The most surprising thing I learned about money is that what I did to earn it didn’t have to make me unhappy. I’m feeling fortunate to learn that’s the case. I’ve learned what I do to earn an income can actually contribute to my happiness. It took me 30 years of working to realize this.
I started delivering newspapers at 12 years old. I think I earned about $15-$20 for about the same number of hours per week. It was a seven day a week job, rain or shine. Customers never told you how happy they were with your service. They only called your Mom when they were unhappy.
My jobs rolled on toward unhappiness from there.
This pattern continued through high school. College work was OK. The jobs seemed to get better, little by little, after that.
I first realized I was unhappy at my first corporate job. I told myself being unhappy at my job was normal. That was what I became conditioned to believe. And I believed it.
This led to me being unhappy for the next 15+ years. There were some blips of happiness here and there. Those blips happened when I started my own companies and worked for myself.
I told myself they were excepts to the rule, not the rule. This led to me getting pulled back to work that continued to make me unhappy. The work started to pay better over time. I remained unhappy, even as my income level continued to increase.
I started adopting unhealthy, yet socially acceptable, habits to cope with the unhappiness. Since I was supposed to be unhappy working, I thought drinking to numb myself to it was OK. At least I’d be happy while I was drinking. I could then get up and do it all over again, since I’d feel OK when I poured a drink at the end of the day.
Then, my coping mechanisms stopped working. I realized my way of life was making me unhappy. Because I defined myself so much through work, I realized my work was a major cause of my unhappiness.
I began experiencing immense pain. It was a scary time. I realized that being this unhappy wasn’t healthy for me or those around me. This time I decided to stop numbing myself to the pain. This time I decided to try something different.
I started asking people for help. I learned that happiness was possible. I learned that it was OK to be happy. I started my website Just Rolling with It to become happier for myself, those around me, and others.
Just Rolling with It is working. Now, a few years later I’m feeling much happier than ever before in my life. I’m on a path to generate income in ways that contribute to my happiness. I don’t believe what I do to generate income has to make me unhappy anymore.
