Paying the Price of Freedom

I spend a lot of time talking to employees at various levels in business, and also talk to the self-employed -- about work, paying your dues, taking responsibility. I resonate with Debashis Dutta's article last week - about separating the personal from the political at work. I may be making an internal choice to use my work as a learning tool for myself, but I never want to forget that the "product" is not my self-development. The product is whatever it is the business is selling.

I choose to be self-employed because I've never been good at following arbitrary rules. On the other hand, I work well as a consultant because I have good eyes for seeing through corporate boondoggles. The freedom I have to take clients or not, to work hours I set, comes with the price of not getting paid when I don't work. I also don't get paid to go on holidays, nor to take training. Every freedom comes with a price. I would be a fool to set my life up so I hate the price I'm paying. I am not a fool.

I do what I do, as I do, out of choice. Sometimes, the choice is interesting. I've never been one for mindless paperwork. I work for an Employee Assistance Plan, sort of. They send me clients. They expect paperwork, to, I suppose, justify their existence to those hiring them. I do the paperwork, despite not liking paperwork. Why? Because after I send it in, they send me money!

Now, I could gripe about the paper work (or any task I don't like) and make myself miserable. Or, I could insist they change to make me happy. The former makes me crazy, the latter means they tell me to go away. Or, I could live by my principles, and quit. Then, I don't get paid. Now, that one is worth a look.

I need to question whether what I am being asked to do violates my principles. My main principle is "to do no harm," so I wouldn't for example, work for a tobacco company. But to look at my dislike for a particular task, and do a "principle check," is easy. I hate paperwork because I consider it silly. It's not an ethical concern. It's a practical concern. In this case, I need to get over myself.

One of the prices Dar pays for the "joy of teaching" is having to do report cards. Teachers in Ontario hate the computerized report cards they're forced to use. Yet, I would find it odd if someone quit over them. Every job, every vocation, has within it elements we'd rather skip. The main question, barring ethical principles, is "Am I willing to give up my income over this?" If the answer is no, it might be a good idea to stop griping and simply do the task.

The time I spend on EAP forms is nothing compared to the counselling opportunities I get and the people I meet. And they actually pay me for doing what I love. How silly would it be to get my shorts in a knot over any aspect of what I do. As long as at the end of the day I feel good about who I am and what I'm doing, whatever small price I pay is worth it.

Because in the end, everything has its price.

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