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There’s a general sense of lost sweeping the society today. Somewhere along the way, the light at the end of the tunnel seem to have vanished.

I’m not talking about myself but rather, a logical conclusion of what I’ve been observing in the news and people around me.

I’m sure you can see the world turning for the worse: financial turmoil with sub-prime, SIVs, CDS and rogue traders, rising food and energy prices, increasing mentions of “recession” in the media, volatile stock market going nowhere, bleak government outlooks and uninspiring rescue plans.

It’s like being in bad company, “why try so hard when nobody else does?” When nobody is doing well, it’s easy to rationalize the decision to ‘take a step back and re-evaluate my options’, a.k.a. quitting your day job.

This post talks about why the times mandate that you re-evaluate your evaluation and that keeping your day job is perhaps the best decision in years to come.

1. Recession

You better believe it, the recession is either already here or it will be the next change in your country.

Proof? The fact is that the ‘R’ word is being mentioned more in the media. Today’s officials are well trained in PR and know full-well the self-fulfilling nature of making forecasts. It is harder to rule in hard times, so you don’t make bleak forecasts until a point when not doing so threatens a more fundamental trait, that you know what you’re doing. My take: that ‘recession’ is now mentioned in mass media means it’s either here or there’s very high confidence it will come.

In a recession, jobs are cut and it’s very hard to find new work. At the same time, both corporate and consumer spending are reduced, so it’s harder for you to start a new business. This recession will be inflationary - so while your income is capped or reduced or wiped out, cost of living continues to go up.

2. The Sex & Cash Theory

Hugh MacLeod made a very good point about not mixing your passion with your income in his “How to be Creative” slide presentation. He calls it the Sex & Cash Theory:

The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs. One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.

I would like to expand on Hugh’s theory to say that happiness is sex and your day job is cash. It is very, very rare to meet someone who’s found happiness in his/her day job. The challenge is not to go on an endless quest to find one. The key is to know that it is ok to dislike your job and look for happiness elsewhere.

I should also point out that despite the huge success of gapingvoid.com, Hugh is still keeping his day job.

3. Opportunities in Crisis

In Chinese, the word for crisis (危機) is made up from the characters meaning ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’.

There is a major crisis coming. And I don’t think most of us know where the opportunity is. Well, I know that billionaire Richard Rainwater has cashed out most of his wealth from the financial markets to invest in building crisis centers in different parts of the United States.

What opportunity lies ahead for the small-time middle-class peon like us?

I don’t know. But I’d keep my day job to keep those savings steady so that when a good opportunity come along, I can take it.

4. Something to Focus On

We’re bombarded by bad news everyday - the news, the papers, the conspiracy theorists, speeches by heads of states, and this article. You can get into trouble if you read bad news everyday.

It is easier to find meaning in your job than in your life: getting promoted to manager is easier than achieving nirvana.

Now, don’t short-change yourself if you know that you’re destined to attain buddha-hood this life time. For the majority of us, small reachable goals could be the key to happiness.

5. There’s Bliss in being Employed

You can pay your bills. Take you family out for a fancy dinner. Go for the occasional vacation. Form a bowling team with your colleagues. Have company for lunch. Gossip at the watercooler. Play some office politics. Have company for an after-work drink. People to complain to.

And so on and so forth.