Hard Work, Happiness and Income

 

 

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

I’ve worked for someone else for at this point 10 years of my life. It’s really sinking in that hard work does not equate to earning money. I’ve gone through periods in life where I had to work 2-3 jobs at a time.

As the years went on, it became increasingly difficult for me to work for other people. I would feel as if I was making myself sick because I felt vibrant and alive outside of work, but dead inside as soon as I clocked in. Yeah, I know it may sound dramatic, but I know there are plenty of people that can relate to this. It was such a recurring instance I had to look at myself and realize I couldn’t keep going down that path. I’m a person who needs some emotional connection with the work I do.

I’m able to reflect and see that discipline is important however, additionally you must take time away from work to get to know yourself. Yeah, very cliche but it’s true. And for sure, it doesn’t feel like you have time to do this when you feel you must focus on surviving as opposed to feeling good and thriving.

  

I suggest you be open to trying new things and maybe look back on what you loved as a kid when you were young and free but didn’t think you were good at it.

 

  

  

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

  

 I can give a personal example of this. Never thought I was an excellent writer, but I always felt a sense of ease when I would write. I could express myself better by writing versus verbally. From poetry to short stories, it was always something I found to be such a beautiful form of expression and a tool for providing knowledge. When I was younger, you could catch me locked away reading fantasy books escaping into a whole different world. As I got older, I lost touch with that but picked up journaling. It’s something that helps me feel grounded. It always seems to come circle back around to writing and reading for me. Take that and combine it with the fact that I love personal development, that’s how we got here, me creating my blog :).

 

Even at a young age, I was a therapist for others. A light for others in troubling times. I love helping people improve themselves and stop the negative mind loop, even though it could be draining hence why I am a blogger and not a therapist, so this shows there’s a path for everyone.

 

Think back to your school days and that teacher that made you love a subject that you didn’t love at first. I bet you’d pay money for them to teach that one class you couldn’t stand.

 

Back to the point of this post 

 

There’s this narrative that gets funneled throughout our society that there’s a solid correlation between hard work vs happiness and earning big bucks. Hard work doesn’t equate to big bucks. Big bucks don’t equate to happiness. You must look at your motivations in life and self-reflect before you act. Purposeful action that is in line with your values and goals in life can. 

I’ve come across plenty of posts where millionaires will talk about how they work over 40 hours, but there are people in my personal life who make just above minimum wage working the same hours. So, I feel confident in saying it’s not the work ethic.

 

Happiness vs Income

 

 

Infographic of countries’ happiness ranking and how money correlates to happiness

 

 

 Questions to Ask Yourself:

• Do you really want to be a millionaire, or is it the freedom you’re craving? 

 

• How much money equates to you feeling free?  

 

• Are you able to do work that you don’t feel connected to? 

 

• Are you able to buckle down and work to stack up money until you reach that freedom amount, or do you have to perform work that interests you?

(There’s no right answer it is all about learning yourself and your motivations and goals)

  

If you are one that’s able to buckle down and stack up money working without an emotional connection, check out the book Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier. I’ve only read a snippet of his book so far, but he goes on to how he became financially free by buckling down.

 

  

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Takeaways:

 

• Remember, there is no correlation between salary, hard work, and happiness

  

• Money does not equate to happiness

  

• Hard work doesn’t equate to wealth 

 

• You are in control of the path you take 

 

• Learn your motivations and what drives you

  

• There’s no one-size-fits-all, so figure yourself out and I’d love to know how the journey is going for you all. Please leave a comment.

 

  

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Self-Actualization