For some time I have had the feeling that everything has a
tradeoff. There are better and worse decisions and situations
but nothing comes for free.
Now that I have been physically at the same location for some
time I have found it easier to tolerate the thought of remaining
in my current job for the forseeable future. Since the options
of "building a career" have dwindled down and it is hard to say
what is a safe route, I find that there is a particular sort of
stress missing from my daily mindscape.
Basically I don't feel that to prove my worth I have to be
thinking about my "next step" on some professional ladder.
I have never considered that social mobility might be seen as
a serious stressor to the individual, but now it seems quite
clear. I suppose this is why people are pining for the old days.
The time when you couldn't lose your social standing by remaining
where you were. Social mobility has turned it a responsibility
for a talented person to climb the ladder.
