Duty

The word of the day is: DUTY

I've never been a very dutiful person. I generally need a motivation to do something more precise than I "should" do it. I've always had to know why I should do something, and if the reason does not make logical sense to me and I see no benefit in doing so, more likely than not, I'll not do it.

I'm the type of person who eats dessert first, who takes the path of least resistance, and does as little as I can to get by on a job and still keep my job. I'm a procrastinator at home and on the job and I'm quite creative in the art of wasting time. I leave the dishes in the sink and I let my grass grow to my knees, only cutting it when I get a nasty letter from the city.

I fully admit it: I'm a slacker.

I'm an INTP personality type, according to the Myer-Briggs test. Reading about my type, I've found that I come by my cavalier attitude toward duty quite honestly. Apparently people who share the P part of my INTP personality tend to be quite laid back when it comes to doing things others think we "should" do.

Nevertheless, I'm not entirely without a sense of duty. I've had quite a few unpleasant jobs, to put it mildly, but I've never quit a job just because I've hated it. I despise my present job with every fiber of my being, yet I continue to grit my teeth and put in my hours, even though my gut instinct is to tell them to stick the job where the sun doesn't shine.

I also will take pity on coworkers occasionally and give them a hand if I see they're overloaded. But I never do so out of duty; it's always done freely mainly because I hate to see others having to work too hard, too.

That, I believe, is the difference between "duty" and "necessity". Though I'm not good at being dutiful; I excel in doing what's absolutely necessary. And even though I recognize the necessity of having to work, like it or not, I prefer to work smarter, rather than harder. I'm not going to do things the hard way if I can find a more expedient way to do it.

I dream of the day when I'll never have to work again, never have to give up another hour of my time for someone else's purposes, never have to censor my honest reactions in order to keep a job. I doubt if I'll ever be able to retire, but it's nice to dream.

Thoughts?