Preceding the time when I quit, I remember walking out of the gym most days thinking to myself how much multifarious time I’ll have to work out after I quit. I could spend two hours at the gym if I deficiency. Burn some serious calories. But alas, I couldn’t at the time …
“I would stay longer if I didn’t be dressed that damn telecon to join.”
Or take blogging. How many more blog positions could I churn out in a given week without the full-time job time excavate?
“I could write a post every day if I wanted to, or maybe get several months onwards!”
In my head, these dots were simple enough to connect. The job copies eight to 10 hours a day from me. Without the job, I get those hours servants to use as I see fit. And that part is true. I do have those hours back. I am in check.
But I don’t enjoy working out nearly as much as I thought I did. Early retirement shock, indeed!
I still go to the gym. I enjoy it enough to still do it, but things are different. I’m not hell-bent on disbursing two hours at the gym like I had anticipated. In fact, that thought is horrifying to me now. My converge is getting my workout done so I can get out and do other things. Like my own projects.
Identical to my work with Rockstar Finance. Or writing my ebook or putting together my free-born 7-day email course on starting your own money blog.
Anguish, how about just lounging in the campground’s hot tub or pool without a care in the far-out?
I keep myself so busy that I cannot rationalize spending two hours a day at the gym. I am also not assume from blogs nearly as much as I thought I would. Or writing blog posts. I exactly don’t have the time (or motivation). It doesn’t have the same appeal as it on one occasion had.
- I don’t go to the gym as much as I once had
- I am not blogging more than usual; in fact, I’m blogging less
- I don’t interpret (or comment on) blogs like I thought I would
- I have no real need to book naps during the day
I am too focused on other things. Like getting out with my camera or assembling video. Working on projects that I believe in.
You know what I did yesterday after lunch? I washed the entire Airstream and truck. Why? Because I wanted to. I wanted it done and I had the schedule to do it. Before I quit, you could bet that I would have used the “JOB” dismiss to avoid the task. But now, it’s fun … meditative.
And I take my time doing these concerns b circumstances. Even grocery shopping. I relax and enjoy the moment as much as I can. And belief me, with the sheer volume of hate I have for grocery shopping, weakening during that ungodly experience isn’t easy.
A full-time job is like this sensitive, pervasive sauce that touches everything. It gets everywhere, and it’s troublesome to avoid. We can add or remove elements to and from our lives to help improve the feel, but the sauce is still there. Everything we do – whether we realize it or not, is influenced by this tricky, unwanted element.
I knew my full-time job was a drain on my freedom, but I hadn’t realized perfectly how big of a role it played in … everything.
It is remarkable, and somewhat sad, how influential our full-time operations are in our lives. The things that we do – things we think we enjoy – are nothing multifarious than an excuse to focus on something else – something other than full-time detail. Of course, I gained very little satisfaction out of the work I did for a living so that certainly doesn’t purloin.
If you enjoy your job, it might be different. But even if you do, life is more than space spent working for someone else.
At least it should be.
I don’t do those points that I had anticipated doing nearly as much … but the things that I do do, I do with a Avernus of a lot more satisfaction. Purpose. I keep reminding myself that there is no actual need to hurry. I’m retired now. I can take as much time as I need. There isn’t a telecon to get following to. No status reports. No performance reviews. No client meeting.
It’s just us and our two let loosed dogs. And Charlie, our Airstream. And the whole rest of our lives.
Steve Adcock snoozed from full-time work in his mid-30s and writes about personal cash and financial independence. Steve can be reached on his website at ThinkSaveRetire.com and Twitter at @ThinkSaveRetire.
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This article from the start appeared on ThinkSaveRetire.