Originally posted in September 2015 by Social Media Contractors
I am going to embarrass myself a bit here. As I said earlier on, I recently had some major surgery that required me to remain inactive and because of this I consumed much more than my fill of bad TV. At the same time I am pondering the idea of this piece, “Four Pillars of a Great Life”.
Through my channel surfing I started to notice some trends that I found interesting. (This is the embarrassing part). There were a ton of reality shows on throughout the day. Many showed what appeared to be very financially successful people with amazingly opulent lives, however most of these people had tremendous drama, huge issues with envy, and a general feeling that whatever they had/ate/vacationed was just not good enough.
On the flip side, there were other reality shows that showed what appeared to be broke people hunting alligators and living off the land or chasing a dream but really just getting by. The difference was it was almost impossible to get through one of these shows where someone did not talk about how fortunate they were. These guys spent less money in a year than the other shows peopled did in a day and they felt fortunate. Fortunate to live where they did, do what do or even have a very basic meal.
After pondering these two very different approaches and working on the idea of what “success” would like for my life, it reemphasized just how important it is find real value in what you do. I firmly believe all the riches in the world won’t make you happy if you hate what you do. If you truly love what you do, it aligns with your values and allows you to live comfortably, you win.
If you say your primary motivator is money, it may be, but if it were and you are not a grifter, drug dealer or hedge fund manager, this likely isn’t the case. Finding what you love to do will align more with who you are, what your values are and what makes you happy. If you aren’t doing what you love, there is likely something pushing you in a direction that may indicate what you would like to do.
Remember, you can change what you do. Not necessarily immediately, but you can build a plan and execute it. We have the amazing good fortune to live the most mobile time in human existence. Very few westerners are serfs attached to agriculture with no mobility. Anyone can buy a Greyhound ticket and be in a different time zone in hours.
My wife and I once explored what it would take to live at a research station in Antarctica. We were actually able to figure out a path of how we could have made it happen. For us it was the chance for adventure. For others, it may be a good environment with a really consistent paycheck that allows someone to spend quality time each night and weekend with family.
What truly matters for each of us is likely unique. Any of us can go and get it. If you can love what you do and you feel like, I get to go to work rather than have to go to the grind, you will have obtained an amazing step in building the 4th pillar of a quality life.
