whqxe I decided to simplify my life. For years, you know, I was convinced that I had to make more money, more money, and that money would bring me freedom and happiness. I was scared to make a change, but as soon as I made that change, I knew right away that it was the right thing to do, because I felt this weight on my shoulders lift. I got a pretty comfortable job working for the government right after I graduated from college. So, I had all this money and was single, so I decided to buy myself a house.
I bought a big house in the suburbs, with 4 bedrooms and my new obsession was buying furniture, and then I sold my house and bought an apartment, and kept the same job, still making a lot, a lot of money every year. For 11 years I was in that job, and I had gold handcuffs, you know, I had the pension, the benefits, I was making $80,000 a year, I had everything, you know, freedom to go shopping, if money was no object , so I could buy anything I wanted, I could get all these toys, all these musical instruments or these microfiber couches. but deep down, I wasn't happy. I would come home from work and feel miserable and dread going to work every day. My job was super, super unpleasant, I wasn't happy being in an office 10 hours a day just sitting there, at the desk, staring at the computer screen, you know, you're sitting and you're doing pretty much nothing but it's, in fact, exhausting. I was trapped, I felt trapped, once you get into it, you can continue down this path of buying things, you become addicted and you feel like you know, you're stuck and you have people around you telling you, you know, that you have your life figured out, and it would be crazy to leave this job things like, because you would leave this job, you're, you know, maybe crazy, but if you're retired I snapped, I snapped one day that I realized that this wasn't making me happy and I made some changes.
What I did for myself was a spiritual retreat for 10 days, and I did a lot of meditation, and I realized that this couldn't continue. I quit my job, put the apartment up for sale and simply left. I was really scared, but I knew I had to change my life, if I wanted to, you know, be happy and looking back, I have no regrets, no regrets, at all, it's the best move I've ever made in my entire life and I work three days a week in a grocery store I have a lot less money, but I have a lot more time, a lot more time to do the things that I like, be with people that I like, do a lot of, you know, my own work and personal growth, those kinds of things that are really important to me and that's what makes me happy.
So, I have less money, but, you know, that means you have to simplify your life so, I got a super small apartment, it's easy to take care of. I bike to work, I love biking, it's the most economical way to get around. You know, because I've cut all these expenses, I can now work only three days a week, where I'm working at the grocery store now, you might think it's, you know, boring, or monotonous, but in fact, I'm on my feet all day, going back and forth dealing with customers, talking to people, and I actually leave work feeling invigorated and revitalized. So, once I adapted to a smaller space, that's when you realize and it's like, oh my God, I have so much stuff. And for me, having so much clutter in your physical space, for me it's like having clutter in my mind, that stresses me out, so when I sold my apartment, I sold a lot of stuff. I gave away a lot of stuff, I stored a lot of stuff, living in a small space in my bachelor's apartment, you force yourself to live simply, you force yourself to be more organized, and just to be more tidy Of course, this is not the solution for everyone.
It doesn't mean that, you know, if you do what I did you'll be happy. That 's not what I'm saying, at all. You know, I still have problems, I still have challenges, those don't go away. But, if there's something that you know you can change in your life and that will make you happy, you should do it. Yes, you know, there are things you can't control and you have to accept them. But I think you have to have the courage to, you know, take control and make that change, if you can.
