This really grinds my gears
Do you enjoy what you do for work?
Do you wake up excited each day to do what you do for pay?
Perhaps each day is a little much — I mean, we can’t be 100% all the time, right? We all have our off days.
But for the most part — are you happy where you are?
Fulfilled? Driven? Passionate? Like you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else?
In a conversation with some friends, one of them said:
“The pay is incredible. I mean, I’m workin’ my ass off and probably killing myself — but the money’s just too good. I’ll grind it out as long as I can, build a nice little nest egg, then cut back and relax a little later. Do some travelling, cross some stuff off the bucket list — all that fun stuff, you know?”
To which, another replied:
“Yea, unfortunately we gotta work work work before we can do any of that. All these people thinkin’ they can just play all the time. What a pipe dream. That’s not how life works — that’s not real. You gotta make the sacrifices first.”
Needless to say, this really pissed me off.
What a bunch of bullshit.
First of all, you DO NOT have to do anything where you feel like you’re working your ass off all the time and slowly killing yourself. It’s 2020 dammit — go do something else. Who cares about how much money you’re making. What good is any of that money if you don’t have the health to enjoy it?
Secondly, stop waiting until later to do the things you want to do. Make time for them NOW or else you’ll wind up not able to do them later. You think you have time, you think you can put things off. But really, you can’t. Find a way to seize the day or else miss out on some of those things forever.
Lastly, you don’t have to ‘work work work.’ That’s a fallacy this culture has created. If you stopped telling yourself you needed a fancy home with two cars in the driveway and every gizmo and gadget you can get your hands on — maybe you wouldn’t need half the income you’re making to get by. Maybe you could work HALF the time and still live comfortably. Maybe you could take a job for less money (that you ACTUALLY enjoyed) AND STILL feel like you have it all. Stop convincing yourself you’re making sacrifices for a better life later — the real sacrifice is trading your youth and vitality for a few extra bucks now.
And yes, I know what I’m taking about.
I’ve designed a life where I don’t have to work full-time. I could, but I don’t have to. So why would I? I have a 2-year-old daughter. What’s most important right now is spending as much time with her as possible. I can grind it out and make more money later. But now? I’d rather spend time with my family.
And what I’ve done isn’t hard. Anyone can design that kind of life.
But it means looking at the world through a different lens. It means looking at work through a different lens. It means throwing out your preconceived notions about how this life is supposed to play out and start looking for examples of how people are doing it differently, in this day and age.
Right now, people are thriving WHILE STILL doing stuff they enjoy.
People are crossing things off their bucket list NOW and not waiting ’til later.
There’s no reason why you can’t be doing the same.
So I’ll ask you again…
Do you enjoy what you do for work?
Do you wake up excited each day to do what you do for pay?
Because if not, then it’s time to go and find something else. There’s never been a better time in history to do so.
You’ll thank yourself later for making the change, I promise.
Halt right there!
If you enjoyed this daily musing, would you mind holding down that 👏 button below? You can clap more than once, ya know… 😉
