The Fallacy Of The Greener Grass

“The other man’s grass is always greener

The sun shines brighter on the other side

The other mans’ grass is always greener

Some are lucky, some are not

Just be thankful for what you’ve got”

– Petula Clark “The Other Man’s Grass (Is Always Greener)”

A young man had a good job at a local auto parts store. The young man wanted to pursue a career as an auto mechanic. It wasn’t a particularly hard job. There was plenty of downtime waiting for customers to enter the store.

But, the young man had a brother. His brother was working at a big box store. His brother was making $1.00 an hour more than he was. So, the young man quit his job at the auto parts and went to work at the big box store.

The grass was greener.

But, the problem was that instead of a job with a lot of downtime that let him learn more about cars, he was now working pretty much non-stop unloading trucks for his entire shift. The auto parts store didn’t have breaks because the entire shift was pretty much a break. Now, his breaks were carefully monitored.

Did he make the best choice? Was the grass really greener?

This is a picture of my neighbor’s yard.

And here’s a picture of my yard.

I’m not bragging when I say that my grass is definitely greener. If you drove down the street I stood on to take the picture, you’d agree that my lawn is definitely greener.

But, that’s not the whole story. Here’s a closer look at my neighbor’s lawn.

It looks a lot like the view from the street.

But, here’s a closer look at my lawn.

Sure, my lawn LOOKS green from the street. But, when you get closer you can see that my neighbor’s lawn is actually in better shape than mine.

Clearly the color of the lawn is not the best indication of how healthy it is.

Jobs are like that. I was recently laid off after seven years at my previous employer. During my time at my company I had plenty of opportunities to pursue other options. I never really gave it any thought. Oh sure, I looked at other considered leaving. Was the grass greener somewhere else?

Maybe.

I could probably have found a position that paid more. Would I have enjoyed it as much? Would it have offered as much job satisfaction? Would it have been as good for my worklife balance?

I have no idea. But, since my own grass was meeting all my needs, I didn’t see any need to run after greener grass.

Of course, now that I’ve been laid off, everyone else’s grass looks pretty attractive.

Stay safe

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.

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