[tony20009]

TY sr5959 and lbahoshy.

Being possessed of self-awareness, intrepidity, sanguinity, and pluck usually isn't how we begin life. Eventually, if each of us to thine own self remain true, most of us get there. That didn't fully materialize for me until I was in my early 40s. It was then that I knew why youth is wasted on the young.

Many folks discover their true nature, but the compromise themselves in order to obtain friends, careers, money, etc. I did the same thing for a time, and then I realized I could not always win the battle and that there are a great many battles I'd just as soon not enter.

To illustrate: In my firm, we have annual evaluations for every employee/partner, with one as the highest rating and four as the lowest. The firm believes the ratings assigned should more or less follow a bell curve, so ratings are force ranked when after the initial assessments are done, we find there are too many ones, we nit pick and carry on until we have the "right" ratio of ones, one-minuses, two-pluses, twos, threes and fours.

I don't believe in force ranking, but I'm in no position to change it. Economic considerations prohibit us from giving 70% of the staff the top salary increase and the top performers would be ticked off if they didn't receive very good increases. For my part, I have long advocated just increasing the standards that define what it takes to get a one, but that's yet to happen.

Anyway, once, after having worked like a dog for well over 2800 hours that year, assuming multiple leadership roles and performing tasks normally assigned to folks at the next job-grade up from mine, and still earning a one-minus, I made a conscious decision that I had no interest in working hard enough to earn a one. I was already earning more than enough money -- more would have been nice, but the extra amount I'd have earned had I got ones (rather than one-minuses and two pluses) every year would not have been enough to change my lifestyle.

Upon making that decision, I went to my boss and shared it with him, letting him know, I am quite happy in the firm, and I'm always willing to go the extra mile, until I'm not. I told him further that I could not predict when I wouldn't be, but there will doubtlessly come a time when he'd ask me to do something and doing it will compromise one or more things that are more important to me than the firm. Finally, I told him: If you folks actually believe I deserve a one in any given year, I'll gladly agree with your assessment of my performance.

I have been more satisfied with myself and my career after making that decision than I ever was before doing so.