11 boring work obligations you can ignore to enjoy your life
Untethered Mind, Thursday Edition, 4-min read.
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Do you ever feel weighed down by obligations?
When I work with people to overcome a lack of purpose, the most fruitful work often comes in identifying things that get in the way.
The process is primarily one of seeing what you can let go— and seeing their eyes sparkle with the relief of dropping such a burden.
Here are some things to reflect on:
You don’t need to be productive.
Think of what happens to you when you are under this heavy obligation of ‘needing to be productive.’
You feel less than adequate because it’s always easy to judge yourself for not doing enough.
How about this: All you need to do is one thing at a time with enjoyment.
You don’t need to be confident.
After years of searching for it, I learned that confidence is not real.
Our thinking it is real makes us doubt ourselves when we don’t feel the warm rays of such an elusive thing.
You can act now, regardless of how ‘confident’ you feel.
Yes, you will feel good after having done something. Getting busy and creating momentum is the cure for any malaise.
Many people have changed the world as they were quivering in their boots.
You don’t need confidence to succeed.
You don’t need to work like most people work.
People are making a living from their passion.
People are being paid to sleep on a live stream. Convention is now out the window. Find what you are drawn to; find what gets you into flow, and monetise that.
Monetisation options are almost as plentiful as are the different ways to work. It’s far easier to make money from something you genuinely enjoy than anything else at an.
We are not operating in the same society it was thirty years ago.
You don’t need discipline.
Discipline sounds icky because you require discipline to do things you don’t want to do.
Perhaps you don’t want to do them because you shouldn’t do them?
If you can’t stand the idea of going to the gym, maybe your body is telling you something. Go for a swim in the lake instead because you want to.
What if, instead of needing discipline, you did what you wanted to do because you wanted to do it?
Your soul speaks to you if you listen.
You don’t need to make a ton of money each month.
It’s easy to feel down seeing all these 19-year-olds pulling in $50k months.
But you don’t need to earn a lot to live a good life. You can structure your life so that your outgoings are minimal and your required income is far lower.
What if you earned less, spent less and had time left over for the stuff you actually wanted to do?
You don’t need a mentor.
If you can find someone to sit down with you and show you the ropes, great.
That is a wonderful privilege. But we also have books and videos.
You can get incredibly far with the information available online - much of it free.
You don’t need to work hard to make money.
Someone who looks like you has found a way to earn more with less hard work.
You need to be smart.
Ask yourself how you can do more with less.
For example, you could write a hundred books to make $10k per month. Or you could write one book and market it better.
*I choose to do both, because I’d write books whether I’m being paid to do it or not.
That’s not to say you won’t need to work, certainly at the start, but don’t be the guy who grinds unnecessarily when all he needed to do was consider how to leverage his time better.
You don’t need to work all the time.
Society has instilled in us the false sense that life is about working.
It’s about grinding all through the day, week and year. It can be if you love to work and are fortunate enough to love your work.
But you can be smart about how you provide for yourself. You can take four months off each year. You can work a few hours a week. It’s all possible.
Beware of the tracks society cuts for you. You’re free to jump off.
You don’t need an expensive course.
Or an expensive degree, for that matter.
You can become one of the best in your field through a combination of reading, free online information, talking to people, and - massively underrated - actually doing the thing, making mistakes and sticking with it.
You don’t need to be focused.
Trying to focus limits your focus because you apply self-pressure. Instead, relax and do what makes the most sense to do next.
You’re not a dummy.
Do what is obvious to you and go.
You don’t need to have everything figured out.
I’ve spent thousands of hours planning for a life that never materialised as I expected.
The only time I journal is to flush out my worries and remind myself of what I’m grateful and excited about creating.
It’s more for energy than clarity.
When your energy is good, you’ll make better decisions.
You don’t need the best system in the world.
You need to feel good.
Thanks for reading!
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Appreciate your thoughts on this one!
I’m with you choosing to swim in the lake over going to the gym 😊 I much prefer hula hooping to ‘working out’😂