Over the last few days, my friends and people around, are asking me that why can’t I settle down at one place or city? Why are you always moving around from one place to other?
They call me immature, non-serious and impractical. Then there are some who have told me that, how lucky I am to travel and explore different places while they are stuck with their work life. And I have been trying to explain my life theory to them for sometimes and I felt like just writing it down for my own clarity too.
People have a different meaning of being successful and especially in our society, being successful means, having an MBA from reputed university, working with a big corporation and then company promotes you within, gives you the hell lot of benefits including Car, fuel allowance, medical insurance, and company maintained house too. Now that’s fine because for most of the people this is what they want, a secured job and well-maintained lifestyle. But I am not that kind and this stuff never appealed to me at all.
For me, I want to explore different cities and lifestyle. I want to challenge myself within and not be comfortable with my work environment. I don’t want to follow a pattern with a typical 9-5 job and that too in corporate. I don’t want to wear formal dressing. Yes, I need money to pay my bills, to support my family but where is the limit? how much do I need? If I only need 100 Rs for all my needs then I would work for Rs 130 or 140 and not burn myself for 200 or 400? If I can commute from point A to point B using any mode of transportation, or services like Careem and Uber then why I need to worry about having my own car? And even if I need one, it can be a small car as well. Why should I spend more to get an expensive car? And why do I need to buy a house which will bound me to a physical location when I can actually rent a house and just leave whenever I can. It will allow me to be more mobile and less worried about selling it when I am moving to a different city.
But then they want me to save money for future, for kids, and for emergencies. Now I get it about saving for emergencies and that’s Ok but for future and kids? Seriously? You prefer burning yourself in a corporate job, cursing your bosses and surroundings just so you can have enough money for future? What future that be if you can’t feel happy in your present?
Point is, that find your happiness and work around it. Work for it. I recently moved to new city after rejecting a better money offer from a corporate company, only because I wanted to feel comfortable at what I am doing and where I am doing. And these decisions which I have made so far, from changing my career path to moving from different work locations, have not been easy. My parents and family don’t understand it and my wife don’t take it lightly too but they have been supportive and I am thankful to them.
For now, I am just enjoying the weather in this city and looking forward to exploring more.
Long term travel is not an act of rebellion against society; it’s an act of common sense within society (Rolf Potts)
