Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and I have yet to buy a turkey, cranberries, or sweet potatoes. I’ll put that off a little longer so I can share this with you:
I recently left a job I had been working for nearly 3 years to take a new job for less money. What in the world was I thinking? I have a wife and 5 kids to support. When I was asked if I was interested in this new job, at first, I was tempted to dismiss it. I mean, things were already tight, and my job was in sales which gave me the potential to earn even more money. Why on earth would I take what amounted to a 15% pay cut?
First off, my former job was a long commute. 55 minutes each way, and that’s with good weather and light traffic. Sure, there were some nice things about the 2 hours of drive time each day: I could jam out to some righteous tunes, catch up on my podcasts, pray, or just enjoy the quiet. But driving that much every day made long days just longer. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that I was spending almost $20 a day on fuel.
My new gig is much closer to home: 15 minutes and that’s IF there’s traffic. It allows me to take my daughters to the Christian school they are attending, which gives me special time with them each day. If I forget something at home, which is unlikely because this job doesn’t require me to take anything out of the office, I can run home and grab it and be back before you know it.
This new opportunity provides me with a generous amount of paid sick time and PTO, double what I had previously. Because it’s working for the county government, I get several holidays off as well. And here’s the kicker: This job doesn’t ask anything of me when I’m off the clock. Don’t get me wrong, technically my last job didn’t either. But I was in sales, and in that field, it’s a lot of pressure that is hard to leave behind when you close the office at 5 PM.
The point that I am trying to make is that while I need to provide for my family, even more, I need to BE THERE for my family. When my wife and I talked about this new opportunity, we knew that it would mean giving up potentially really good, yet inconsistent income, for something that paid less, but would be dependable and the same each week. It would be less money for our budget, but it would make having a budget easier. It would mean less opportunity for trips or vacations, but more time each day together and with our kids. It would mean less stress and anxiety not just for me, but for our whole family.
This whole situation has caused me to think about the trade-offs you and I make daily. Take me for instance. I am making less but also spending less (the cost of fuel and wear and tear on my car alone has been amazing). I have less time to listen to podcasts and music, but I have more time to talk to my kids about what is going on in their lives and the world we live in. In other words, I’m able to able to better respond to life rather than just trying to make it through each day.
Sometimes we’ll take a job that means less time for what’s important (spouse, kids, faith) if it means more money. After all, with a bigger paycheck, we can take nicer trips and take pictures to fill up our phones and albums. We can do more, have more, be more. Nothing is wrong with the trade-off if you can honestly evaluate and say your family is better off.
The tradeoff doesn’t have to be financial. You put the kids in a new school. There is a relationship cost for them. Unfamiliar faces, a different culture, no existing friendships. That can be brutal for a kid. But you do it because this school is closer to work, has better academics, or maybe a better culture than the one where Jr. has gone all his life.
Tradeoffs aren’t easy. It’s not always so clear what you stand to lose or gain with a certain decision. Sometimes you come out ahead. Other times you feel like you took a temporary step backward. What is important is that you make the time to sit down with your core people and evaluate your options. Maybe the tradeoff for you is that you’re stuck because you haven’t thought about making a different decision in a long time.
As I write this, I know that some reading this feel like there is no opportunity for change. You feel like you’re stuck in a rut, and you don’t have the power to switch gears or take a different path. Choose the metaphor that fits. Sometimes, it seems like we’re in a bit of a pickle. When I am in that place, I turn to prayer. Sure, I know, I’m the pastor dude so I am supposed to say that, but the Christian practice of prayer works. Sure, God may not do what I want Him to do, at least on my schedule, but I find that prayer is often much less about changing God’s mind than it is about changing my perspective.
Blessings to you,
Adam
PAX
Adam Will 