Freedom or Guilt

I think I was brainwashed by the system. I am sitting on my front porch at 10 am writing this article, and I feel as if I am doing something wrong. Shouldn’t I be in a stuffy office under fluorescent lights 2+ hours into my work day? Shouldn’t I have driven to the office in heavy traffic? Shouldn’t I have been in a least one boring and pointless meeting by now? I left that life years ago. Why do I feel guilty?

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/exquisitur [/featured-image]

I feel guilty because I was trained for something different. All my life I watched my parents and others go to work, rushing out the door, and dancing around vacation times with co-workers to get time off. What is this life we now lead?

So what about that Guilt?

As a faculty member of a university, a business owner, and an investor, I find myself living in multiple categories. I have arranged things so that my time is more in my control. I wish I could say I designed my freedom plan as a mix of styles, but mostly I just found it by accident. Controlling my time is relatively easy because I have team members that take care of many of the tasks I would rather not do. And each team member is getting to do what they prefer doing.

This freedom allows me to largely control how, where, and when I work. It is wonderful. It is also highly productive. Each day I get more done than when I was in corporate America showing up for a paycheck. And now money comes in through various forms, providing more financial security.

Why would I be guilty? Perhaps it is the politicians telling me I should feel guilty. Perhaps it is just how I was taught – get up, go to work, come home and hang out with family.

Habits?

Makes me wonder, how many other habits have I internalized? How many other things do I feel guilty about because of what others expect of me? Perhaps I need a counselor. But instead, I think I will get more coffee.

[reminder]Am I the only one? Do you feel guilty about the ways you live your life?  [/reminder]