Your high compensation
Does it bother you when you notice people who define themselves by how much they make and get caught in the rat race of titles and compensation. It becomes far more dangerous, as you get constantly invited to subscribe to the same school.
Does getting highly compensated in a job mean translate to an esteemed or acceptable status in society ? Or should we dare to ask the real but simple question : does high compensation reward you a fulfilling life ?
Let’s get some basics right: what does the word compensate actually mean ? Google definition reads
“give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury incurred; recompense.”
Did you know you are losing something everyday, every hour or every minute of your time at work and that’s why you are compensated. Yes, we need to pay our bills, take care of family and there is a system in place. Making money is not a bad thing. So then what exactly is your loss here ?
The most easiest to list would be time, guess that’s why your compensation is often measured against - the hour. Time has always been as asset, everyone cherishes it like gold and often overlooks it the next day only coming to appreciate after losing it. And those are proactive, fool themselves try to beat it, learning to deploy all sorts of time management, to maximize the profit by spending least amount of their time at work. But they just cleared their plate to do more work. So, we are no stranger to the value of time and to acknowledge that someone must compensate you for exchange of your time. It only sounds fair. On a related note, this is quite evident on how time is surfacing as currency - interesting programs like “time bank” are being launched in China and Switzerland, where volunteers earn time units for providing elderly care and save these for using when they turn old!
What else could be your loss that your employer is sorry for ? The next obvious thing are your skills. You must be good at something, so you get compensated for your service. Whether you provide service using mental or physical energy, it’s all the same in this context. You have a skill and you provide a service for company’s growth and get compensated. I guess, entrepreneurs and business owners don’t get compensated as they perhaps make their time for themselves ? They are not in the business of selling time but buy time. And by buying from others they save theirs.
Let me come to the real deal – job satisfaction or may I say “true gratification from the job”. Lucky are those, who get a lump sum for their talent and their job happens to be their passion- say a singer, an influencer or an engineer who loves to code. But let’s get pragmatic, most land a job, chasing what others were and then only to find out late, the loss of time was irreversible. That’s why it’s important to find passion in what you are doing and not get swayed by mere high compensation.
So what’s my point about all this. I simply wanted to present a perspective on what compensation is all about. Now you don’t have to compete with someone, chasing a job just because he/she gets more compensated than you. Because, there is no price you can put on your time and your passion. Also, you don’t have to feel inferior when someone in the room brags about their high compensation, when you know this clearly that value of your time is comparable to theirs.
I just would like to end here encouraging you to chase a job that pays you for who you are and you don’t have to take a loss. No one can’t put a price on your time, skill set, passion or as a matter of fact on You, only you can. And once you have this perspective, you can choose to spend your time and life wisely, on the things that matters to you.
