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Why are we working ourselves to death?
Pap
Serres, Greece Posts: 29,781
Athens 2006 / Milton Keynes 2014 / London 1&2 2022 / Seattle 1&2 2024 / Dublin 2024 / Manchester 2024 / New Orleans 2025
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Prague Krakow Berlin 2018. Berlin 2022
EV, Taormina 1+2 2017.
I wish i was the souvenir you kept your house key on..
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
6/19/95 Red Rocks
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Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
Lets see, because running around naked, and eating dirt, doesnt really appeal to me.
And sitting in my sweatpants, and living in my parents basement, mooching food? Well, that got old 30 years ago.
But the biggest reason why I work?
Because I ran out of shit to FLIP on ebay!
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Anyway...as part of my job I work daily with people who have lost the ability to be productive in the manner they have become accustomed to either due to severe illness, stroke, brain injury, injury etc.... These people often become depressed and lose their sense of purpose. They have to learn to define themselves differently, to find new roles to play. They have to find new purpose or occupation. That's not easy. If you are fortunate enough to find an occupation (whether it's your paying job, a creative hobby, caregiving for someone else, whatever) that you enjoy and gives you purpose then you are a fortunate person for sure. Striving for that purpose and definition of self is why we work so hard
6/19/95 Red Rocks
9/11/98 MSG
11/19/12 EV solo Tulsa
7/19/13 Wrigley 10/19/13 Brooklyn 2 10/21/13 Philly 1 10/22/13 Philly 2 10/25/13 Hartford
10/08/14 Tulsa 10/09/14 Lincoln
9/26/15 NYC Global Citizen
4/16/16 Greenville 4/28/16 Philly 1 4/29/16 Philly 2 5/1/16 MSG 1 5/2/16 MSG 2 8/7/16 Fenway 2 8/20/16 Wrigley 1
4/7/17 RRHOF New York City
9/2/18 Fenway 1 9/4/2018 Fenway 2
9/18/21 Asbury Park
2/4/22 EV Earthlings NYC 2/6/22 EV Earthlings Newark 9/11/22 MSG 9/14/22 Camden
9/3/24 MSG 1 9/4/24 MSG 2 9/7/24 Philly 1 9/9/24 Philly 2
I think it's optimal if we can work about 75 % and not full time, with something meaningful. But as always money is the big issue..
That's why!
Cheers.
Those that can be trusted can change their mind.
You never really had to begin with.
Sometimes it's not the song that makes you emotional it's the people and things that come to your mind when you hear it.
Tattooed Dissident!
With your last point - a few years ago I had to get oral surgery. Because of the surgeon's schedule, I had to have it on a Thursday. That meant I had to have the Friday off work (I would not have been well enough to go back to work), and the weekend off, then back to work Monday. At some point I realized that I was actually excited to have the surgery because it meant two days off work, plus a weekend in which I wouldn't be running around like crazy doing all the things I don't have time to do during my work week. That was a shock, realizing how overworked I had become. (I wish I could tell you that this was an ah ha! moment that led to major life changes, but sadly no).
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Myself to death. I live very happily on a 14,000 a year pay scale. So it works, except that I live in my parents' basement.. ( yeah I'm deadbeat Rob Lowe),. But once school is done, I can live very very well, virtually extravagant for me, on a 26,000 a year job! To each their own I guess. :-) as long as I can squeeze a couple of PJ shows in every few years, I'm good!
But to each their own.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
It's not like I don't believe in working hard (i do have a full time career that I enjoy and do well at). But i also believe in a much more healthy work-life balance than is considered the norm in North America. It's not an all or nothing kind of thing. The question here is not about working vs not working, or hard work vs laziness. People who strike a healthier balance aren't all poor or totally unprepared for retirement, as some have quite oddly suggested in this thread, lol. There is just true value in smelling the roses throughout life too, taking time for peace and enjoyment and calmness on a more day to day basis, and not just when you're old. I love how people think retirement is such an amazing state of being. Of course there are always exceptions, but the fact is that most people go downhill fast healthwise when they retire, because they're old. I realize that practically everyone thinks that they will be the exceptions, that they will be the ones who are fit as fiddles and raring to go when they're old and retired, ready to suck up as much living as they sacrificed for the almighty dollar when they were younger, but reality clearly shows us that this just won't be the case for a large number of people. The "popular, as-advertised" north American vision of retirement doesn't really match real life in most cases. So leaving it all for retirement seems like a pretty risky gamble to me. I don't mean everyone can just roll over and die when they retire, lol. Again, it's all about balance, both day to day, and long term.
I just think it seems odd to "save up" relaxation and fun and calm during the prime of their lives for a time in the future when in reality, the majority of folks are too troubled by medical conditions and aches and pains to really be able to feel free, when their friends and family are starting to drop dead around them, and when their kids have other shit to do because they are full grown adults.
Apparently, retirement rarely meets people's expectations. When that is the case, I think perhaps those who always said they'll work their asses off and enjoy shit when they retire feel pretty disappointed and regretful. Sure, they can afford a bigger house and more travel... but what about all those years behind them when they felt better, everyone around them were energetic, etc? Sacrificing 50 years of your prime to putting your head down and working your ass off for too many hours just because of this fantasy of being able to kick back on a beach for 20 years when you're old while probably dealing with various medical issues and declining mental abilities seems like a pretty lopsided deal.
Then after my boys are taken care of I work because I love shopping at Ulta, I am a wanna be foodie (which can be an expensive hobby), I've saving to buy a classic car (67 RS SS Camero /swoon), I really like big TV's, I like Lego's just as much as my boys and of course to pay for PJ and related expenses (boots, posters, framing posters, travel expenses, tickets...ya'll get the idea).
What I think it comes down to is how happy you are at your job, I enjoy what I do. I work with our military community all day and nothing gives me more satisfaction than making things right for them.
But in my eyes, not working towards a retirement, not saving your money, and having to work well into your 70's, or work till you basically drop dead, all because you chose to "live your life" while you were young.......Seems pretty damned delusional to me.
But again, to each their own.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Work your 40 hours a week, put your money in social security, be smart enough to have a retirement plan to go along with your social security, have money saved and invested. When the time comes for retirement, you should be able to enjoy your golden years.
Its not all that hard.
Yet I know plenty of friends, who at the age of 45, still haven't figured it out. Plus, they have the attitude that at the age of 45 they can still find a job and retire at 67. Yet, what they fail to realize, is they are now competing in a job market against people 20 years younger. And what do my 45 year old friends have to offer? A bad work history, no signs of stability, and they haven't had any type of education in the last 20+ years. In other words, they aren't going to get the job they desire. I have friends, that in 5-10 years, are going to truly regret the decisions they made in life, towards work. Or maybe they wont regret their decisions.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....