The Beauty of Raising Your Standards

Working what was the worst job I would ever hold- a decent bank was purchased by a conglomerate and removed every perk and advantage to working there.

The manager was a know it all who ruled over her fiefdom. The Assistant Manager was great. I was spinning my wheels on a position where I could not advance.

Eventually I did not want to. Thinking I was heading to a white collar position- I have learned bank teller is considered "Gray collar." When the position ended I was accused of insubordination.

All that manager wanted was a subordinate. Without the comfort zone of misery, what a bad job is, I made a point to raise my standards. You get what you settle for. Not only was my next job more purposeful; I stopped wasting time.

Some relationships in my life were habitual like drug addiction. Like drugs, certain people thought it was cool that I was doing something that left me unfulfilled. Relationships can be like a bank. You made deposits and withdrawals. When people only make withdrawals- at a certain time the well runs dry.

They won't change. I must. Around this time I stopped watching MTV. It always sucked a little. They were switching to programs that had nothing to do with music or television. There were other video outlets at the time where I could enjoy music videos without hearing how wonderful they were.

With a string of bad jobs I leaned into the comic store. It was never a high paying position. I could work for trade credit and not worry about spending money when none was coming in.

There was a difficult subscriber. He hated that I had opinions. In turn, he hated me. His use of excessive force in screaming at someone describing a comic I bought made me not want to go when he was in the store. He did his business, I did mine and before long he moved out of the area after making a fun and friendly environment something less.

Never saw him again, only mentioned his name when another young employee mentioned how he was treated similarly. Some are nice to certain people and nasty to others. That's no way to do business.

I was not going to settle for "Any old friends" or "Any old job". I stopped watching television series that were not worth my while. There are better things to do. I kept buying records. Laugh at that all you want. What is resale value of LP's? What is the resale value of compact discs? Probably thrift store prices.

Did Twelve Inch singles lead to expansion? Dance remixes made me feel better. Bad jobs and lesser people did not. If you don't like something in your life, change it. Some might question your desire to improve. Don't let that stop you from making progress.

On the next position I had purpose, more money and better social options. I would have had none if I remained in the previous position. That bank was absorbed into a larger institution and there is no recollection of it except for the memories of really nice Branch Managers from other locations and the worst one in mine. Raise your standards and you will lead a more fulfilling life.