Good for Me

Six weeks into my year off, I've noticed a distinct trend in how people respond when I explain that I work full-time running a small charity - they almost always say, 'Good for you!' You might think this is a nice thing to say to someone, but what it really means is 'Better you than me.'

To illustrate my point, please answer the following multiple choice question.

1.) Which of the following statement are you most likely to respond to by saying, 'Good for you!'
A.) I am an investment banker.
B.) I am a model.
C.) I am taking a six-month 'round-the-world vacation.
D.) I am going to spend a year toiling under 40C heat in Uruguay, helping to build roads for orphanages.

I'm guessing that you chose D.

As someone who's said 'Good for you!' before, that's what I would choose.

My objection to being told 'Good for you!' is it implies I am some sort of self-suffering martyr, and that the only reason that I'm doing this is because my compassion for others outweighs any kind of sliver of self-interest that I may possess. This assumption does not bode well for charitable work, as there is only a small number of people who are willing to make such self-depricating gestures. Moreover, in my case it's simply not true - I'm having a great time, and am doing this for myself as much (or more) as I'm doing this for others.

There are so many personal benefits to this kind of work that I'm not going to try to list all of them, but here are just a few: sleeping late, being able to pursue my own interests when my mood suits, being able to have a beer and a cigar while I work, setting my own hours and judging my effectiveness by what I accomplish and not by how many hours I put in.

Lastly, there's also the most important benefit of all: it gives me the chance to create something meaningful. I take pride in my work and I enjoy what I do. That's no reason to say, 'Better you than me.'