Last year I made the decision to leave my previous job. It was a career that had given me the opportunity to learn and to travel. It was something that paid very well and allowed me to have certain luxuries in life that I would not get in other jobs. As grateful as I was for that opportunity, I was not happy. That made me decide to leave and find the path that would give me the satisfaction that I was looking for.
Most would assume that it meant that I wanted a higher-paying job. Or that I may have wanted a job with a higher position. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. After so many years in the same job position (and pay), I found myself looking for something different. I’m at that point in my life where I am not after jobs where I can climb up the corporate ladder. I am not looking for a job title that is equal to or higher than what I had before. I am not even looking for a similar salary. Weird right?
Currently, I am unemployed. But I have been accepting side jobs here and there. The money is not stable and nor is it as profitable as my previous job, but it is enough for what I need. Most of the work I have done so far has been clerical, but I don’t mind not being one of the higher-ups. I find that I am happier working in the background. It is a job without the responsibilities that being a boss brings. It is less stressful, and it gives me time to pursue the things that I enjoy doing. That’s something I have not had the chance to do in such a long time.
All this made me wonder: have I been too greedy in the past? I used to complain that I wasn’t paid enough, but now I see that I can live without a lot of the luxuries I used to enjoy. I used to take pride in being a boss, but now I am much happier and content doing clerical work in the background.
I have talked to friends who have also had career changes. Like me, they also feel the same way about the future of their careers. Finding out that this isn’t a me thing makes me wonder what this is all about.
These days I find myself thinking if the world is teaching us to want too much. It makes me question if society is encouraging this constant want for more. This is even when in truth, we do not need as much of anything as we assume that we do. They tell us to get a job and climb the corporate ladder. They tell us we need to go make a lot of money so we can do this and that and buy everything that we want. This is the definition of being an accomplished person. This proves that you have made it in life. I admit to feeling that way about it sometimes.
Now that I am living a simpler existence, I find myself wondering about how much is too much. At what point can a way of life or living be excessive? In a world where so many do not have enough to feed their families, how do you define this? There are people with more than enough for the simplest of luxuries. And yet these simple luxuries are still things many people can only imagine having. So how much is too much? At what point does wanting to have more become greed? And how can we avoid it?
At the same time, there is also the question of when having enough turns into having too much. We can say that if we are earning more, having and spending more is not about greed. We can justify that having that much is not too much. After all, we worked hard for the money we earned, it would seem right to be able to spend it how we see fit.
Despite all that, I can’t help but wonder when is what we have enough. When is it OK and when is it too much? When do we indulge ourselves to reward our hard work and when is it going overboard?
All I know now is that my current path is showing me that I may prefer a simpler lifestyle compared to what I used to have. I now prefer the luxury of time and freedom to pursue my creative passions. I want it more than to climb the corporate ladder or a high-status job. The fulfillment I am looking for is no longer in having a lot of money or a high-ranking position. It is in being able to find happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind in much simpler moments. The world is always obsessed with more, but I have realized that there is a special kind of joy in having enough. I like it that way.
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