Now What? Session #2: MOURN THE PACKAGE

There was an exercise from Chapter 1/Week 1 that I skipped: Moving From Complaints to Solutions. I think it's more for people who are stuck in unhappy life situations but cannot get out just yet, so they need to patch the problems. I am not one of these trapped souls, thank god. The FIRE movement may have its downsides, but it really did buy me my present freedom.

So week 2 is where we separate "internal qualities" (skills and anything else that can be ported over) from the "external package" (cushy and fun job/identity). That way we can properly mourn the package and move on.

Exercise: Mourn the Package

I hate how this sounds, but... the biggest permanent assets I gained from my previous full-time work was definitely financial: our mortgage-free house and my investment portfolio. I also took away financial skills and knowledge which would come in handy forever.

My former company was big on transparency and visibility, so I got to understand the business as a whole. This gave me a very basic set of entrepreneurship skills. I credit to this the 2 businesses (content agency and Pets Hideout) I set up since leaving.

My ex-boss was tied up with managing upwards so he left me to manage some of the junior staff. I was kinda miffed about it at first, but now I think this was a good experience. Not just professionally. Personally, too. Managing/training people is very other-centred. I had to let go of MY standards, MY expectations, MY perfectionism and focus on bringing out the junior's strengths. And I learnt that I like working with young people; I like their ideas and giving them chances to shine.

Also maybe this sounds unimportant, but I learnt from past jobs that it's important for me to feel like myself, that is, no stringent dress code or corporate norms or hierarchy to adhere to. Basically I want the workplace to feel... voluntary.

How do I feel about my “net gain” from this experience?

Pretty good. I can now take stock of these great things and NOT miss my old job. That means the separation of internal qualities from external package has taken place. Well, it's been 3+ years, so it's been a long time coming.

Realising also that I have outgrown my old job/career and I am moving on. This post is helping me think about how I can apply myself to new areas.

Exercise: The Ideal Day

• 7am - wake up & write
• 10am - exercise (different one each day: lifting, cycling, running, yoga etc.)
• 12pm - lunch
• 2pm - study
• 5pm - yoga
• 7pm - dinner
• 8pm - write, read, watch stuff
• 11pm - sleep 

My days are quite close to the "ideal" day, except I wake up and sleep an hour later than planned... I did get an alarm clock, so my next experiment will be to move my wake-up time earlier.