Just a quick thought experiment for you today.
I find it rather sad that after all is said and done, after 40 years of working at our job we are just an employee file number to our employer. Our employer moves on. They usually replace us, and we are all but a distant memory. Yet for us, our time in employment etches firmly in our brains.
For many of us, our lives are our jobs. We put so much time and effort into our jobs that it becomes a huge part of us. Long after we are gone, our job still defines us and who we were. But for our employer, we are just a long forgotten memory. Doesn’t this misbalanced perspective get you thinking?
We are all replaceable in the workplace. We are not replaceable in our personal lives.
This is why it is so important for me to be financially aware and find other passions. By having passions outside of work we can lead more balanced lives and won’t feel lost without our jobs. Our employers sure as hell won't feel lost without us, if only for a second. And by having the financial freedom we gain the time freedom to be able to enjoy these passions.
It is so sad when work becomes our life. There are even examples of people retiring from their jobs and feeling lost or lacking direction. I have found passion in reading, financial advice, being a husband and father, and volunteering. I have found all these whilst working full time so I can enjoy a balanced life. A life where work is NOT everything. So that when I do pull the plug on employment I won’t be bored or directionless.
Quite the opposite in fact, I plan to pick up even more hobbies.
If you are in a job where you would work for free then you have found your calling and that is great. For the majority of us though, we would not work for free. We should be doing all we can then to enjoy things we would rather be doing than work.
We are the master of our life. No one cares more about our lives than us. I, for one, won’t be looking back at my time on earth and wish I had worked more.
There will always be someone else available to do my job, but there won’t be anyone else available to live my life.
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