One thing in life that I have observed is that most people do is follow where the money is. They study for a certain course or pursue a certain profession because they think that it is where the money is. I think this mentality is common in our culture. Just look at how many people are taking nursing or jobs that they know would take them abroad so that they can earn more money abroad. This is a classic example of “following the money”.
But how many of those thousands or millions of nurses, engineers or doctors perhaps actually like their job? I am pretty sure some of them have other aspirations or talents which would have otherwise been put to good use. One time during lunch at work, in my lunch table there was another Asian lady and a Dutch lady in my table. The Asian lady concluded that she would want to steer her daughter towards taking a profession such as doctor or lawyer and such while her daughter is still young. The Dutch lady’s reaction is not surprising to me since I have already lived here for a while but it may seem strange for Filipinos. For her, if she had a child she would let her discover what she wants freely — whatever that is! Here, parents are pretty liberal that kids do not get in trouble for dropping out of University. Back in our country, if we dropout from school and pursue things we want, our parents would be furious! Anyways, that’s just a story I want to share of how different mindset prevail in other cultures which we might learn from if we want to think out of the box and go beyond what we are accomplishing now.
Right now, one of the main psychological struggles I have about going back to the Philippines is the feeling or mindset that I should stay here because I would earn more money here. Like for example, a few weeks ago I got distracted after stumbling upon an Irish job site and finding out how much salary I get or hourly rate I get per hour if I work there! I even went as far as posting my CV and talking to a recruiter on the phone! At the end of the day, reality struck of course. Will living there actually make me happy? Will I actually have time then to rethink my “career” or personal life or start a new business venture if I move again to another country and start being part of the rat race? Is this really what I want to do in my life? Do I really just want to have a stable job and live in a nice row-house in Haarlem (inside joke) waiting for retirement before I actually do what I want to do? What is the whole point of earning lots of money when I am not happy and extremely tired physically and emotionally?
I think one thing that I realized lately is that one criteria that you are in the right profession or business is that you do not consider it “work” but rather you are so passionate enough that there is already a thin line between work and leisure. In your mind you only worked for 3 hours but productivity wise you were in it the whole day but during those times you never even noticed time pass by because you enjoyed it. And next thing you know, you are making really good progress and such great output that you end up actually making money from it. Believe me, I think this is the key.. you have to love what you do and money will surely follow.
I don’t consider myself totally well off but neither am I totally dependent on a job. I can afford to not work for several months but still.. there is this guilt feeling that I am turning away from something “OK” money-wise. A few days ago, I spoke to a Filipina lady friend and told her about our plans but she told me that it is way too expensive to live there. Is that really true? I guess, it depends on how I live and where I live? I have read forums and discussions on this subject and I think it depends on each family’s situation such as how many children, age, spending habits and such. So anyways, I admit that I myself am guilty of worrying about money even if it can be unrealistic sometimes and I know that this is one of the reasons many of us are holding off going back to the Philippines.. money.. but then at the end of the day this cliche still comes out true: “it doesn’t make you happy” but still.. why aren’t we listening to our heart?
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Cecilia // Mar 23, 2008 at 7:27 pm
My husband is now complaining I’m on the computer all the time — not to mention tracking the blog scraper — but I’m not seeing any money trail yet. Will I ever? I’ll have to learn the trick so I can do Bob’s 2-hour job and see the trail. LOL…I don’t even know how to do the RSS track back. Everything is done manually on my side, just so you’ll understand if there’s any memory failure.
2 mixxy // Mar 24, 2008 at 6:16 am
yes we still have to learn and also experimenting with the different tricks and tools is a nice way to start. For one thing, your websites need to be search engine optimized and if you want to monetize it try the different ways mentioned by the make money blogs and see for yourself.. I myself am still experimenting on this. Oh, I don’t know what is RSS track back either.
3 rob // Mar 25, 2008 at 7:00 pm
The Money vs. Heart thing has always been a big dilemma. What I did was try to imagine what my two alternate futures ten years from now would be like were I to choose Money or Heart. Then see which alternate future I like more. The decision was a no-brainer.
I also didn’t expect that there would be this much peer pressure from other people trying to scare me from coming back home. I think they are well-meaning people who unwittingly project their own fears and doubts to others. But ultimately we are responsible for our own happiness and well-being.
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