One of the questions that is kicked back in An Taigh Thoirdhealbheach Beucail whenever the question of jobs come up is "What would you actually do if you were not doing what you are doing?"
It is a fair questions, something that I go back and forth about.
When I was young, I wanted to be an archaeologist (really I wanted to be a paleontologist and study fossils and dinosaurs, but for some reason we did not seem to have made that split so much). Then I went into an abeyance into what I wanted to be through most of high school and college until I stumbled out and realized I needed an actual job because just learning with no income is not a way to go (I have counseled the children heavily about this by the way: "Study what you love, but also be sure to have a back-up career").
As a result, I struggled for direction. I did a lot of retail. I taught business college - which I enjoyed, except that as an adjunct faculty, you never really know if you have a job in 12 weeks. And then I feel into biotech, of course.
Along the way I flirted (and failed) with going into the clergy, real estate, export, entertainment, and writing (except, of course, for this daily exercise). And half a dozen other things that never made it off the landing pad of my imagination.
So back to the questions: What would you actually do if you were not doing what you are doing?
The question, I have come to realize, is structured backwards. The question should more accurately be phrased "What would do based on the lifestyle you want to live?"
Almost anything is possible, after all, if you are willing to pay the price. Live in a home in an urban area and you are most likely guaranteeing yourself a mortgage and rising property taxes; live in a smaller older home in a rural area and you may not have a house payment. Dream of traveling regularly and you will need an income that supports it (or a career that enables it); dream of staying home and you may not have to earn as much.
I can come up with 10 other examples off the top of my head. But I think you get the point. Lifestyle determines what we end up doing far more than what we want to do determines what we end up doing.
Look at it that way of course, and it becomes a completely different discussion.
Excellent point. It's odd that more people don't think of it this way, but it's true. It's all about lifestyle. I'm guessing most people just want a lot of money so they can do whatever they want. But if they don't know what they want, then they are easily blown about on the winds of fancy. Your approach is so much more sensible.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I wonder if we all get easily sold on money "enabling" us to do what we "want", only to find that money is really a physical metaphor for time. I do not spend money, I spend time in the form of money. I work, I get paid, and I spend that pay.
ReplyDeleteI find it helpful when I think of it that way. Things do not become money costs, they become time costs. A dinner out, for example is about 45 minutes of my time. Repairing my sword is 3 hours of my time. My house is 17 hours of my time, my bimonthly taxes 14 hours of my time. And so on. It clears the mind wonderfully.
When I was a boy my great granddad retired to a posh shed in my Uncle’s backyard. No chit, he lived in a shed like Bubbles on the Trailer Park Boys. He had an oil heater in there and was just snug as a bug even in winter. As a youngster I was impressed and envious... still am now that I think of it. His deal was that he’d go round the neighbourhood and do odd jobs in return for food or cigarettes and gossip. Sometimes he worked for free just too stay busy. One day you might find him over at Coopville helping CM’s hubby split wood; the next day you might have him over for supper after he’d weeded the garden for the wife. He’d want to know all about your plans and what the kids were up to. He was a skinny little monkey of a man and always on the go.
ReplyDeleteMy parents did the Freedom 55 thing. Early retirement, posh RV’s, summer property in Arizona, golf, travel... I may be wrong but I don’t know if Mom and Pop were any happier than Great Grandad.
My grandiose plans for retirement include winters in the basement snuggled up to the heater as I do my idiot hobbies and arts n crafts. Long range dawg patrols, watching the seasons pass, trying to stay out of the way and out of trouble. Camping trips in the back country... You talk of going grey... I want to go dark. I don’t want to hassle the kids or be hassled in return. I don’t need to impress anyone... I just want to be independent for as long as possible. My Maker is generous... there’s always something to do.
Glen, your great grandfather sounds like he had a pretty good life in terms of living the way he wanted to. And yes, more money or the "retired" lifestyle does not make one any more inherently happy.
ReplyDeleteYour way sounds good. If I had my way, it would look a lot like living at The Ranch, doing what I could to preserve the land and be independent, going to coffee in the morning with the locals and to town once a week for church.
I tell my kids to think first about where they want to live, then think about what they can do there.
ReplyDeleteThink second about how they want to live, then think about what they can do to enable that lifestyle where they want to live.
Location is everything isn't just for real estate.
OC, that is great advice. Wish I had actually thought of it earlier and acted on it.
ReplyDelete