Camera Store - The Hell of Retail

Being Cheerful, And The Key To Happiness

So remember how I wrote a post about how it was very hard for me to be cheerful while I was dealing with customers (except when I was talking about cameras)?

That had actually led me for a while to feel kinda bad when I dealt with people in retail. I’d see a smiling face at a store or restaurant and painfully realize that that person was probably miserable.

But I eventually realized that they probably were NOT as miserable as me. No, not because of that silly idea James Croll expressed about some people being better “suited for daily work” than others. What I realized was; either you’re overqualified for retail and so it’s a temporary thing, or you’re NOT overqualified for retail in which case you actually ARE lucky to have that job, and should be happy about it. Only stupid, weak people like ME actually WORRY about having an undignified sell-out-like job like that.

Well, it’s not quite like that. Let me go easier on myself. The reason why I was unhappy at that job is because I do have an education, and aspirations, for an engineering job, for a kind of job few people could do, for a kind of job that requires four (or in my case, four and a half) years of tough college classes, preceded by years of pretty tough high-school classes. It’s because I have an appreciation for, and an ability to model, all kinds of physical phenomena, and this was going to waste. That, however, was not the primary problem. As I said, I could have just realized that employment at the camera store was a temporary thing, and I could just enjoy its pleasant aspects (like how little responsibility I had, and how little I had to think) until I found my real job. However, I could not enjoy the job, because every minute on the job was a minute not studying for my class (in which I was badly struggling), and a minute not looking for a real job (which takes a lot of time, talking to a lot of people, etc). And working at the store left way too few minutes in my day for these things, which were supposed to be top priorities but I was not getting to them because of working at the store. Since my parents had already said they would support me until I got a job, then what I was doing at the camera store was not only a waste of time, it also meant actively neglecting some extremely important things, for no real good reason. I felt bad because I knew that studying for my class, and looking for a job, and hanging out with my girlfriend, would all make my life better in more important ways that working at the camera store would. It took a couple painful months for me to turn this realization into action, but I finally did.

So I did not enjoy working there because there were some immensely more important things I could (I mean, SHOULD) have been doing with my time, and there was no good reason for me to not be doing those things instead.

So if you’re there as a temporary thing but that’s not keeping you from taking steps towards the next thing, or if you’re NOT there as a temporary thing and your plans for your life aim towards the income and stability of a retail job (and maybe for things you have plenty of time to do in your off-time, like slowly studying towards something better, or raising a family, or having another job or hobbies), then there’s no reason why you should feel bad about working at a store or restaurant.

So I’m not saying “I’m meant for better things”. I’m saying “I had some other opportunities and duties which I was neglecting for no good reason, and that was detrimental for the plan I have for my life”. So I was kinda procrastinating from my life plan by working there. THAT was the problem. I was not doing the important things. I was being an idiot. Oh well, I’m back on track now. I think.

And as long as I assume that people I encounter at stores and restaurants are on THEIR tracks, and doing optimally all they could do for THEIR lives (which they probably are, as most people are more responsible regarding this kind of thing than I am), then I have no reason to think they are miserable, that they have good reasons to wish they were at another job.

They are probably genuinely cheerful, too. All that it takes to be cheerful and happy is knowing you are doing all you can for your life to be all that you think it can be, and all you want it to be, to the extent of your abilities. (Anything else is icing on the cake. So I don’t walk around feeling sad for not having a Digital Rebel, I walk around sad because I am almost missing some key opportunities to make my life better, like hanging out with my girlfriend, looking for a job, studying more, and exercising and eating right). I’m usually pretty good at those things, just not these past few months…

posted by Remus