Floyd

Seventeen votes and 25 comments...something is out of kelter here.

Spinz

Not a big deal if you can see your toes. You can see your toes --- right? Lp

doctor j

Yes, I have a few blazes in the belly. They don't burn as intensely as ones of earlier years burned, but they are there.

I have some interesting projects at work. They're technical but a little outside the field of my formal education. I am learning as I work on these projects, and if I am successful, they should benefit my employer. I am able to apply some of my experience in the manufacturing industry and influence the way we make what we make.

Encouraged by the example of DnvrFox, I have joined a mens choir. https://www.singingmenofarkansas.org/
Go to the website and click on the LISTEN button. It has cost me some biking miles this year, but I am really excited about singing with this group. I'm thinking it is worth the missing miles.

Even though it's still years away, I trying to prepare for retirement.

I suppose an example might help explain my fires and reactions to them... paraphrasing the story... There were two bulls, a young one and an old one, standing on a hill overlooking a meadow populated by a number of cows. The young bull said to the old bull, "let's run down the hill and engage in an intense physical relationship with one of them." The old bull looks over and says, "let's walk down the hill and engage in intense physical relationships with all of them."

My reactions to the fires in my belly are perhaps a little slower than before, and I would like to believe they are more deliberate and formed from experience and a bit of wisdom.

tsl

Thanks Beverly! Best laugh I had all day, and it was a day full of laughs!

To the topic at hand, no, I don't have fire in the belly, and thank heavens for that.

Last I had it was back in the 80s. I was working 70-80 hours a week and hating every waking moment of my life. But I had ambition! And a career and stock-options, and a business card that said I was Vice-President. (Which with $5 will get you cup of coffee.)

Took me 20 years to get my life straightened out after that little escapade.

These days I have a job I really enjoy, and I can't wait to get to work. I work three days and 16 hours a week. When I do, I wish I could work more. When I work more, like last month and this month (six days and 24 hours a week) I'm glad that I usually work less.

It's not quite balance, but not quite tension either, still I figure it's about right if when I work less I want to work more, and when I work more, I want to work less.

Since the first month there, when I had a few days wondering if I was cut out for this job, there hasn't been a day I can remember in seven years where I left work feeling worse than when I went in. Considering I deal with the General Public, that's saying something.

I also have a little business on the side that I've whittled down to just two clients and three to five hours a week.

I am the happiest man I know, and my income is officially below the poverty line. Yet, I'm debt-free, I have more money in the bank than when I was working 80 hours a week, I'm building my state pension, and I travel a couple of times a year.

Near as I can tell, ambition, or fire in the belly, is one of the feelings you have when you don't like your life and spend all your energy wanting more, better, etc., and caught in the rat race, chasing desires rather than attending to needs, all in the vain hope that "If only I had ____ I'll be happy". In short, a disease of "grass is greener".

You can have it, I don't want it.

DnvrFox

Good for you. Your group sounds great.

My XY Zingers group has 9 (nine) performances of our special Christmas program between November 30 and December 20th! We are now holding to 9 people, which is a nice size for us. Hear us at:

https://www.ourwebs.info/indexxyz.htm

Oops - well, I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but this IS one of the fires in my belly!

BluesDawg

Interesting that for so many, "fire in the belly" relates to work. I have no fire for that part of my life. That is just something I have to do so I can live. The passion is reserved for the things I do because I want to.

Yen

Time for n+1?

maddmaxx 

n+1.....

Red Rider

A man after my own heart.

No cancer in my life but my business is finally taking off, and after a year in the tank I feel like I'm gonna make it after all (cue MTM throwing hat into the air).

I wake up every day with purpose and attitude. I hope I always do.

Tom Bombadil

I'm still struggling to regain enthusiasm for work after wrestling for nearly 4 years with job burnout while I held a high-stress upper management position.

I've recently left that position, but bouncing back to my old self is proving difficult. No guarantees that I will be successful.

SaiKaiTai

Oh, we're talking about work?

Gosh, I used to care and probably still would but for too many corps out there that don't
So, now, no. I show up and find enough to keep me a little stimulated and I collect my check.

My attitude toward work now, is basically summed up thusly:

You want a wh*re, you got a wh*re
Don't expect me to love you.

Rowan

Bingo!

I'm passionate about my bicycling, and my marriage. I like my work and I like the place where I live. I have a whole future ahead of me that involves many things that challenge me intellectually, physically and emotionally.

If you haven't got those things left in your life, then... go get some!!

stapfam

Some of us can't vote in your elections.

Rowan

Did you know when you took on the job that it was going to be high-stress? Or were you aware, and in the beginning, the stress was the high that you lived for?

One of the things I found in my life, and can see in others', is that the alternative word used earlier in this thread for fire in the belly -- ambition -- blinds us to the real downside to promotion into "upper management". How many of us really are aware when we accept those positions just what a penalty we pay for it, despite the money and "prestige"?

stapfam

Happened a few years ago with me- but held a "Responsible" position within the company- Not so much high stress but very tiring- mentally. New management and I could see the problem coming up- The older staff were being shunted sideways and removed from positions- to make way for the younger ones. So the company lost Experience. Didn't happen with me and I kept having more and more attached to my job spec. Finally I was told that If I did not like the new work load- I had an option. I took the option.

Suits me down to the ground. Controll very little but the company can draw on my experience. And no downgrade of salary. Only problem is that it is hard to sit back and see the problems being caused by in- experience of the youngsters without doing anything about it. But I no longer care- I have 3 years of work before I retire. By which time I reckon the Trade I am in will not be worth doing any longer in any case.

Fire in the belly? Could have but it keeps getting dampened down.

Ken Brown

I thought it was about sex so I voted "yes". Now it appears to be about work and I am retired. Can I change my vote? Not sure what to do now. Hope my wife doesn't see this.

Allegheny Jet

I got fire in my belly, but, it's not about work anymore. I'm about 5 months from being eligible to retire from our state's pension fund and most likely will do so. Being upper management I am aware of a fiscal plan to reduce agency salary cost via "retirement credit purchases" aka buyouts. I'll just sit on any retirement decision until our board hears the proposal from our superintendent. Any buyout plan needs to include at least 5% of the 450 member workforce, which I'm included in. I worked for 25 years in the park and recreation field until a change of city manager caused a change in job for me! For the past 5 years I've had a good job but one that is not as rewarding, motivating or challenging as my previous position. Due in part to my wife's job, and a new home we just built, moving to another municipality was not a good option and my current job didn't require us to move within a political jurisdiction or relocate.

My burning coals are riding/training/racing bicycles, fishing, planning our future with my wife, and setting up a small business to make up any difference in operational $ needed maintain our current lifestyle. My wife is also close to retirement after 31 years of teaching elementary school phys. ed. Right now I'm trying to keep the fire in my belly at a "steady smolder" in order to make the right decisions over the next year.

wobblyoldgeezer

Dunno if it's 'fire in the belly' or just soft in the head -

but I have the road pedal bike of my dreams, so I am quite satisfied there

However, I've still got the motorcycle virus in my bloodstream. My Honda 750 is all the bike that any rational person would need - but there's a new Yamaha R1000 just announced....

I tried a similar one around the formula 1 track here this afternoon. Not sure about fire in the belly, but I've still got a lot of adrenaline in the bloodstream.

Blimey. Whoop. Cor gosh. Sluggishness is not the problem with 'em machines. Requires the reactions and concentration of a young (in spirit) person, and I'm still grinning so hard I could eat my ears

howsteepisit

For me its good to hear that for so many, fire in the belly is unrelated to work. I thought I was an unmotivated slug. But I have passion for other things, and those things shift and change through life.

But why is it that the US culture seems so about giving a full life effort to an employer? Oops that's a ripe hemorrhoid

gruffydd

I am recently retired and I still have fire in the belly. But I can save it for racing and riding centuries. Mucho fuego amigos.

Tom Bombadil

In most respects, I loved the job. The stress was cumulative, sneaking up on me over a number of years. I held the job for 11 years, and was fine for the first 7. But then I was given a bit more responsibility, which turned to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

It was dealing with personnel issues. I never loved that aspect of the job, but over time it worn me done. With 200 people in my area, the issues never stopped coming, one never got much of a break from them. This wasn't a high percentage of my job, maybe 5%-10%, but toward the end it felt more like 50%.

I went into full-fledged job burnout without even recognizing that I was close to it. One day I was feeling a little rundown and tired, the next day I was almost unable to function in my job, and nothing in particular happened on that day. My mind had had enough.

Louis

T-Bomb, you did the right thing. It was a no-brainer, really, but a lot of guys would have ended up on the clock tower with a rifle.

Good for you, mate.

cranky old dude

There's no fire left as best as I can tell.

After haveing a one-on-one talk with the fourth man from the top
of our top-heavy company, I'm more convinced than ever that I and
the rest of the Production folks in this once great company are nothing
more than an easily replacable raw material. Our pay and benefits are
destined to continue their downward spiral. There is no reason left
to apply one's self or to learn any more than the basic skills needed to
stay employed. No amount of scratching and clawing my way to the top
will make any difference anymore.

No passion left for the automotive world at all. I just don't care about
new or sporty vehicles any more. Too many lies and too little available
for the frugal shopper looking to aquire basic, easily maintainable,
economic transportation. We don't need fancy alloy expensive wheels.
14" and 13" tires are reasonably priced but the now more common 15",
16" and 17" tires are rediculous. I could go on and on...suffice it to say
that my wifes '96 Camry and my '88 Caprice will due us just fine for
many years to come, and when cargo moving or long trips are involved
the '94 Conversion Van tucked away in the garage will do us just as
well.

Entertainment is way too expensive in the manner that we used to
enjoy. Movie theaters are priced well out of our meager means and
dinner out at a nice restaurant is also cost prohibitaive. We have
chosen instead to watch DVD's in our living room on the idle TV (Cable
cancelled due to high cost) and we dine at our neighborhood diner
where we're regulars and have established many basic freindships.

I do still get excited about bikes, toy trains, and die cast trucks, but
it's not a raging fire any more.

I believe the fire has died down to a warm glow, perhaps the warm
feeling of contentment that the past has brought me to a good,
comfortable, enjoyable place with the one person that I care the most
about....my wife.

Tom Bombadil

Thanks. I only now wish that I had made the jump a year sooner.

It was better for my organization to have waited the year, as my 2nd in command got ready to take over, and I put a lot of things in order. So it was a perfect transition. Except the wearing effect of the extra year, which took a lot out of me and leaves my recovery (as far as work goes) in doubt.

That last year was kinda interesting. I had to prioritize upon what I was capable of handling, given my limited energy. So I built a list of 6 things to focus upon, and had to let other things go. I feel badly about some projects and staff not getting the attention they deserved, but I just couldn't do it. But the 6 things I focused upon went extremely well. In fact, by some measurements, my unit had its best year ever. My boss gave me an exceptional performance review for the past year. Even though there were days where I had to take a few hours off & basically just rest to get my energy level up.

Many times when I had nothing to do, an email would come in upon which I could have responded, but did not because I just couldn't take anything else on my plate. I didn't like this, but I recognized that I had to do it if I was going to maintain focus on my top priorities. It was a very strange year to play out.

Louis

The last few years of my career were awful. The company kept piling more and more responsibility on us while throwing up more roadblocks. As someone who does not thrive under pressure, I knew I had to escape to preserve my mental and physical health. I had served my required 30 years but was hesitant to retire because my house was still not paid for. The chance came when they offered a years pay as incentive to anyone who was eligible for retirement. That was more than enough to easily pay off all my debt so I snapped it up and never regretted it for a moment. I was 52.