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Good for you!  I've always said that no amount of money can make up for lack of happiness (as far as jobs go, that is...or anything else in life, really).  There's just no sense in being stressed out and miserable.  Life is too durned short.  *hugs*

(((Hug))), you did the right thing giving up that position knowing that it wasn't for you, money isn't always worth the stress it puts on you.  I've actually already done the very same thing....but in a very different way.  I had been promoted from an account manager to store manager, the money was a little better, the hours were rediculous as were the expectations, and none of it was worth all of the terrible stress.  I had finally been pushed to my limit one horrible, or should I say wonderful, saturday and I called it quits right then and there (mentally, anyway).  I was on the phone with my supervisor who was three hours away & yelling at me because I didn't make enough sales for the day and thus was not allowed to close the store or go home.  Yeah, right, I had already put in nearly 70 hours for the week.  He told me that if I did I could expect to see both him and the area VP waiting for me in the store on monday morning, and they will then decide whether or not I'd still have a job.  I decided to make it easy for them.    I told my supervisor I was closing and going home, I'd see them both on Monday.  I went to work monday as planned only to find that he had been bluffing, neither he nor the VP were there, but little did they know that I was not bluffing about my plans.  I showed up intentionally an hour late to open the store (or not)...in jeans & a t-shirt, I called my supervisor to see where he was & why he wasn't here.  He said he wasn't coming but wanted me to have a killer day of sales to make up for saturday, I told him that wouldn't be happening, that I was there to hand in my key and go back home.  He flipped!  He said he was 3 hours away and couldn't cover my store if I left, so I told him he'd better get his @ss in his little company car and start driving because I was going back home & the store will be closed as long as I'm not there.     Ahh, triumph.

The very next day the VP had called me at home begging me to come back, he offered me a bigger salary and more vacation time along with profit sharing.  I told him to stick it, I wouldn't spit on his store.  He continued to call me for two more weeks only to fail miserably every time.  The truth was that I was a good manager, the best that store had seen up to that point.  I took a brand new store and I made it profitable for them, I had great customer relations and made great sales, I actually cared.  It was there loss.

Wow, that was a long winded story, wasn't it?  Sorry!  My point is that no amount of money or whatever bones they wanted to throw at me were worth the stress and the lack of appreciation.  Yeah, I've got 10 times the amount of stress now with my own business, but it's worth it because all of the hard work only benefits me, and I am appreciated and made to feel like I'm doing a good service for the area.  So, knowing when to pull back is a good thing.

Congrats on the hair appointment for tomorrow, you must be psyched!  The ELS (Elusive Scissor Lady) has been snared!

I'm really glad to hear that your new love is still going strong, *he* must be one awesome guy.  I'm so happy for you. 

Can't remember what else I wanted to say, I guess that means I've said enough. 

Working at a job you feel appreciated at and that you "enjoy" doing is worth more than money.  I left a career because I was not longer happy at what I was doing.  I was good at what I did and liked the job alot, but I was so sick of the politics of the job and the insecurity (layoffs could come at an instant in the non-profit world), that I felt it was best to move on.  So, after 15 years in the field I left.  I did that 17.5 years ago and have never regretted the decision.  You have to be good to yourself.

Be a good receptionist.  They are hard to come by - I know, I have one good one and one "not so good one".  I dread the day the good one decides to retire (she's 63, so it is inevitable).

bikerbraid wrote on Oct 5^th, 2006 at 7:59am:



Excellent advise bikerbraid!