Sticking to Your Guns

If there’s one thing my mom taught me, it would be, stick to your guns.  Once you make a decision see it through to the end come hell or high water.  From the Free Dictionary the title of this post is an idiom based on the military meaning of stick to your guns ( to continue shooting at an enemy although it puts you in great danger).

Recently I was offered a position at a company smaller than the one I am currently at.  Keep in mind there’s nothing wrong with my current job but I like entertaining future prospects because who knows who you will meet and where it will lead.  I had to turn it down though because there was one aspect of it that fell into a special list I’ve been slowly creating over the years.  ‘The List‘ runs down the thing’s I would like to avoid in companies or jobs in general.  In this particular case it was distance. The distance between my hacienda and the office.  It was interesting because when I told the person I would not like to pursue the offer any further he was brazen enough to tell me that that is a silly reason and that I am limiting myself.  Hold on…limiting myself?  I don’t subscribe to that school of thought. I have other more important things to worry about in my life than the distance I have to travel to earn money.  I’m sticking to my guns.

That wasn’t the first time I’ve turned down a job though, I once turned down a job that paid $20k more per year than what I am currently earning, there were various factors on my list that affected that outcome too. There was a time when I was really desperate for employment, I was newly landed in a foreign country, didn’t know anybody and I was completely out of my comfort zone.  Currently work is only 15-20minutes away, in my book that’s quite acceptable but when I was desperate for the magic green paper I considered everything even if the job was an hour or two away from home. Back then my ‘list’ was very short, if I was paid a salary and it was kind of inline with my career objectives I took the job.  These days, however, the ‘list’ has been increasing in length as I add items and come to better conclusions about balancing my lifestyle and work.  Today I can afford to do this.  It’s important to know when you can and can’t do something, 4 years ago I would never imagine myself being in the situation I am in today.  Back in 1997 I remember thinking about what I would be doing 10 years on.  Well 10 years on was last year and I’m happy to say it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.  But did I reach my 10 year goals?  Not a chance.  My list is getting better and better as I become more focused, it’s becoming more refined just as a pebble smooths over in raging rapids.  Maybe those 10 year goals will become 15 years goals, and right now that seems like the better conclusion.

So what items are on your list?  What things make or break a new job offer for you?  I mentioned one in this article, distance being a big deciding factor for me.