Have I underachieved or is it all in my head

[RabidGranny]

Morning All,

Something has been spinning around in my head for the last while and I thought I would ask you all your opinion:

I am an inhouse Maritime Legal counsel/Shipping Lawyer (Barrister by Trade) and i issue and defend large claims associated with Shipping.

I love the work and burying my head in a puzzle of documents and facts, pulling them apart and putting it all back together. There are some days when I might have a big claim on my desk and I would leave it until last as its like a desert to me and I want to sit there and enjoy it in peace.

The issue is external perception, I somehow feel that its perceived as beneath me, Im not sure why. My peers go to court, defend or pursue claims etc (I have done arbitrations) or are running specific departments, but I hate all that and my boss recognizes this and just gets me a free reign to work on these cases as he knows no one else can really be arsed to put in such an effort.

Im also very well paid.

Why is it then that if I enjoy the work, I feel like I have somehow underachieved?

[Gary29]

Sounds like you've cracked it to me. Getting well paid to do what you actually enjoy doing and excel in.

Chasing a dangling carrot all your life is no fun.

[WH16]

I guess whether or not you have 'underachieved' depends a lot on where you started, and how far you were expected to go. If you come from a long line of QC/KCs then maybe you have. If you were dragged up by a single parent on a sinkhole estate, then you've probably massively exceeded expectations.

If you are happy doing what you are doing though, then that's not a bad place to be.

[Countdown]

RabidGranny said:

Why is it then that if I enjoy the work, I feel like I have somehow underachieved?

It's human nature and (IMO) the older you get the less you feel that you've "underachieved" and the more you're grateful for all you HAVE achieved.

[snotrag]

RabidGranny said:

I am an inhouse Maritime Legal counsel/Shipping Lawyer (Barrister by Trade) ...


.....Why is it then that if I enjoy the work, I feel like I have somehow underachieved?

Go take a visit back to the town you grew up in and find the person you went to school with that is still doing the job they did when they left school, or reliant on handouts to get by...You'll snap out of it.

[simon_harris]

Comparison is the thief of joy.

You are being paid very well to do what you obviously enjoy - I'd say you are winning big time.

[Harry H]

Enjoy your work and you'll never work a day in your life.

Zero management grief from above and below.
Love what you do
Well paid


You sound like a winner to me

[Crumpet]

Sounds like you’re winning there!

On a similar note, it feels slightly weird to hit the point in your career that you’ve always aimed for but have no interest whatsoever in taking it further. I’m 42 and that’s it - it’s only downwards or sideways from here, despite there being many other opportunities to advance. I guess that makes me an underachiever, too! A happy one, though.

[Pit Pony]

I take it you are familiar with the Peter principle?

I once got a "promotion" to a job that I theoretically knew how to do. It however required a personality that I don't have. After a year or so I went to see HR and explained that I hated coming to work and hated the new job. Amazingly I got a sideways move into my old role but without taking away the salary increase.

[A500leroy]

Hey I'm 41 and get paid a tenner to drop bits of paper through doors, I'd say you've vastly overachieved.

[basherX]

I learned the hard way that the worst thing you can do in a professional setting is listen to accepted wisdom on how to run your career. I'm in accounting and there was a truism when I was immediately post-qualified about what type of finance I "should" be in, at least within the organisation I was in (still am).

Tried it, hated it, was st as a result and almost got myself the boot.

Went back to what I liked and was good at and have had a fulfilling and well-rewarded career ever-since

Never be seduced by the idea of what you "should" be doing, especially when that idea is someone else's.

[Jasandjules]

You get well paid to do the work you are happy with. That's a win to me.

[Quattr04.]

Probably because it’s boring, not what you really want to be doing and you’re not contributing anything meaningful to society

But don’t worry, hardly anyone is, at least you don’t work at the email and slides factory

[James_33]

I wanted to be a pilot when i was younger, lived and breathed aviation, and through no fault of my own (health related) that dream never happened and i ended up as a bus driver, I'm the definition of failed in life so I'd say your doing pretty well.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

A500leroy said:

Hey I'm 41 and get paid a tenner to drop bits of paper through doors, I'd say you've vastly overachieved.

It's all relative. If, when you were 35, people used to say of you "that idiot will never have a job", then you've overachieved. Wayne Rooney on the other hand. At 18 we thought he would become one of the greatest players of all time, right up there with Pele and Maradona. He never even got close. So perhaps he underachieved.

[gangzoom]

RabidGranny said:

Why is it then that if I enjoy the work, I feel like I have somehow underachieved?

Sounds like you need to do something that's outside your comfort zone, and add some risk/challenge to your current work. I love my job, but I also love challenges. You say you love puzzles but what's the 'fun' if you know you will get the answer everytime?

Next time you see an opportunity you aren't sure about or feel uncomfortable with grab it, give it a go, who knows you might just like it!!

Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 20th January 06:33

[ChocolateFrog]

simon_harris said:

Comparison is the thief of joy.

You are being paid very well to do what you obviously enjoy - I'd say you are winning big time.

And have an understanding boss by the sounds of it.

I'd imagine it's a position most people would envy.

[ben5575]

Jasey_ said:

You need to stop giving a fk what other people think.

Yep. Why do you care? 'They' don't care about what you think.

You're winning at work. It's the bit outside of work (e.g. your life!) that is important. If you feel you're underachieving in life, fix your life, not your work.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

So to recap... you're very well paid for a job that you're happy to get out of bed for in a morning, and your boss respects you.

Let that sink in OP.

Most workers either feel under paid, under appreciated, or are counting the days to a slow lingering death or retirement... whichever comes first.

Are you happy...do you have enough to not worry. That's all that matters.

[Hoofy]

It's about balance. Are you also achieving well in other aspects of your life? Family, relationship/marriage/love, hobbies, health, mental wellbeing/happiness/peace, finances to name a few.

Jasey_ said:

You need to stop giving a fk what other people think.

So the OPer has very much underachieved because he is too many fks.

Quite a few years ago, I bailed from corporate life and now my career/business goals are somewhat different (it's not even about the money).