This thought emanated within me while I was having a meaningful conversation with my love. We were talking about how she and I are often seen as the crazy ones for not wanting to settle into a mundane, fiat 9-to-5 life, and not wanting to willingly slave our lives away towards eventual retirement in the name of being "responsible adults" and "living a stable life." Both sides of our family, but especially hers, keep nagging her with questions like, "When are you going to get a full-time job?" or "You need to start making adequate amounts of money to be happy," or "You have to start acting like a responsible adult." Meanwhile, the ones nagging her have those things—a full-time job, financial "stability," "enough" money—and are supposed to be accomplished and "responsible adults," but they are also neck-deep in debt, not at all happy, and lacking financial freedom or any freedom for that matter. And they still expect us to believe and agree with them that this is the way to truly live a life we can only live once? And we're the crazy ones for aspiring to live a meaningful and fulfilling life?
But I've also learned that this way of thinking is not natural but is a product of design, of years and years of programmed, artificial conditioning created to keep us stuck.
And I too would have fallen into the proverbial rat race had I not taken the Orange Pill.
But back to the whole point of this post. Even if you may not understand Bitcoin, and may not understand how the fiat system works, you are able to read the title of this post and ponder over it a bit, reflect on it.
Work to gain experience, not to make money.
In this broken world we live in, we are conditioned to work for money. Money is the motivation; it's what drives us to work. We attach our identity, self-worth, and value to this "money" that everyone here on SN understands is broken, dysfunctional, fake money. Unfortunately, most cannot see past this conditioning. It's the whole fish-doesn't-know-what-water-is conundrum. But there's power in words. They can be used to oppress, manipulate, and corrupt, but they can also do the opposite by freeing our minds, empowering us, and giving us back control over our own livelihood.
When asked, "Why do you work?" most will answer, "For the pay." And I can guarantee that the majority, if not all, who work for money are not happy, are not finding fulfillment in their work, and have no major ambitions or goals to better themselves. Once money becomes the sole motivator, you become stuck, you become a fiat NPC. But maybe if we start changing the words from "I work to make money" to "I work to gain valuable experience to continue my personal growth," gradually more people will find meaning in their job beyond just getting paid to do it. All it takes is a simple shift in mentality, a subtle change in words, and your life can quickly go from dull and gray to full of vibrant color and meaning. And if after further reflection, you realize that money is the primary reason you continue to work at your current job, maybe it's time you moved on.