The Danger of Self Employment

I’m self employed. I have been for a few months. At first I was a hustler. My survival and ability to eat depended on my ability to work hard and innovate. But I’ve finally reached a point of comfort. I’m making a sustainable living. And now I find myself drawn into TV programs, video games, and general Youtubery (a word I’m inventing for spending far too much time watching internet videos).

I’m not a millionaire by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m also not struggling to eat. So I’m settling into a severe lack of motivation. I can get most of my work done in about 2 or 3 hours each day. And I find myself checking out as soon as I’m done. I plop in front of the TV and start drooling until my wife gets home. (Perhaps I’m exaggerating a little bit.)

But I have lost some of my hustle. I’ve lost some of my innovative nature.

As I was thinking about this, I realized this isn’t just an issue with the self employed. Many of us have this same sort of attitude or lack of motivation no matter who employs us. As soon as we make enough money and have put in our time, we live the rest of our lives on auto pilot. We don’t innovate. We don’t reach for more. Because we’re doing ok. We have enough to be comfortable with.

But I don’t want to settle into this. I want to continually reach for me. And no, money isn’t the motivation here. But I want my time to count for something.

So I’m making a concerted effort to snap myself out of this funk. I’m starting new projects and forcing myself to complete them. I’m going out for a jog rather than sitting in front of the TV during work time. I hope this works. My lack of motivation is starting to annoy my boss…

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