How is the day going? (You can tell me in the comments) I truly do want to know how you’re feeling, so please let me know.
I’ve always wondered why I am working. The answer kind of eluded me in the beginning, but the reason is quite simply…I was socially conditioned. When Mom and Dad get the nice car or that big new home, we say, “I’m going to get a house just like this when I get older”. You may want to change a few things in “your house”, nevertheless, you want one. It’s at this point that we cross the line and the rest of our lives are set in a pattern most of us fail to get out of.
It’s as if there is no room to change our minds once we’ve made these decisions. When you stick to these declarations, it makes our brains feel all warm and “cushy” inside. You brain tries to make things easier for you. It relieves stress. Life becomes predictable, thus, a little boring and uneventful. Ask anyone who has a job and commutes back and forth to work. We’ll tell you most of the time, we can’t even remember how we got to work or back home. Most times I remember getting into my car to go to work, but when my awareness returns, I’m in the parking lot. The reticular activating system is amazing.
This article is named “The Trappings of Life” because they ARE traps. These snares are unseen. Mere products of our minds. You could stop paying for your car and ride the bus, but then the “Satan brain” kicks in and delivers to you the worst case scenario. If I don’t pay for my car, how will I get to work? How will my kids get to school on time? When I want to go somewhere, it’ll take 3 times as long to get there. These are all emotional reasons, and they are pretty f***in’ weak.
How about we consider the positives in the situation above: We would only be paying $55 per month for a bus pass rather than $395. It may take us longer to get to a destination but you wouldn’t have to buy gas to get there. We could even enjoy dinner and movie more often if we didn’t have to fork over $150 per month in car insurance either. Are we starting to see the benefits of thinking on the other side.
I am NOT saying you should live like a pauper, or try to save money. That’s a losing strategy. I AM saying you should have a business that pays you more than enough money to take care of your basic needs to that your life can be enjoyed. I’m not an advocate of saving. If you are, then fine. I’d rather make more money.
The Trapping of Life
The time is here, let’s do it! We are all f***ed in the head. It’s not that we are crazy, but we do have consistent behavior with that of a suicide candidate. We are more than willing to kill ourselves as long as it happens slowly over time. Here are some of the daily cyanide capsules we swallow on the road to the end of our lives…
1. College Education
Good: None.
Bad: Overpriced, useless, time-consuming (4 years of your life gone), don’t get me started on grad school.
2. Dream Home
Good: Tax write-offs, freedom to alter it how we see fit, feeling of your own place, good memories.
Bad: 30-year mortgage, home owner’s insurance, taxed heavily in some states, perform your own maintenance, extremely high repair costs, we’ll never own it (most people never stay in their home 30 years, thus it’s just a big, nice, expensive rental).
3. Nice Car
Good: Make us feel good, ease of getting to places, convenient for tasks.
Bad: Depreciates 40% as soon as we drive it off the lot, high cost of repair, short life span, must keep car insurance, gas is costly.
4. Marriage
Good: None (Everything that can be had with marriage that “good” can be had without it)
Bad: A forced attachment, no good reason for doing it, combined monetary accounts, you may not know the person (IE Good credit + bad credit = bad credit times 2).
5. Kids
Good: You leave a legacy, enjoy seeing your offspring grow up.
Bad: No money, no time, no sleep, stress, trouble in school/life, loss of your dreams, make divorce more difficult.
There are many others, but I’ll stick to these for the time being. Every time we add a monthly expense to our accounts, it creates a weight that will prevent us from becoming all that we could have been. I mentioned 5 shackles above. Not one of them is good for the average person residing on this planet.
You’d believe how many students I’ve seen drop out due to a newborn in their lives. I don’t mind the dropping out part, but it’s not for the proper reasons. I absolutely condone dropping out of high school or college when you have a clear plan of attack or you’ve started a business that needs you in order to grow. If this is not the reason, WE become shackles on the system. Shackles we all end up paying for.
Forgo trying to trick your brain into thinking there is a reason to have all that “stuff” I listed before. There is something wrong with it.
Professor X