Being raised in a society that promotes consumerism and following the status quo, it seems many of us adopt the mindset that we should pursue money as the end goal reason to be employed. I imagine there are some parents that don't raise their children to think this way just as I imagine there are some children that grow up thinking that way of their own volition. I can't really say which way is best, only that we all must determine what is right for our own lives. Personally, I feel that working with a focus on the money just leads to scarcity mindset and it makes me unhappy. It doesn't mean that I don't earn money or recognize it's usefulness as a tool, but I don't make it the focus of why I do anything.
It's very easy to justify doing things that we don't want to do if we believe the end goals are necessary. The problem I find is that when we justify doing something that we spend so much of our life occupied with, such as a career, focused on the money or benefits and forget to do what we actually want to do, we in turn become a slave to the illusion of control. Sure having money and nice benefits can provide a sense of comfort, but at what cost? Is it really worth it to spend our lives working a job we don't like or compromising our own integrity and values in the pursuit of comfort? That's living for tomorrow while forgetting about the day that we have, and in the end tomorrow never comes.
I feel that this behavior leads to a situation in which we are always living focused on the future. It is important to have some idea of where we want to go with our lives as drifting aimlessly isn't much better than slaving away for the illusion of control, but managing our own expectations of the future and not getting fixated on outcomes is something to stay mindful of as well. When I decided to start writing and putting all of my time and efforts into crypto, it became clear that it would cause problems with my family, but that isn't for me to control. It's not up to us to live our lives to make another person happy.
The only person that we can every truly focus on making happy is ourselves, and the people that find their way into our lives while we're doing that are the ones that are meant to be there. It's a bit of a paradox that the people that claim to want to see us happy can be the most vocal proponents against us following our passions, but if we consider why that is, then we can let go of the need to please anyone else as well. Parents, friends, and possibly even lovers want what they think is best for us and if we are pursuing something they view as risky or foolish, they can often add doubt and resistance to the path that we want to take. I think of this as a test we put on ourselves to see how intent we are on following our own passions.
Looking at these conflicts as a test that I am putting on myself and not as some way that others are trying to hold me back, I then realize that it's okay to let go of anything that is no longer serving me. I don't use the term 'serving' in a sense that it's their responsibility to aid me, but in the sense of validating or benefiting the path I have chosen for myself. The simple truth that I've found is that no one owes anyone anything and spending our lives focusing on trying to live for other people leads to our own unhappiness. We can't make anyone else be happy or do what they want to do anymore than they can for us. The idea that we have to hold on to these bonds that conflict what we truly wants just keeps us from our own happiness, but we are doing it to ourselves. We are not obligated to live our lives unhappily.
I doubt I'm the only person that has had someone tell them, "I just want what's best for you." Well I call bullshit on that idea. How can anyone know what's best for anyone else? Barring extreme cases of mental ineptitude, we all have to be able to look within ourselves and determine what is best for us. If other people want us to be happy or want what is best for us, then they will allow us the opportunity to figure out what that is for ourselves without judgment. This is why I believe we should pursue our passions and find a way to make a living from them instead of pursuing money and trying to survive a life spent doing what we don't want to do for the illusion of safety or comfort. There are no guarantees in life other than we all die. I'd rather live before that happens. Namaste.