HOW OFTEN DO YOU TAKE WHAT YOU'VE GOT FOR GRANTED?

This morning as I was doing my day to day hustles, I came across these young men and women waiting desperately outside one of Thika's major companies waiting patiently for a chance to get a casual job for the day. It was already past 10 in the morning and according to me, there seemed no hope to get lucky. But still they waited with anticipation.

This scene got me thinking about the things we usually take for granted. I tried putting myself in their place and realised that anytime we received something on a regular basis, we took that something for granted over time. Can you remember your first job, the way you truly felt elated each and every time you received a paycheck?

As for me, I used to save all of my payslips, proudly displaying them every month-end with great nostalgia. It didn’t take very long for these feelings to fade. I stopped thinking about getting paid altogether and just expected money to show up in my bank account every end of the month. Getting paid on a regular basis changed my mindset, at least I was guaranteed of some regular. Over time, it didn’t really matter how hard I worked as long as I got my stuff done on schedule. I stopped appreciating all the benefits that came with my job.

Soon, I started feeling that my employer was not remunerating me enough or was overworking me for his own benefit. I felt that my employer was loading me up with work and stress, while providing few motivations, even recognition and appreciation. Thoughts such as "It really doesn't matter to me who has to wait " or "I'm just not that into working here.", “Nobody seems to care what I have to say, so why should I care about what they (management) are saying?”, "I don't care anymore."or even "I don't need this job." started taking over my mind.

I was simply tired of being bossed around and shouted at like a kid. I had really burned out. I felt myself  drifting away from my responsibilities. I was starting to commit job suicide.

I believe that my experience rings a bell in your mind. When you work at the same company or position for a long time, particularly if your tasks seem rote, there's always a tendency to take your situation for granted. When you get are employed, you get so much benefits that you usually take for granted. Until you lose your job and they are abruptly taken away, it’s extremely easy to discount their value.

People take things for granted on a daily basis, always with the assumption that whenever they need something, it will be there. Your salary and your job may cause you to take many things for granted. Over time, you find yourself down the path of monetary complacency. The truth of the matter is that humans often take for granted the very things that deserve their gratitude the most. Many people do not realize this until the situation has come and passed. It isn’t until when someone loses their only source of income, when there is absolutely no guarantee that they will make any money at all in any given month, that they begin to appreciate money again. When the things they took for granted are taken away from them, they basically snap and completely lose it. They suddenly start wondering how they are going to cover their expenses and may be how they will provide for their families.

When I looked at those people today, I realised the value of having some place to call your workplace. We really don't realize what we've got till we lose it. Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. It is impossible to appreciate and embrace every moment. To take things for granted is to be human. To realize how great we had it only after it’s gone is human. To think the grass is greener on the other side only to realize it’s the same or duller once you get there.

Ernest Hemingway once said, “If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.” So, no matter how boring, repetitive, slave-driving, or irritating you perceive your job to be, things could always be worse.  You could be visiting the unemployment line or mean you facing eviction from your apartment. Therefore, you better get that heated office or factory, keep yourself busy for a bunch of hours, and then go home to a life of your own.