I am a pretty frequent lurker here but don't really have anything important to post financially so I don't really.
There is a blog that I heard about here called "earlyretirementextreme" that I also frequent regularly. The guy who writes it is so refreshing and intelligent.
Anyway, in one of his many thought-provoking posts he points out that most of us have a decision to make during our lives. Now I don't think many people ACTUALLY think seriously about this and make an independent decision - I think most people just go with the flow.
The decision is: Money or Heartbeats ?
To use my own situation as an example. I'm debt-free since earlier this year. I save money every month - a good percentage of my take-home pay with I'm happy with. Every month my Net Worth creeps up slowly but steadily. Fine.
However I have to work in a job (and I know I'm lucky to have a job at all) that is slowly, discreetly and insiduously sucking the life out of me. It tries to shrink my world-view to just that company and the crap that goes inside it.
Which is more important ? Meeting savings targets or making the most of every single heartbeat I have. Heartbeats are limited. I only have a fixed allocation of them. And I'm not obsessed with being a millionaire or anything. But I do want to feel alive... jumping out of an airplane alive... to feel that I lived the best life I could.
At the moment, I feel like I'm not on the same planet as living the best life I could ... but at the same time, every month I'm adding a good amount to my Financial Assets through this nice comfortable soul-destroying job.
Although I have been distancing myself from my sense of self and not taking things personally/seriously at work so that helps.
But I just feel like I'm exchanging TOO many heartbeats for the euros I'm accumulating.
Sorry if I seem whiney and self-centred. Maybe I am just that and neep to cop myself on !!! :-)
Just checking In !
November 21st, 2010 at 08:21 pm
November 21st, 2010 at 10:14 pm 1290377669
I find it easier, like you said, of trying not to get so "invested" in my job. It's just a paycheck. Not that I don't make an effort to do the best I can, but I try not to get personally offended if the person i report to is inept, vague or disorganized about what they want.
I've read that blog you mentioned and i never really cared for him, tho i guess we do share a distaste for work!
November 24th, 2010 at 05:59 am 1290578340
I'm not sure what I'm going to do or what you should do either. But I'm so glad you brought it up. I need to not shy away from what I'm feeling. It's good not to take things personally, and I do try not to wallow in resentment all day at work, but we shouldn't numb ourselves to the point that we don't realize what our jobs are doing to us.
November 24th, 2010 at 08:04 pm 1290629086
Personally I find it hard dealing with so many Egos.. all seeking promotion and one-up-man-ship. Like a few days ago, a person in Authority came into a meeting and told a bare-faced Lie about something that happened that I raised as an issue. I was the only one who knew she was lying for sure but I didn't argue with her in front of everyone. I let it go. If I dropped dead tomorrow, people would still lie in their jobs to protect their Egos and precious career-prospects.
I know I should be grateful to have a job at all. Maybe I'd be better rewarded by trying to throw some spice and excitement into my non-work time so as to shrink the hold that work seems to command on my little mind ! lol
Sorry to hear that your work situation has changed so dramatically CJ ! I hope in the near future, things get close to how they used to be under your old boss.
November 26th, 2010 at 10:10 pm 1290809416
Jerry