Creative expression now or long term success later?

[AreaCode707]

This may not be a choice for some of you, and others may have found a balance in their own lives. In my life, it feels like there is a distinct choice between :

A. Taking time, energy and intentional disregard for what others think of me and using that to hone my creative expression and self
B. Sinking time, energy and intentional self-representation to build myself into something that, while not natively "me", provides me with a more stable future

An example of this might be choosing between being an aspiring musician and a sales person. Or between working a menial 40 hour a week job to make bills while you work on a novel and pouring 80+ hours a week into a corporate cube world.

Perhaps unfortunately, I live in the "B" option. Much as I'd love to chuck it all and live in a way that better represents who I actually consider myself to be, I can't honestly bring myself to be that materially irresponsible, since it would involve much less future stability.

Which way do you live your life now, or do you somehow balance? What do you do now? What would you do if you could?

 

[GenHoth]

You have a career and you have a hobby, choose wisely

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
You have a career and you have a hobby, choose wisely

Hobbies just seem to take so much more time than I have left over. I could get a less demanding job, but then it seems like I'm being half-assed at both work and hobby. Overall I think I'm making the right choice now, but it does kinda suck sometimes when I consider how much else I'd like to be done and wonder how much of my personality I'm letting the workplace efface.

What's your work/hobby?

 

[Farang]

There is no one way to answer this. For myself I had the A attitude for years and went on all sort of crazy adventures all around the world and met lots of people. All of a sudden I hit a point, when I missed a flight to New Zealand for another A-type plan, that I wanted B. I found A to be shallow and unsatisfying, and because I pursued it I was well behind what I had been capable of accomplishing for the past few years. It is kind of a sinking feeling because for me memories are sort of worthless if I don't have any sort of satisfaction now, so I don't get any value out of my past experiences. All those great people I met are all over the world and mean nothing to me from now on because 99% chance I will never seen them again.

With that said I would have always had the itching desire to pursue what I did and it would have never gone away had I not done it. So it was inevitable that I had to get rid of that bug.. I guess anyone else facing this A/B conflict has to wonder if that itch will ever go away. If it won't you probably are going to have to scratch it, even if that means wasting a few years.

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Farang
There is no one way to answer this. For myself I had the A attitude for years and went on all sort of crazy adventures all around the world and met lots of people. All of a sudden I hit a point, when I missed a flight to New Zealand for another A-type plan, that I wanted B. I found A to be shallow and unsatisfying, and because I pursued it I was well behind what I had been capable of accomplishing for the past few years. It is kind of a sinking feeling because for me memories are sort of worthless if I don't have any sort of satisfaction now, so I don't get any value out of my past experiences. All those great people I met are all over the world and mean nothing to me from now on because 99% chance I will never seen them again.

With that said I would have always had the itching desire to pursue what I did and it would have never gone away had I not done it. So it was inevitable that I had to get rid of that bug.. I guess anyone else facing this A/B conflict has to wonder if that itch will ever go away. If it won't you probably are going to have to scratch it, even if that means wasting a few years.

Huh, really interesting post for me, since I did almost the exact opposite track. Jammed through college, got out early, immediately went corporate, so very little "real life" other than studying and working for close on 7 or 8 years now. Seems like the "smart" thing to do, but I find myself wondering at what price. If I were to die tomorrow, seems like I've put off a lot of the things that make life worthwhile and that's kind of sad.

 

[Cattlegod]

Right now B takes more energy to get the satisfaction you want, so choose A. When the economy gets better, flip to B. That's what I'm doing.

 

[Farang]

Maybe you should find a way to mix it up. An example is a friend of mine who got a Mech Engineering degree from U Washington and an MBA from the same and has been making a ton of money at Intel the past few years. And he was an Eagle Scout, too, to give you an idea of the guy. But he has still managed to take time off to do what he wanted (climbing big mountains around the world) because he finds a month, or two, or three, off in between his commitments. I don't think A and B are mutually exclusive.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Right now B takes more energy to get the satisfaction you want, so choose A. When the economy gets better, flip to B. That's what I'm doing.

What shape do your A and B options take? I think your suggestion is a really good one right now. It happens that I'm in a stable job in a very good company so it doesn't exactly fit my situation right now, but if I were laid off for some reason I'd probably be doing exactly what you are.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Farang

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

Travel writing or other? Sounds cool. 🙂 Thanks for contributing to my thread. I always find it interesting to read the perspectives of people who have done things differently from me.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Farang

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

Travel writing or other? Sounds cool. 🙂 Thanks for contributing to my thread. I always find it interesting to read the perspectives of people who have done things differently from me.

Mostly travel writing. It was cool, I will have plenty of good stories for when I am old and senile.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though, I worked full-time in an office environment for only a short while and hated my life (this was when I still had the itch for scenario A) so I have no idea what you're going through.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Farang

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

Travel writing or other? Sounds cool. 🙂 Thanks for contributing to my thread. I always find it interesting to read the perspectives of people who have done things differently from me.

Mostly travel writing. It was cool, I will have plenty of good stories for when I am old and senile.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though, I worked full-time in an office environment for only a short while and hated my life (this was when I still had the itch for scenario A) so I have no idea what you're going through.

Give us an example of your writing, F:thumbsup:arang!

 

[Cattlegod]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Right now B takes more energy to get the satisfaction you want, so choose A. When the economy gets better, flip to B. That's what I'm doing.

What shape do your A and B options take? I think your suggestion is a really good one right now. It happens that I'm in a stable job in a very good company so it doesn't exactly fit my situation right now, but if I were laid off for some reason I'd probably be doing exactly what you are.

I was working as an engineer full time. Decided to go to grad school part time. The company stopped paying for it and the raises stopped, then people started getting fired. Morale started going into the tanks (it is in the tanks now) and I HATED my job, but I was good at it.

I then told them to put me on a 50% pay 50% work schedule or I was out. The reason I gave them was I going to finish school and go full time. They caved and I'm working exactly 20 hours a week and getting paid 50% of my salary while keeping all of my benefits (I have to pay like an extra 50/month).

This semester I started taking 13.5 credits because it is what I wanted to do. I have a lot more time to hang out with people I like and do the things I enjoy. The 50% salary cut sucks ass and working 20/hours a week will not excel me at my current company at all, but I get to do what I really want to now and am much happier for it.

By doing things I like, here is what I mean: I just flew back in from Cancun on Sunday, I'm going with a bunch of people down to Ohio for the Arnold Fitness Expo thing. These are all things I wouldn't have been able to do before without stressing me out completely.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Farang

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

Travel writing or other? Sounds cool. 🙂 Thanks for contributing to my thread. I always find it interesting to read the perspectives of people who have done things differently from me.

Mostly travel writing. It was cool, I will have plenty of good stories for when I am old and senile.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though, I worked full-time in an office environment for only a short while and hated my life (this was when I still had the itch for scenario A) so I have no idea what you're going through.

Give us an example of your writing, F:thumbsup:arang!

Seconded!

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Right now B takes more energy to get the satisfaction you want, so choose A. When the economy gets better, flip to B. That's what I'm doing.

What shape do your A and B options take? I think your suggestion is a really good one right now. It happens that I'm in a stable job in a very good company so it doesn't exactly fit my situation right now, but if I were laid off for some reason I'd probably be doing exactly what you are.

I was working as an engineer full time. Decided to go to grad school part time. The company stopped paying for it and the raises stopped, then people started getting fired. Morale started going into the tanks (it is in the tanks now) and I HATED my job, but I was good at it.

I then told them to put me on a 50% pay 50% work schedule or I was out. The reason I gave them was I going to finish school and go full time. They caved and I'm working exactly 20 hours a week and getting paid 50% of my salary while keeping all of my benefits (I have to pay like an extra 50/month).

This semester I started taking 13.5 credits because it is what I wanted to do. I have a lot more time to hang out with people I like and do the things I enjoy. The 50% salary cut sucks ass and working 20/hours a week will not excel me at my current company at all, but I get to do what I really want to now and am much happier for it.

By doing things I like, here is what I mean: I just flew back in from Cancun on Sunday, I'm going with a bunch of people down to Ohio for the Arnold Fitness Expo thing. These are all things I wouldn't have been able to do before without stressing me out completely.

Wow, what a cool arrangement from your company! I'm hoping that if I kick ass for a few more months where I work that they might let me go full time remote, which would allow me to move to where I want to live (see username 😀), pursue some of the things I want to pursue, and still work. Unlikely but possible, given the work that I do.

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Farang

edit: I should say it wasn't just travel but I wanted to be creative with writing and I did have some success with it, but the payoff just wasn't there. I'd have been living out of cheap bamboo huts the rest of my life

Travel writing or other? Sounds cool. 🙂 Thanks for contributing to my thread. I always find it interesting to read the perspectives of people who have done things differently from me.

Mostly travel writing. It was cool, I will have plenty of good stories for when I am old and senile.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though, I worked full-time in an office environment for only a short while and hated my life (this was when I still had the itch for scenario A) so I have no idea what you're going through.

Give us an example of your writing, F:thumbsup:arang!

Seconded!

Thirded! I thought about doing this during my honeymoon trip through europe. Wish I did it, because most of it is a blur now 🙁

 

[IceBergSLiM]

working to live vs. living to work ?

 

[dullard]

I don't think that choice needs to be made. I'd take both A and B. There are 168 hours a week. ~50 of them are reserved for sleeping and ~40 are reserved for the job. That leaves 78 hours a week to pursue option A. If 78 hours isn't enough for option A, then honestly, would quitting your job and having 118 hours be enough? Probably not.

Also, consider if your priorities are screwed up and you are wasting a lot of time in your life's activities.
[*]Are you putting 50, 60, 70+ hours into your job? If so, you are living to work. You should instead work to live. Quit that behavior, and if you must quit that job. Work 40 hours and no more except in extreme emergencies.
[*]Do you waste 1 hour a day hitting the snooze button? If so, stop it. You aren't getting any productive sleep in that period and you'll be just as tired in the day. That is 1 hour a day that you could be creative instead.
[*]Are you a time-warp person? Consider my fiancee for example. In the morning when I stay over, we both head to the kitchen for breakfast at the same time. I cook a fancy breakfast, make a drink, eat my meal, read a bit, talk a bit, and then I look at her. She hasn't even finished making herself a drink let alone started making breakfast (even if it is a bowl of cereal)! She loses 30 minutes a day in her breakfast time-warp. I honestly can't seem to figure out why it takes her so long. But, she loses so much of her potential creativity time every morning. Are you the same (really consider all aspects of your daily life, not just breakfast)?
[*]30 minute showers really could be done 10 minutes.
[*]A typical 45-minute commute is 1.5 hours a day wasted. You could have been doing A during that time. Find a job closer to home, or learn to like to live closer to work.
[*]I could go on and on.

Finally, consider retirement for pursuit of creative expression. If you pursue option A, you'll still be doing menial 40 hour a week work to put food on the table, but you'll be doing that for 60 years. If you pursue option B, you'll have a good 20 years of retirement with plenty of cash and all the time in the world to pursue creative activities. Of course, I realize that is a long time away. But, you can still find a job with 3-4 weeks vacation a year. That is almost a whole month you can dedicate solely to being creative.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

yeah what dullard says

 

[nerp]

Just find balance and stop wasting time hewing over everything.

Starting this thead is an example. 🙂 hehe.