Paycheck + Stability = Stagnation

editor’s note: This topic is near & dear to my heart. However, I’m not under any illusions that the self-employed life is for everyone. However, this might just be an area that’s been tripping you up in your mind and Regina & I are here to tell you one thing: the security of a decent paycheck is a myth. Read on to find out why!

A guest post by Regina Morrison.

Money: it’s what makes the world go round. It is what enables us to do what we want to do as well as provide our basic needs of food and shelter. It is important, there is no denying that. It is fun to have a lot of it and not always that fun to be broke.

A paycheck equals money. A steady job provides a steady paycheck which provides stability, right? Yes…technically. A steady paycheck allows you to pay your bills and put food on the table. A decent paycheck also allows for fun extras like vacation or a new TV. But what about the other areas of your life…the areas that expand beyond just having money? What about feeling fulfilled in these areas? This, I propose, is where a decent paycheck lacks major necessities.

I have worked for a stable paycheck for the past 7+ years and I look back on those years as wasted time. When you are dependent on the decent paycheck and accustomed to all the nice things you can buy with it (not to mention the things you need to buy with it) it becomes a trap. You become trapped into a certain way of life and a certain mindset. You feel like “I cannot quit my job and live my dream because of… (fill in the blank).” This is why I propose that the decent paycheck is a myth.

You are trapped.

The years I have wasted flipping from one job to the next in order to achieve happiness at work and a bigger paycheck have led me to where I am now. I am in a “stable job with a decent paycheck” and extremely unhappy in this job. Would I have been better off without this decent paycheck? Most likely.

Sometimes we become complacent when there is nothing threatening our way of life. I became complacent. I thought I would one day figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up and then I realized…I am pretty much grown up and stuck to a paycheck.

There is nothing decent about that at all.

These past two years have been the most boring of my career. I have been in a mindless day job that I consistently tried to convince myself was doable since the money was so good and the job was so easy. I told myself to listen to everyone around me. I was lucky! But I didn’t feel so lucky. I felt bored. I again felt like I was wasting my life.

When we unhinge ourselves from the trap that is the day job we hate, we have limitless possibilities. It is possible to make as much (or as little) money as we want. Our salary is not set in stone, nor is it something that will come easily. Earning potential in a traditional job has limits and our personal growth potential has major limits. (However, the potential to end up 65 retired and feeling like life was wasted
is quite limitless.)

Making money is a goal of mine and there is nothing wrong with that. I have realized that I have a choice, I can make decent money parked in my cube all day long for the next 40 years or I can break the mold and be financially successful working at a job that is my passion. I have the ability and the opportunity to make far more money that I ever could from a “decent paycheck.”

What would you choose?

Many choose the stable job and many love the work they do, which is fantastic. We all have different talents and needs. Personally, I am not one of those who has found fulfillment in the traditional workforce. I am one who has had a j-o-b for nearly 8 years and has felt stifled and bored for a majority of the time. I feel like I have been on a stationary bike. I keep making more and more money and I am
consistently more and more uninterested in my working life.

In three months I am venturing into the world of working for myself. No decent paycheck to fall back on. Some will call me a fool, some will doubt me, and some might even envy me. I am fully aware that my plunge into the world of an unstable paycheck is one that might make me broke for a while. But, I am also aware that the goal to become financially successful is a lot more exciting when I am the driving force. I believe that I will find that the decent paycheck I was so dependent on for so many years actually did nothing for me. It held me back and held me in a false sense of security.

Is your paycheck holding you back? Is it holding you to a life that you have to afford rather than one you want to be a part of? If it is, think about what you can cut back on. Follow me and be broke for a while…we can do more with less.

I have finally figured out what I want to be and I am going to go be it. It hasn’t been easy and I will hit bumps along the way, but I will also hit highs. Highs that I could never hit stuck to my decent paycheck. At the end of it all, I will create my own security, which is scary, but also so exciting.

Regina Morrison is a writer and owner of Acute Designs. She currently lives in San Diego with her husband and two crazy dogs. Read her blog Useless Endeavor for more of her thoughts on life & inspiration.

Further Reading on the “Day Job:”
How Much Money Do You Need to Quit? on Ittybiz
Take This Job & Shove It by Tyler Trevooren