Doing what you really enjoy for a living has more value than any paycheck in the world. We are constantly inundated with how the economy is doing, how much we are saving and how much money we can make once we finish our degrees. We’re completely surrounded by the topic.
However, I can say from personal experience that there is no cost more than doing something you don’t enjoy. If you can’t love what you do, no amount of money is going to make up for that.
Enrolling in Florida Gulf Coast University gives me the opportunity to become more educated and find a career in something I will love instead of something that just supplies a paycheck. You can make enough money in almost any career, but I guarantee that most won’t be happy in just any position.
You shouldn’t sacrifice your happiness for your wallet, and you should listen to your conscience when you ask yourself if you will enjoy your path in life. Money doesn’t buy happiness, and success shouldn’t be measured by your net worth. While success is always important in life, you shouldn’t determine it with your bank balance.
Today’s culture of materialism and consumerism has lead to a state of constant obsession with wealth and the methods of obtaining it.
We seem to subscribe to this grand illusion as Americans that material wealth determines our ability to be complete, content and perfect when the reality is that we don’t need it. The character Tyler Durden from Chuck Palahniuk’s novel “Fight Club” says it best: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s*** we don’t need.”
So what is Mr. Durden’s prescription for such a problem?
Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions. Some people say that all this is talk of someone who doesn’t appreciate the finer things in life, but this isn’t true. We all enjoy the finer things in life, but at what point do you stop enjoying them and become a slave to them?
We could all take a little advice from Palahniuk’s novel, especially in a time when our economic future is uncertain. Beware, and never let the things you own in life end up owning you.