It’s the end of Sunday. I looked at the clock, and was thinking to myself - damn, we are already 3 days in, out of 4 days of this long weekend.
I remember starting the week on Monday, wishing it was already Friday. I kinda felt bad for feeling that. I mean, is that how my life is going to be? Looking forward to weekends? How can I possibly live my days fully if i were to only look forward to weekdays, and always wishing that weekdays would come to an end as quickly as possible?
Sometimes i just have such thoughts floating in my head. Is life suppose to be this way? Switching the alarm clock off every 6:30am, snooze a little, jump out of bed, rush for the usual train/bus, look forward to lunch time, look forward to the end of the day, look forward to the end of the week. Spend Sundays dreading Mondays, and the whole cycle begins again.
Am i not treasuring life enough? I am able-bodied, working in a cushy office job with a survivable pay, not having to worry about whether i would be able to feed myself for the next meal, not having to worry whether i would have warm water to take a bath. Am i being ungrateful for overlooking what i already have, these ‘life’s necessities’ which might not be as readily available for the next person? Is it too much to perhaps...... ask for more?
Sometimes i just wonder. I wonder whether others like me have such thoughts. Ain’t life supposed to be something more? Is it too much to desire a life where i could wake up feeling refreshed, and not counting down the weekdays, but to actually look forward to the day i was about to face? Is it too idealistic to want a life where I could feel excitement in my bones and passion under my skin? Or am i asking for too much since i am already (to some) in a ‘comfortable’ environment?
Gah, so many thoughts. This is perhaps, what adulting does to you. You drown yourself with endless questions due to the many possibilities you have in life.
I am completely aware that i am actually in a privileged position to be able to have a choice. Being able to choose is definitely not a universal option, and i would always be grateful for that.
I just have this nagging thought in my gut, that life should be something much more.
And i, and only i am in charge of the direction of where I’m headed, and where I’ll ultimately go.
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Good reflection for an adulting millennial.
ReplyDeleteLet me share with you the difference between having options and choices. A wealthy person has options in life while a poor person has to make choices in life.
I shall elaborate the difference using my life's journey. When I started work more than 30 years, I had very little savings and thus little to NO options in life but to immediately start work upon graduation. At each pay day, I had to make many decisions (choices) on what was important to spend on and how much to save. Many times, I had no options. For eg., I had to choose to save agressively for a car and a home and forgo the many outings with friends. When I got married, we (together with my wife) had to choose (make a choice) to travel to neighboring M'sia for our holidays instead of splurging on a European or US holiday. This was so that we could quickly pay up our housing loan and save up for the children's education.
Fast forward to today, our children has grown up, we have no more housing loan, our salaries are higher, we are now having OPTIONS in life. We have the option to work or to retire. We have the options of travelling to Europe or other exotic places a few times a year and still have a new car. We dont have to choose between one or the either. Now, we have the option to have both - after years of slogging.
As your wealth grows, your options also grow and interestingly the choices you have to make, reduces. In other words, with wealth, you can have more of the things you want instead of having to choose between one or the other.
Hi there, thank you for the comment!
DeleteIt is always heartening to hear from someone like you, who has many years of working experience under his belt. Indeed, the choices we make now will cause a ripple effect on our future. It is therefore really encouraging to know that any delayed gratification might really result in having the luxury to enjoy our fruits of labour, in the many years to come.
For now, I will keep in mind of my personal finance goals and keep working hard. Hoping the future me in 30 years will thank the me now, haha. :-)
I do not know how to articulate this well,. and I'm kinda tied-up this morning,.. but I'll say this : to be able to travel, one can always find a job that allows one to go for work assignments, and to travel for work. Hence, the luxury of being able to travel need not be an option in life.
DeleteWhen I started my worklife earlier,... I chose to join a company that allowed me to travel, my dreams were fulfilled. My work assignment even 'earned me' a family, I met my wife during when I was on assignment in Japan.
26yo here, worked for 2 years. you are not alone, i have the exact same thoughts as you, always felt that this is not the life that i envisioned myself living.. yet here i am. is this all there is to my life?
ReplyDeletefor me, i have turned to setting FIRE goals (FIRE by 40), and finding hobbies/interests during non-work hours. i try to practice gratitude, and improve myself a little at a time.
all the best, stay strong and stay positive!
Hello there! Fellow 26 year old here too. *high five*
DeleteI can relate really strongly to your comment. Finding hobbies/interests is so helpful in keeping my brain from just thinking about work! I'm happy to hear that you are practicing gratitude too. It makes us see the world in clearer lenses, and the heart feels more settled, happy and at peace with that. :-)
All the best to you too!
Hi both, there is definitely more to life than being chained to a work desk. Take it from me when I say time passes quicker than you think. I am now 3 years off my target FIRE age (40), and I can recall vividly feeling like the both of you when I was 26 (having only worked less than a year).
DeleteHaving multiple milestones and checkpoints will help! Rather than focusing on what appears to be an unattainable objective residing in fantasy land, having incremental milestones makes the journey feel real and grounded.