In the end, it’s the things we did not try that we’ll regret most in life.
So why would I delay retirement until the end?
My interests right now are different than my interests 10 years ago. I’m betting the same will be true 10 years from now. I’ll be in a different season of life, and these seasons have expiration dates.
If you don't pursue that thing you want to do now, this season might pass without the itch ever getting scratched.
This is why I’m taking some time to explore my current interests. Because life is a continuous journey of re-discovering ourselves and what we enjoy doing.
the old way…
So much of our identity is tied to the work we do.
We have this deep conditioning about what careers, success, and happiness are supposed to look like. The pattern many of us are taught is:
Work hard, be miserable, achieve success, repeat.
This causes us to live on autopilot, chasing the ever-elusive happiness on the other side of success, and this conditioning holds us back from exploring all the other smaller, simpler things that make up our identity.
Bronnie Ware is a palliative care nurse who worked with elderly patients for the final decade of their lives. She put her observations in a book called ‘The Top Five Regrets of the Dying’.
One of the most common themes that surfaced was - I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
She said, “This came from every male patient that I nursed.”
As we move through our lives and careers, we get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about the other priorities. (health, relationships, hobbies, etc.)
It reminds me of the famous speech by Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca-Cola:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends, and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that ‘work’ is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
It’s not work-life balance anymore, it’s life-work balance. Balance family with work, not the other way around.
the new way…
Let’s take a look at the evolution of work and careers in the past century:
Two generations ago - people stayed at one company for 40+ years, then retired.
Last generation - people worked at several companies in the same industry for 40+ years, then retired.
Current generation - people go through several iterations of careers in different industries throughout different points of their lives.
In previous generations, there was less job mobility and taking time off between jobs was frowned upon. Now things are changing. I touched on this topic in my last post:
In the future, things will change so rapidly that instead of going to university for four years once in your life, people will take 6-month breaks to learn a new skill or just simply recover. Even if we look at nature and the cyclicality of it all. Plants, animals, and most living things go through rest and rebirth periods.
I think of it like a software upgrade. It’s healthy to take breaks and sharpen the ax.
Looking at the big picture, a 3-6 month gap throughout a long career is not that much time. And it’s not about sitting on the couch and watching Netflix all day.
It’s about creating time and space to focus on those areas of life we tend to de-prioritize when we’re working full-time. It’s a time to reflect and develop new skills. I’m still “working” - but I’m working on joyful pursuits. I’m not stressing over Slack messages or jumping on client Zoom meetings.
It’s only been a couple of weeks and it already feels rejuvenating to have some flexibility to learn new skills and explore the things I love doing.
I’m not worried about getting new clients or finding another job. Employers these days know that humans are not robots and the good ones will even give praise for having enough EQ to give yourself a break.
cash out regularly instead of banking constantly
It’s been shown that time goes faster as we age.
So instead of banking everything until the end, why not cash out regularly and enjoy the fruits of our labor?
Rather than put things off to some arbitrary day in the future that may never even come, I opt to take advantage of my youth and health while I have it.
One of the things I’m considering doing is a multi-day bikepacking trip from Barcelona along the coast of France. I’m not sure how intense it will be, but I’m probably in better shape to do it now than 20 years from now.
In Notes from a Corporate Slave,
asks one of his readers to reflect on 30 years spent serving the man:What dreams does your corporate gig hold back?
This is an important thing for young adults to think about. What do you want to do? Don't “settle down and get a job to save up for those big adventures to do later” because you might get to too old to do them. Life is about choosing your opportunities. Each choice we make acts to open up new opportunities and simply removes others from the table. Now in my fifth decade, I realize that there are numerous mountaineeringexperiences I will not have—there is insufficient time and money available due to the choices I've made.
What would you tell someone considering a corporate job now?
I think people need to think deeply about what experiences they want from life, what they want their everyday to be, what they want vacations to be, and milestones, what they want to do by 30, 40, etc. Then, prioritize those things. Figure out what you need to do to attain those visions—because what you have are goals and a goal without a plan is just a dream. Dreams go unrealized unless there is a plan, followed by actions to complete it. Don't do it like I did, with regrets and self-loathing and new resolutions each January that go unfulfilled. Set up a time to check on your plan monthly and make sure you are heading to where you want to be.
That’s heavy.
I lasted three years in the corporate world. I can’t imagine what 30 would have been like. Sometimes I wonder what life would look like had I continued climbing the ladder. Then I read an interview like that and it confirms my choice.
It seems the more we get used to having a steady paycheck, the more difficult it is to leave. It’s understandable, we humans crave safety and certainty.
But every now and then, a little uncertainty can be a good thing.
Until next time my friends,
<3 B
Thing that made me smile…
Thing that blew my mind…
Pieter Levels, the founder of NomadList, on the Future of Digital Nomads
A colleague retired with 30 years service. My loyalty drained as our divisional and country bosses declined to get up from their desks. No thanks. No good luck. No goodbye.
Nice piece, man. Have you read Die With Zero by Bill Perkins? You'd dig it. All about taking advantage of the assets you have at any given moment (time, money, health) as they change throughout life. Live it up.