I remember when I was younger, everyone always said to go to college and get a degree. Get a good job with good benefits and you'll be happy. I know they meant well and that was the way the world worked for them when they grew up. There was no way for them to know how much the world would change in the next 30 years. There's never a way for us to know.
When I was a kid people didn't have cell phones, they didn't use the internet, they wanted a good job with benefits, they wanted someone to take care of them. They wanted to give up freedom for security. They got jobs with big corporations, worked in cubicles, got their benefits, went home and watched tv, had 2-3 kids, and died at 30 while they lived to be 70. If that makes a person happy, then good for them, but I think those people were fooling themselves. Nobody wants to be near the end of their life and look back at a boring life. I know that's not what I want.
I want more. I was told when I got those things that I would be happy. I just needed to get there. Well, where is "there?" I'm supposed to get to a certain place in life and then just be content, happy, and quit improving? I don't believe life is about getting somewhere and then stagnating. To me, being happy means having something to work towards, having goals, learning new things, making changes, always trying to be better, doing new things, meeting new people. I don't think I will ever "arrive." To other people that, scary, weird, dumb, irresponsible, etc. To me, that's exciting, that's life.
I'm not sure what is coming next for me or where I'm headed, but I do know that it's going to be fun and I'm going to have a blast. The only things I truly need in life are friends, family, a place to live, and food. If I've got that then I can be happy. I don't need a TV, pictures on the wall, curtains over the windows, a nice lawnmower, a super nice car, or anything else that people slave away at their job for. I'd rather have none of those things if it means I can have great experiences with family and friends.
If I were to buy those things that I don't need, I would be trading away those hours I spent working to buy it for a thing that I really don't need in my life. I'd rather trade my time earning money for awesome experiences. Or better yet, trade away less time because I don't need as much money to enjoy life. In a perfect world, I wouldn't need any money for anything and I could just spend my whole life enjoying the things and people I love. We're not here on this planet living this life just to achieve some arbitrary goal that society sets out for us that makes us think we've "made it." I don't need to own a house to be happy, I don't need two cars, a garage, or any of that stuff.
It's time for me to continue on the path I've been on. I will continue to remove things from my life that I don't need instead of adding things to my life and making life more complicated. Less is more.
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