You may think it strange that I am including a like thisin a book devoted to worry. But it isn’t strange at all， when youunderstand how many of our worries， regrets， and frustrationsare spawned by work we despise. Ask your father about it—oryour neighbour or your boss. No less an intellectual giant thanJohn Stuart Mill declared that industrial misfits are “among theheaviest losses of society”. Yes， and among the unhappiest peopleon this earth are those same “industrial misfits” who hate theirdaily work！
Do you know the kind of man who “cracked up” in the Army？
The man who was misplaced！ I’m not talking about battlecasualties， but about the men who cracked up in ordinary service.
Dr. William Menninger， one of our greatest living psychiatrists，was in charge of the Army’s neuro-psychiatric division duringthe war， and he says： “We learned much in the Army as to theimportance of selection and of placement， of putting the rightman in the right job.... A conviction of the importance of the jobat hand was extremely important. Where a man had no interest，where he felt he was misplaced， where he thought he was notappreciated， where he believed his talents were being misused，invariably we found a potential if not an actual psychiatriccasualty.”
Yes—and for the same reasons， a man may “crack up” inindustry. If he despises his business， he can crack it up， too.
Take， for example， the case of Phil Johnson. Phil Johnson’sfather owned a laundry， so he gave his son a job， hoping the boywould work into the business. But Phil hated the laundry， so hedawdled， loafed， did what he had to do and not a lick more. Somedays he was “absent”. His father was so hurt to think he had ashiftless， ambitionless son that he was actually ashamed beforehis employees.
One day Phil Johnson told his father he wanted to be amechanic-work in a machine shop. What？ Go back to overalls？
The old man was shocked. But Phil had his way. He worked ingreasy dungarees. He did much harder work than was requiredat the laundry. He worked longer hours， and he whistled at hisjob！ He took up engineering， learned about engines， putteredwith machines—and when Philip Johnson died， in 1944， he waspresident of the Boeing Aircraft Company， and was making theFlying Fortresses that helped to win the war！ If he had stuck withthe laundry， what would have happened to him and the laundry—especially after his father’s death？ My guess is he would haveruined the business cracked it up and run it into the ground.
Even at the risk of starting family rows， I would like to say toyoung people： Don’t feel compelled to enter a business or tradejust because your family wants you to do it！ Don’t enter a careerunless you want to do it！ However， consider carefully the adviceof your parents. They have probably lived twice as long as youhave. They have gained the kind of wisdom that comes only frommuch experience and the passing of many years. But， in the lastanalysis， you are the one who has to make the final decision. Youare the one who is going to be either happy or miserable at yourwork.
Now， having said this， let me give you the following suggestionssomeof them warnings—about choosing your work：
1. Read and study the following five suggestions aboutselecting a vocational-guidance counselor. These suggestionsare right from the horse’s mouth. They were made by one ofAmerica’s leading vocational-guidance experts， Professor HarryDexter Kitson of Columbia University.
a.“Don’t go to anyone who tells you that he has a magicsystem that will indicate your ‘vocational aptitude’. In this groupare phrenologists， astrologers， ‘character analysts’， handwritingexperts. Their ‘systems’ do not work.”
b.“Don’t go to anyone who tells you that he can give you atest that will indicate what occupation you should choose. Sucha person violates the principle that a vocational counselor musttake into account the physical， social， and economic conditionssurrounding the counselee； and he should render his service inthe light of the occupational opportunities open to the counselee.”
c. “Seek a vocational counselor who has an adequate libraryof information about occupations and uses it in the counselingprocess.”
d.“A thorough vocational-guidance service generally requiresmore than one interview.”
e. “Never accept vocational guidance by mail.”
2. Keep out of business and professions that are already jampackedand overflowing！ There are many thousands of differentways of making a living. But do young people know this？ Notunless they hire a swami to gaze into a crystal ball. The result？
In one school， two-thirds of the boys confined their choices tofive occupations-five out of twenty thousand—and four-fifthsof the girls did the same. Small wonder that a few business and401 ·
professions are overcrowded—small wonder that insecurity，worry， and “anxiety neuroses” are rampant at times among thewhite-collar fraternity I Beware of trying to elbow your wayinto such overcrowded fields as law， journalism， radio， motionpictures， and the “glamour occupations”.