Why You Need to Be Irresponsible
By: Michael Bjorn Huseby
Tags: Time Management, Money, Self Improvement, Happiness, Retirement

Why do you do what you do?

When you get up in the morning to go to your job, are you motivated by love or fear? For many of us, it’s the latter. We often don’t realize it, but many of us go to work every day because we are afraid of failure, afraid of status, and afraid of not being happy in the future.

Why do you go to work in the morning?

This article isn’t for everyone (probably not the best thing to say to get more readers, but it’s the truth). This article is for those of us who are anxious about how things will turn out — those of us who are so concerned with securing happiness for tomorrow that we forget to be happy today. Our bodies are here in the present while our minds are constantly planning and worrying about the future. Our minds and our bodies are split. This can’t be good for us.

To fix this problem, many of us turn to substances. For many of us, being drunk or high removes this separation between our mind and our body. We are intoxicated, but we are integrated. However, this is obviously a temporary and unhealthy solution. It’s not the answer.

Find Your Flow

Instead, we should strive to integrate our minds and bodies in our everyday lives. This occurs when we truly enjoy what we do. This is the flow state of mind where time ceases to exist and your whole universe is focused on the task at hand. Everyone has a different flow state. For some, it’s playing music. For some, it’s teaching. For some, it’s building a business.

Where do you find your flow?

We should try to be in flow state as much as possible. However, many of us spend so much time in the “real world” that we can’t enter the realm of flow in our daily lives. If you work 60 hours a week in a job you hate, you aren’t thinking about finding meaning through flow. You are probably either going straight for the substances (instant imitation flow) or straight to sleep.

You could simply cut out sleep and attempt to be superhuman, but you will probably burn out eventually. Lack of sleep wreaks havoc on the brain and eventually has disastrous effects on cognition, productivity, and overall health.

You can try to “do it all,” but eventually you will be overwhelmed.

I offer two ways get free up your time for flow: (1) change jobs to something where you can experience flow state at work or (2) work less. This advice may sound irresponsible. Indeed, how many of us think our parents would be proud if we happily marched up to them and told them we were going to throw away our careers and cut back on hours?

But why do we work so much in the first place? We want to (1) buy things now and (2) save up for retirement (to buy more things in the future).

Material Consumption in the Present

Our material consumption is the main driver of our requirement to spend at least half of our waking hours at work. We have nice homes, new phones, and the latest fashions. When the new model comes out, we buy it. But this habitual purchasing doesn’t actually make us happier. We quickly adjust to the new normal and end up unsatisfied.

Is the nice house really worth 60 hours a week at the office?

The solution is simple yet radical: buy less. If you could only afford a house 80% the size of your current home but you could work 20% less, would you take that offer? I certainly would. There are always tradeoffs, but it’s helpful to really think about what makes you happy. If you could cut your weekly hours from 50 to 40, you might lose the disposable income which allows you to regularly drink top-shelf scotch, but you would have an extra 10 hours per week to practice the guitar. Imagine how an extra 500 hours a year of being in flow state could affect your well-being.

In Social, a book on the connection between neuroscience and social interaction, Matthew Liberman cites studies which compare gains in happiness resulting from increased salary versus non-monetary factors. One study found that having a friend whom you see most days results in the same amount of increased happiness as an extra $100,000 per year. Another study found that being in good health has the same mental impact as an extra $400,000 per year. Taking time for yourself and your relationships appears to have a must higher return on investment than working extra hours.

Saving for Retirement

A common objection to such irresponsible behavior is that we should save for retirement. This is reasonable, and I am personally saving for retirement as well, but I think many of us have gone a bit overboard. We mortgage our current happiness for the promise of a better future.

We have an idyllic view of retirement, but is the current system worth it?

Our concept of retirement is interesting. We work tirelessly for 40 years so that we can rest for 20. This is a problematic paradigm for various reasons.

Mind-Body Separation: We are required to separate our minds from our bodies. Our bodies are here in the present, toiling away, while our minds are either in the past wishing we chose a different career or in the future thinking about the perfection that retirement allegedly provides. Physical Decay: By the time we reach retirement age, our bodies will have deteriorated to the point where many of us will not be able to participate in certain activities. I did not see any 70-year olds on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. Restlessness: After decades of productivity and rigidity, retirees enter a structureless vacuum. While some individuals find purpose through traveling or volunteering, many people simply waste away. Without something to strive for, humans begin to feel lost.

By following the prescription of either starting a new, fulfilling career or, alternatively, cutting back on your hours, you will almost certainly have to wait longer to retire.

Who cares!?

If you truly love what you do, you won’t want to retire early anyways. If you work fewer hours, you will keep burnout at bay and can actively enjoy your entire life, not just the last 20 years. If you have kids, you might not be able to buy them all of the latest toys, but you’ll have the time to watch them grow up. Isn’t that worth more?

Isn’t having time for the people you love more important than money?

You could die tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if you had spent your whole life working for a future that never materialized? Putting off your flow state for “someday” is a poor investment. Of course, we must plan for the future, but worrying about tomorrow shouldn’t consume all of our resources.

Executing a mid-life career change or cutting back on hours at your current job may superficially sound like a risky bet. It may seem like you are giving up your security, but the future isn’t certain anyways. By consciously making time to connect your body and mind in flow state, you can ensure that every day is worth living. You can be present and give your work and relationships the undivided attention they deserve. Don’t be afraid to take some risks and switch things up. Get out there and be a little irresponsible. It’s the responsible thing to do.