Balancing Purpose with Responsibility

 Original Post in July 2002, “The Wirth Report”

The traditional approach to choosing work, which most of us learned during our teens and early adulthood, was focused on determining how much the job could pay us. And even if you broke that mold to discover an exciting or interesting option, once you had five years on the job and were fully vested in your retirement package, conventional thinking told you to stay put. If you had any question as to how important sticking to this plan was, all you had to do was spend some time with your grandparents or an elderly neighbor who would willingly summarize why Social Security alone was not enough. Therefore, the thought becomes plan ahead (rather than enjoy the present moment).

Jack, who could have starred on the TV show Thirty-Something, is a perfect example. Even though college wasn't Jack's heart's desire and he struggled through it, a degree was a pre-requisite to the upper management jobs. Then after two decades in the same profession, he rose to the top of his industry's food chain. He's proud that he commands top dollar for his expertise. But when I asked him if he enjoys his work, his body language and voice intonation communicated that he is less than satisfied. "So why do you stay in this job if you're not excited or interested in it anymore?" I asked him. "Well, that's simple," he said, 'I'm making more money than I've ever made before. And unless I can find a job that pays me this good, I'm staying put."

Carol went back to work to earn some extra money to help support her family's active lifestyle. She didn't pick her work, what was available picked her. Now with five years on the job and her children fully grown and on their own, she begins to think about how the money she makes could be used to re-do sections of the home that have gone untouched for some time. She's already figured out how long she'll have to work to remodel the downstairs.

But when I asked her about her other priorities, she quickly talked about her dream career as an interior designer. However, she was also quick to discount the possibility because, "there's no re I guarantee about income. And besides, I've gotten used to getting a raise every year."

Now, neither Jack nor Carol are satisfied with their current jobs/ career choices. But both stay for the pay. And while that seems like a justifiable and responsible financial decision, it's robbing them of dreams and stealing their satisfaction in life. But it doesn't have to be this way. Next month , we'll explore several paths to break the mindset of the Stay for the Pay Syndrome.

The article above challenged something many people were taught to believe: that security and fulfillment are often in conflict, and that if a job pays well enough, you should hold on as tight as you can.

That tension hasn’t disappeared, but the landscape around work has changed dramatically. Today, many people aren’t staying in jobs simply because they’ve grown comfortable.They’re staying because the stakes feel higher. There are rising costs, layoffs, burnout, and a shifting economy. Entire sectors are changing faster than people can adapt. For many, the question isn’t Should I leave? but Can I afford to?

That reality deserves honesty. I recognize that not everyone has the privilege of making work choices based on purpose alone.

Even with all of that uncertainty, I feel that the deeper spirit of the original reflection still holds. This was never only about leaving a job. It was about the relationship between survival and joy. It was about when practicality becomes more important than dreaming.

There’s a difference between honoring practical realities and surrendering entirely to a life organized only around stability. One is discernment, while the other can quietly become resignation.

That distinction matters because meaning doesn’t only live in dramatic career reinvention. It doesn’t require quitting your job, launching something new, or having a five-year plan.

Sometimes it begins much smaller.

It can begin by asking:

• Where have I gone numb?

• What part of me has been postponed?

• What still feels alive, even if I can’t act on it fully right now?

  
  

Those questions matter because purpose is not always something you leap into.

Sometimes it’s something you keep a relationship with, especially during uncertain times. There is wisdom in tending what calls to you, even before it becomes practical.

It could even be as simple as:

• Learning something new.

• Volunteering for a cause that matters to you.

• Making space for creativity.

• Having honest conversations about what is and isn’t sustainable.

• Taking one step toward alignment, even if you can’t take ten.

  
  

These are not small things. They are ways of refusing to let necessity erase possibility. Perhaps that feels especially important right now, when so many people are carrying anxiety about work, identity, and the future. When employment feels uncertain, it can be easy to reduce yourself to productivity and income. But you are more than what you do for a living and your purpose is larger than your job title.

Sometimes the work, especially in difficult seasons, is not to abandon responsibility in pursuit of a dream, but to keep your deeper life from disappearing while you meet responsibility. It is a form of courage to be able to invest, even if partially, in the dream. 

The old mindset might have said:

 “Stay for the pay”

A more spacious question might be:

“How do I honor what sustains me, while also staying connected to what calls me?”

There may not be one answer, but there is grace in continuing to ask.