Most people in the FI space have at least a current job that they are doing right now. Some people hate it, some people actually like it. For those who actually hate their job or are just going to work to get that paycheck every two weeks, I have a message for you:

You Are More Than Your Job

So here’s a lesson for most of you

You work to live, and you should not live to work. Remember that. There is a very distinct difference between those two statements that people often confuse.

You work to live means that you just go to your cubicle job to help you save money and to help you live the life you want. It can be a stopgap or a bridge until you reach your Financial Independence number, or just to get experience from the real world. Every single person has their own shallow reasons on why they’re killing themselves to go to their 9-5.

You live to work means that your entire life is dedicated to your work. Now this may be the case if you are Financially Independent already and you are all set to living your life in a way that your work (aka legacy) that you leave behind is touching other people. It can also mean the opposite where you just work nonstop and don’t have a life other than work. The latter is terrible! You mean you don’t have any other interests than working??? What about the time for your family, your friends, your hobbies?

People, you are more than just your job. When you meet other people for the first time, one of the questions that is asked is: What do you do?

I got inspired by this when I met a guy at Camp FI in Florida who told me that he is retired and is a life engineer (or something of that sort). When he first said that, Peter and I were a bit confused because we didn’t know what it was exactly until he explained that it is more like he is in charge of his life now.

Anyway, we have been so ingrained into thinking that we should pick a profession and stick to it.

Have you ever heard children saying: When I grow up, I want to be a (insert doctor, lawyer, nurse, astronaut, and the like)

It has been ingrained to us ever since we were kids – go to school (pre-school, elementary, middle high school, college, post-graduate), stick to a profession based on the degree who chose in college, and stick to that job until you’re 60 and retire.

Some people have it figured out early on

Some people are lucky enough to figure out their passion early in life and have been wildly successful at it. The majority? Well, not so much, and we end up in a profession which just pays more.

In fact, the profession we end up choosing may not be something that we enjoy and we are just after the monetary aspect of it. Without the monetary aspect, would we have chosen this field? What if the trend has turned differently and the money is now gone? Oh dear.

Whenever we meet somebody who is trying to chase FI, the majority of people are doctors, lawyers, engineers, or programmers. These are high paying jobs which requires the individual to be highly analytical and good at figuring out challenging problems. Now while that does help in accelerating the path to financial independence, what about the rest of us chugging along in less challenging professions?

Continue discovering your passions

Even as you curse the alarm clock as you wake up every single morning to the same routine to a not-so-high paying job and as you struggle and plod your way to financial independence (all 10+ years of it), know that you can do something about your current situation. The first step will be to either find your passion or to continue discovering even more passions.

I think I already know what my passions are, thank you very much. Why are you bringing this up?

While you may think that you know your passion right now, know that as an individual, you are going to change. Your tastes change, your life will change, and even your passions and interests may change over time. What your passion today may be different 30 years from now, and so, use the spare time you have before or after your soul-sucking full time job to discover new things.

You can learn how to paint, calligraphy, photography, travel, create, write, anything!

With the safety net of your full time job and the steady stream of income coming in that you have sold your soul to in order to get, know that you can afford to pay for lessons, and learn to make mistakes. Treat of it as an experiment to see what you like and what you don’t like. You could hate something after the first session, or you can like something immediately.

Scour Groupon for deals, look through resources in the library, or ask people. Picking up a new passion or trade may lead to your future job or other opportunities along the way. All it takes is a little bit of money as an initial investment (in yourself).

Be you, find your own identity

Too often, we forget who our real identities are outside of the persona that we have related to our jobs.

I get it, you’re working a good 8 hours (or more) every day. That’s nearly 2,100 hours, or a good 3 months of non-stop working throughout the year. Of course you can get too caught up with it. Habits can be formed in as little as a month!

• Learn how to turn off after your cubicle work. Don’t log in after a set amount of time and enjoy what you have. Don’t just sit in front of the TV eating Cheetos the entire time after you get back home from work. You can learn how to limit your TV viewing to a specific wind-down time (around an hour or less), all it takes is habit and a lot of discipline.
• Decompress after work. You don’t want to jump in to your next passion or hobby without a few minutes of mindless fun. It gives your brain a chance to turn off for a bit, and just experience being in the moment, not doing much.
• Enjoy the time you spend with your family, take a little walk outside, meditate. You can even use the time to catch up on social media, if you prefer.

You’ll end up feeling more refreshed and ready to jump in on a side hustle, or a lesson from online or offline through a book, or into another brain-intensive activity.

Remember guys, you are more than your job. You are your own unique individual and before you had to go to work, you were enjoying life on your own terms.

Please do not let your cubicle job overtake your life, putting it first amongst all the other fun things that you used to do. Heck, we even put off retirement until we’re 70 because we have engrossed ourselves in earning money through ‘work’.

This is why financial independence is important, and why we really need to get our time back. Money can be earned through various means, means which do not involve you losing a part of yourself or your identity and overshadowing it with a corporate cookie cutter one.

You are more than your job. Enjoy your life.