The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side

Isn't it strange how we humans always want what we don't have. It's always better on the other side of the fence, where the grass is constantly greener. The problem is, we only choose to see the manicured grass on the other side and neglect to think of the effort into putting smelly fertiliser on it and mowing it to keep it trimmed neatly.

I have been asking my manager to send me on a work trip for the last two months. My urge to work overseas started to intensify when I heard that other friends were going overseas to do training and some were working overseas from country to country. The monotony of staying in the office was getting to me. I just wanted to get away from it all and experience new things. Well that feeling has passed a little, but I still would like to go on a short work trip overseas.

Work mates who has been on overseas work trips say its not a holiday like I think. They all say there is a lot of pressure to get things done and you work extremely long hours, weekends even. I hear them and also believe them, but I guess you always have to experience something for yourself before you truly believe someone else's opinion. I just see a work trip as a nice way to see the world and learn some things along the way.

Recently I talked to my friend working overseas. She has been working overseas for most of this year, not entirely by choice. Initially she said it was all new and fun. But now the stress to get things done and long hours are really taking its toll on her. Then I said to her, "Why don't you work in Australia", to which she replied "Then I wouldn't get to see the World, would I". We always want the best of both worlds, but that can rarely ever happen. She enjoys some aspects of working overseas such as seeing so many new places, but with those pros are the cons. The cons are you miss out on seeing your friends and family, you work extremely long hours, you have lots of pressure to get things done, you live out of a suitcase, you eat whenever and whatever you can.

The work situation is true for all other aspects of life. We see the person driving the nice car and living in the big house and say they are so lucky. We don't see the huge mortgage they have. A work mate was saying how someone commented that he was so rich and lived in a big house, to which he said that he had a massive mortgage and needed to budget quite tightly to pay it off.

I'm constantly envious of people who have their own business and work according to their own terms. It seems like that is the way to go. But I'm sure that they have lots of problems with their businesses too. Maybe even if you are a rich millionaire, you still envy your neighbour, who knows. I wish I could just be Bill Gates for a day and see how he lives. Is there lots of pressure on him or can he just instantaneously fly a plane to Paris to eat some steak whenever he felt like it.

I always say that "When I get rich, I will live the easy life and do all the things I enjoy". There are two problems with that statement. Firstly, why do I have to be rich to do what I want to do. I think this notion of having money before you can do what you want is so ingrained in us by society that its hard to break. Also its probably a safety net we give ourselves. What if we did what we wanted to do and still found we weren't satisfied, what then. There would be nothing left to aim for in life and we would be very disappointed. The second problem is that, can you really do what you want even if you are rich. Do you still need to look after your business or work at your job. Do you want even more materially, which will force you to work even harder. Another question I always ask is why massive celebrities, such as Oprah or Steven Spielberg for example, don't just quit their jobs and live a life of luxury. Maybe they really enjoy their job, but then you also hear them complain about the long hours they work and all the paparazzi and how they don't have no privacy. If they quit and get out of the limelight, then no one will want to know about them. But that's not how it works. They want people to know about them, but yet don't want all their bad things written in the tabloids. I think that we always strive to get what we don't have and think others have that is better. It's an unattainable goal that we constantly reach for. Only the truly remarkable people can be happy with their life and I envy those people. I think their grass is extremely green and they think so too.