I've known for some time that the work I was doing largely lacked purpose. I was just a cog in a big meat grinder that seemed to produce no sausages.

It paid the mortgage, bought shiny objects & allowed me to stack enough bitcoin that I could eventually let it go.

When I stopped being a cog I realised that I lacked not only the income now but the sense of purpose. The sense of purpose was just an illusion but without that illusion I felt my sense of worth diminish.

I spent a long while moping around with these feelings. It was great that I had my time back but what was I to do? I resisted the urge to become someone else's cog & just started working on stuff to make my family's and my experience better.

What I discovered is that there's value in the doing. Men in particular find a great peace in the doing, particularly when it's to achieve a shared goal or objective. I find there's also a tremendous return in delivering even a small amount of value to others.

The secret I've found is to get excited about the work & to be in the moment while you do it. Whether others notice your work straight away is not important. The fruits of your labour generally take time to materialise but the value to you is in the actual doing. This is what they took from us when they tricked us into thinking consumption was the objective. Working through pain & discomfort also makes us physically & mentally stronger. Our skills develop & we become less reliant on those who want to be our master.

🫂💚