Sunday Thoughts Pt. 1
Date: October 27, 2024
Sundays are always strange days.
Most of the time, I spend the majority of the day dreading going back to work the next day. I'm not entirely sure why... I guess the dread can be attributed to having to do something I would rather not do...
Don't get me wrong - I do somewhat enjoy my job. But I think the part I dislike is the constant stress and pressure. You're working, so you need to deliver. You have deadlines. You have to meet your daily, weekly, quarterly targets. You have to wake up at a certain time every day to start working. The routine is forced - there's not much freedom.
And that's what I'm really after - freedom. I want to be doing something useful, but I want to have the freedom to do it on my own terms. I don't want to have to worry about meeting a deadline, or deal with the stress of figuring out how something works as quickly as possible because it's due the next day. I want the freedom to think slowly, to work slowly, and to operate on my own time.
I've wracked my brain thinking about freedom; what it means, and how to achieve it. In today's day and age, freedom is not that easy to obtain for the average person. At least, freedom from work. Typically, you need to be working because you have to generate an income to survive. And that means you trade your time for money. That time that you trade is no longer yours, and therefore you are not free during that period of time. You need to work to generate that income. So freedom is given up. 8 hours per day might not sound like much but it sure as hell feels like a long time when it's 5 days per week.
And so, I wrack my brain every Sunday trying to figure out ways I can escape the traditional path so graciously bestowed upon the average person. I still haven't figured out what that path looks like, but I know that I will eventually find a way to freedom. It might sound depressing, but for me, it helps me to define my daily purpose. Why am I working? What am I doing this for? My answer to those questions are usually future-based. I'm doing this now because I want a greater reward in the future. Most of the time I can rationalize that it's worth it, but sometimes I find it difficult. I've lost quite a few people close to me in the past few years, and as you get older you start to realize that nothing in life is guaranteed. Working until you're 65 and then retiring to FINALLY live your live at that age is NOT guaranteed! Ever! How can we content working for 30-40 years, only to finally break free from work during the last 10 or 15 years of our life (if you're lucky)? It blows my mind.My goals is to retire between 35-40. When I say retire - I mean retire from the traditional work life - working 8 hours per day and 5 days per week. When I mention this to my close family and friends, they usually laugh, which I've come to understand makes sense. We are not told how to save our money, how to live frugally, or how to spend our time before the age of 65. We are taught to spend most of our money, save 5-10% per year, and work until we're almost dead. Fuck that. I refuse to live by the status quo when it comes to money, work, and enjoying life. Why? Because nothing in life is guaranteed.
I have a quote that sticks with me from when I was in university... "Do not be afraid of death. Be afraid of an unlived life". That quote has stuck with me throughout all of these years. We all have a finite amount of time on this planet - we all know we are going to die, eventually. So, do not fear death. That is a guarantee. What is not guaranteed, on the other hand, is living a life you are proud of. A life that brings you joy. A life that nobody can take away from you. THAT is why I want to retire early. THAT is why I want to live now. Because I do not want to be close to death, regretting that I did not take advantage of the time I had when I was healthy.
There's a lot going on here, mostly a jumble of ideas and thoughts about life, in one way or another. But the main point I am trying to convey here is that life is short, and you need to live your life while you are still able. Not when somebody tells you that you have permission to live it. Do not follow the crowd on this one - seriously. Sure, you may end up living until 90 and have 25 years after 65 to live your life. But that is not guaranteed. The only thing guaranteed is right now. And this is something I need to remind myself of more often. I too, often get lost in the "work now, have fun later" mindset. It's a mindset I want to avoid as much as possible. Because now is the best time to live your life.
How do you do that when you have a full-time job? Try and find a job you enjoy (at least sometimes), for one. Second, make use of the time you do have; if you work a 9-5, take advantage of the weekends. Do things after work. I know, I know. You're tired. So am I. But that's the time we have right now, and so that's the time you make use of. If you meal prep and stay off Instagram after work, you'll find you have a lot more hours of time after work then you realized.
Anyways, circling back, these are just some of my Sunday thoughts. I hope you found them at least somewhat insightful. These are things I think about often. I guess I'm just wired that way. How will you spend your free time, from now on?