What if I told you that I played video games for 8, 10 or even 12 hours a day?

Imagine that I do this for 5 (maybe 6) days per week. That I also travel 45 minutes every morning at 7 am to play video games and travel 45 minutes back home to eat and sleep before doing it again the next day. Then I tell you that I do this for 48 weeks a year and I often do it to the detriment of my physical and social health.

I bet you would call me crazy and obsessed.

What if I swapped video games in this scenario to any of the following:

Going to the gym

Clubbing

Writing

Reading

Watching Netflix

Surfing

I’m sure you would still call me obsessed, perhaps even crazy or unhealthy!

In this context, work seems to be the only exception that we consider reasonable and normal. I struggle to think of one other activity in which we give this special treatment to. Earning money to do almost anything makes it OK to dedicate a nauseatingly unhealthy amount of time to it.

This line of thought reminds me of the time I went tandem paragliding in Switzerland. I had plenty of time to chat with my professional tandem partner. Eventually, I managed to break through his exuberant and happy exterior to have a real conversation with him. He was probably completely worn down from a day/week/month/years of work and putting on a fake smile. I asked him what it was like to paraglide for work.

He told me he hated it.

When he began, he loved doing it, but now it’s just a job.

Here was a guy who literally runs off mountain cliffs and flies for a living and he had enough. The sky which he flies into was now his prison.

This brings me to my central position on this topic.

There is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING in this world that I would want to do for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for the next 40 years. No matter how much I love it, how easy it is, how fulfilling it is or how much it pays.

If you can find enjoyment in your work, that is great. Indeed I find enjoyment in my work. If I didn’t find some enjoyment in work, I would never make it 10 years to my goal.

I am a Civil Engineer, I love being a part of the construction process and being a high performer at work. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to create from scratch and I hate letting my team down. Working for a great company and a great manager also helps. These all make it easier to ignore the fact that work requires the overwhelming majority of my non sleep hours.

We are culturally encouraged to partake in this insanity. That sort of time commitment to any one thing is just plain unhealthy. It is what I call an unhealthy obsession. If we all didn’t get paid to do it, most people would agree. I know this one is going to die hard in people’s minds. I can already hear it…

“but I love my work”

“you should make your hobby into your job”

“love what you do and never work another day in your life”

I believe making your hobby into your main source of income is a brilliant way to ruin your hobby for yourself. Introducing deadlines, clients, pressure, timings, budgeting and the necessity to make money so you have something to eat next week will eventually destroy your passion. You end up making concessions, doing things differently than you otherwise would.

It certainly was destroyed for my paragliding partner.

The only way I can see one’s hobby being a good job is if they don’t ‘need’ it to make money. If it is literally still a hobby that is done on your own terms. Having the confidence to say ‘fuck it’ to anyone or anything that becomes too demanding of that hobby.

That is a luxury that I hope financial independence can afford me. If you love what you do, being financially independent will not stop you from doing it. It will however let you finally do it on your terms.

When I retire I will partake in many hobbies. I will partake in them for a healthy amount of time. I’ll never have to find a compromise between my physical, mental and social health.

Do you think work is an unhealthy obsession?

Are you like me where you enjoy your job, like being a performer but still feel like it just takes too much time from your life?

Shuffling toward a balanced life.

Pat the Shuffler

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