Since I entered the building construction industry in 2018, I have taken, on average, two months off a year. Last year, 2019, I took three months off, which in retrospect, I should not have done because doing so caused me to miss my financial target by a mere $5k. Yes, a measly five-freaking-thousand dollars.
Fast forward to 2020. October, going into November, is my TAW (Time Away from Work) period. After taking off all of October, I grew a bit restless and wanted badly to get back into the field. In the midst of my restlessness, I enjoyed spending those weeks with my wife and children. I also had more time to walk my gatos, Onyx and Fury.
Even as I basked in the love of my family and pets, the thought of shortening my TAW grew more intense. The feeling was strange because I had all of the details worked out in my mind about when I would return to work and how I would use those welcomed block of hours daily.
Whenever a thought lingers in my mind for too long, my natural tendency is to send that thought to my brain’s interrogation center to be examined. Upon a closer review of the “time to go back to work” thought, it dawned on me that I was dealing with mild anxiety from what happened the year before. I had missed my 2019 earnings goal because I took too much time off, and the thought of missing my 2020 goal triggered all sorts of alarms in my head.
Had I unwittingly become a sophisticated wage slave?
The thought that I was an exalted wage slave, i.e., a person addicted to income from employment, filled me with dread. That could not be. Josiah, a wage slave?
To be continued…
Care to share your opinions? I would love to hear.
