh, a former college football standout and NFL hopeful to recently turned down a practice squad roster spot on the New York Jets to keep his job as a conductor, citing family considerations, notably his ailing father.

Fitzhugh has deservedly gotten plaudits from many members of the media, but I think what's most admirable is that he doesn't portray his situation with any tinge of bitterness or resignation. He's not a train engineer because life stinks, and he has to accept it. He legitimately likes the craft and gets his engine revved up for the prospect of being an engineer. In many ways, he's living the real dream - a job which he likes with reasonable job security, and a chance to closely support the people that he loves.

So if push comes to shove, what's the most important thing in our lives? If we would say that we'd like to be able to spend a reasonable amount of time with our family, have a life outside of work, not living in material need, while having a stimulating job working with decent people which helps provide the aforementioned things, it's possible that many of us are in the vicinity of living the dream. Heck, Andy Pettitte doesn't see his family seven months of the year (hence the retirement talk) and Derek Jeter despises the co-worker who plays to his right. Scratch under the veneer of the typical "dream jobs" (Hollywood star, professional athlete, government leader, world traveller), and you'll find that there are always downsides.

Maybe we can all learn a little from Keith Fitzhugh around a healthy perspective around what's really important. If we did that, we might find ourselves a little more grateful and content around the current work of our hands than we are.