These past few weeks I've been having a lot of pressure with my job! So much so, that I've been having to work extra hours and get my projects done ahead of schedule.
I normally put a lot of pressure on myself to perform at a higher level, but just in the last few months it feels like the pressure gauge has been cranked up to high. Does anyone else feel this in your life?
Do you feel like you are just treading water just to keep your head barely above the water line?
The demands from your boss are mounting each day, and you dread having to go into work the next day, because of the pressure?
Ultimately a lot of people want to get to retirement, because they think that getting that retirement will deliver the holy grail of ultimate peace and tranquility! Angels will descend from above. Every day will be sunny and you will have no more conflict with anyone.
At the start of this past week I was feeling a lot of pressure, and as I started out my Monday morning routine, Joe Udo's RetireBy40.org blog post came into my inbox. It was a post on how life has been since Jr. RB40 went back to school and Joe has been enjoying the free time while junior is at school. In it Joe describes on multiple occasions about having to deal with the corporate “BS” he had to while working his engineering career. I could tell the disgust he felt about being burdened with all the corporate requirements and TPS reports. Reminds me a lot of the movie “Office Space”, and having to deal with the pesky boss, Mr. Lumbergh!
Truth is that a majority of us are living day to day lives and having to deal with people and similar type attitudes as you saw in Office Space. Like Joe, describes it gets old.
So these past few weeks I've been feeling a lot of the same pressures. The same demands from the boss man. And the need to work more hours, because of the demands on our schedules. I wouldn't go as far as Joe went to describe it as “BS”, because I'm sure there would be others problems if I was doing something else with my life.
That is the thing…the thing about our wants/needs. We often think that once we get to ______:
- …retirement
- …living in an RV
- …buy the vacation home along a lake
- …reach 59 1/2
- …living a minimalist lifestyle
- …the kids out of the home
Whatever your ____ is, then you always feel achieving that will resolve everything! We sell ourselves continual lies that say we won't be completely happy until we get to that “pinnacle”. We won't have the peace that we desire until that is reached. That is why a lot of times our jobs feel extremely mundane and everything we do at work is “BS” (in the words of Mr. RB40).
In being totally honest with you I've been struggling with finding peace among all the hustle and bustle of life. Over the last month I've enjoyed digging into God's word (Proverbs and Romans) and enjoying watching old episodes of Bob Ross, and the episodes of “The Joy of Painting”. It brings me back to memories of my childhood, and watching Bob orchestrate beautiful landscapes. What was even more peaceful was his soothing voice. I remember so many times falling asleep on the couch while watching his show!
In my own life I've lately been wanting to have a break from work and am primarily focused with getting out of debt, and forecasting retirement. Ultimately I know that debt freedom or retirement won't solve everything.
Do you feel the same way? What are you looking forward to the most right now? What are you hoping will resolve your life worries or relieve stress? I'd be interested to hear from our readers, so please leave a comment below!
3 Comments
Retirement is pretty hard to screw up!
I retired at age 65 and have been enjoying it for 20 years. It is best to know that retirement is not a panacea or a nirvana. But it is a phase of your life where you can expand and pursue things previously denied you due to lack of time or responsibilities. Most of my friends volunteer at something they like. I tried 3 or 4 different things and settled on 2 or 3 that have worked out. The opportunities abound; try RSVP to get some ideas.
I think early retirement is akin to “And they lived happily ever after.” We all know challenges and life happens after the magical moment of FIRE. It’s important to remember that you’ll still be challenge and be unhappy some days–it’s all part of being human.