Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Finding What Has Value

One of the realities of being an adult is that money is important.

I know, shocker. If you need to sit down or take a breather while taking in that information, I understand. The remainder of this blog post will be still be here when you're done processing.

Saying money is important isn't artistic, it makes me feel like I'm giving into "the man," and bowing down to evil corporate America. In case you missed the memo, I got a new job recently at a hotel. I don't know the rules with talking about work in social media and stuff so I won't say which hotel. But let's just say... I work for a pretty big hotel franchise which I'm pretty sure EVERYONE has heard of and I kind of feel like I'm in a forever episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Which, makes me feel like I'm selling my soul to "the man."

Then I remember "Oh wait, I really like my job. I think I'm good at it. And I get awesome perks."

Then I'm okay with it.


And being in an ongoing episode of The Suite Life isn't too bad either.

Let's be honest - if we say having money (at least some) isn't important, then we're kidding ourselves. I'm not saying you have to be rich and have money rolling around everywhere. But you know, paying off debt and being able to pay bills and get food and have a roof over your head etc. all requires money.

Unless you live in the wildnerness or something. Then that's awesome. More power to you. I wish I could be that wild and carefree. But... I like the Internet, coffee, books, and indoor pluming. So, wildnerness living isn't in the cards for me.

Because of this, landing a good job and getting a decent size paycheck becomes a major priority for people. It makes sense. A large portion of our lives is dedicated to working, finding work, getting a degree for a specific job, getting ready for work. Our schedules revolve around the ones our bosses make for us. (Unless you're one of those lucky people who get to make their own.) As sad as it may sound, for a big portion of us, our lives revolve around our jobs.

It's so easy for everything to be about what we get paid to do.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this quote on Twitter:

Don't be seduced into thinking that which does not make a profit is without value. - Arthur Miller


Isn't it so easy to lose sight of this?

This past month, I've had to do a lot of adjusting of my schedule and figuring out my priorities for how I'm going to spend my time on. I'm so used to working a part-time schedule where I work right away in the morning, adjusting to a full-time schedule where I tend to work more in the afternoon/evening, it's been difficult to figure out how to balance everything.

The other day, I was talking with one of my co-workers and I mentioned how I really value my free-time. He looked at me like I was a crazy person and joked, "Free time? What's that?" 

I was almost embaressed to admit I cared about having free time. But, it's true. As much as my job is a priority for me, so is my free time. Because that's when I get to see my family and friends. That's when I get to write, work on my blog, make videos, be in community theatre, and practice ukulele. With this new job, I have great perks for staying at hotels when I travel. If I don't have free time - I can't use those awesome perks.

Sometimes I'm embaressed to talk to people about my blog or my YouTube channel or my writing because I don't make money off of them. I'm not a big blogger or YouTuber, and most likely never will be. And I'm okay with that. But, I feel like there's this expectation when you talk to people about it that it needs to be really popular and/or you need to make money off of it in order for it to be worth your time.

But that's not true. 

As important as earning an income is, it's not the only important thing. 

It's good to have hobbies and to do things you don't necessairly get paid to do. They're important because it feeds your soul. Sometimes, I feel like there are certain things where if I were to get paid to do it, the thing would be ruined for me. Because then it would become all about how I can promote myself and earn more and do more. 

For some people, making their hobby their career is the perfect option. Which is awesome! There are some people who can making their hobby into a living and love every single moment. 

I don't think I'm one of those people.

Although, yes, someday I'd love to have a published novel. But, I also know it's incredibly rare to make a living off of just writing. Most authors have another job in addition to their writing. I'm okay with this. 

My other hobbies though? No, I don't get paid to do them. But that's okay. I kind of prefer it that way.

Also, spending time with people doesn't earn a profit either. Does that mean it's not importnat? Absolutely not! We need to invest in our relationships with people around us too. 

So, yes. My co-workers might think I'm crazy for valuing my free time and not jumping at every single opportunity to work overtime. I will at times though of course! Because I enjoy what I do and support the hotel where I work. It's all about finding a balance though. I'm absolutely dedicated to my job and will do my best at it and work hard. 

But I'm dedicated to those things which don't give me a paycheck too, and that's okay.

Then over on YouTube in case you missed it:


4 comments:

  1. I have a similar situation at work where occasionally I could get overtime by working on a Saturday. I almost never do it because I value that time so much. It's my chance to explore my city, write, and hang out with my fiance and pup. To me, that's more valuable than the time and a half I'd make working.

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  2. Yes, yes, yes. I am the same way. I have a pretty standard 9-5 and sometimes I feel bad about that, like why am I not doing anything super creative or saving the world or something. But...I like having a good schedule and steady paycheck and benefits. I like being able to spend time blogging or reading or hanging out with friends. And while I don't love my work itself, I love that it allows me to have the energy to truly love other things, if that makes sense.

    I'm glad you like your job, and your free time. Nothing wrong with it!!

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  3. I know whenever I worked, I cared more about my free time. I talked openly about what I did when I wasn't working, and the people I worked with seemed pretty chill, except for those who didn't understand (Jen and I worked with older managers.) I did work jobs I loved, because of what happened during them (going boating or hiking, riding in the rodeo, endless supply of soda, etc.) but I've had moments of hate for all of them.

    Now that neither Jen nor I can work, money is a very big issue. We're in debt, and we can't go through another bankruptcy. I started a gofundme just for June's bills. One dream of ours is to live in the wilderness, or on the sea, far from people and places, but still close enough where we can go online from time to time, have a store and library nearby. I think that's why living in a tent, or on a boat, is such a great idea. Your home can go where you go. With the boat, we'd also have all of our pets with us!

    It's one of our biggest goals.

    As for your current job, I wish you so much happiness, and plenty of free time, and NEVER EVER feel bad for what you ENJOY doing! ♥

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  4. I hear ya. I love, love, love teaching, but I really hate the amount of "free time" that I sacrifice to do it. A lot of people overlook that there are many careers (including mine) where we don't have the luxury of leaving work behind us when we come home...unless we want to come home late at night and head back way early in the morning. It's also the reason why I'm holding out on having kids -- I still have so much I want to do but not enough time to do it. And I hate that even when I try to be "responsible" and plan out my time to make sure there is free time, something comes in to upset that balance and then I get so frazzled. It's awesome to love what you do because that carries you through some of the times when you don't have as much free time as you'd like...but it's also so wonderful that you have so many hobbies. Please never be ashamed to be YOU and to share what makes you YOU with people around you -- even when people don't understand the thrills of blogging or writing or music or anything you enjoy. You are an awesome person. The fact that you do what you enjoy is inspiring and a good reminder to fight for that free time. Congratulations on your new job, and way to go with making sure that you still have a balance even while adjusting to a "new normal" that comes with it!!!

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