Choose Your Own Adventure
As a child, I loved to read. Perhaps even more than I do now. In particular, I really loved to read the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books. These books differed from normal fiction in that the reader became the protagonist and was able to determine the outcome of the narrative through a series of decisions.
Each decision would require you to turn to a different page to continue the story. The suspense would build as you would read on and on towards an inevitable ending. In some cases you would die a horrible and untimely death, in others you could be victorious as the hero (or heroine for our female readers out there).
When it came to making decisions, I would often turn ahead to see which path ensured I remain in the story for as long as possible. It was obviously not the way the writers intended for the reader to interact with the book (you could even call it cheating), but I never felt bad about it, nor did I ever feel as though it degraded the experience. Perhaps I was exercising a little greed. These books had given me a choice in the outcome, but I wanted to play God and determine the length of my interaction as well.
The problem as far as I could tell however, was that there was lack of a skill element to choosing your own adventure. Intelligence, skill level and life experience had no impact on one’s ability to make decisions. Despite this, I still managed to derive a lot of enjoyment out of my ability to determine the outcome. The outcome was a choice. It was my choice.
For over a year now, my primary source of income has been funded by a large, shameless corporation that profits from the exploitation of human weaknesses. Working for a large corporation doesn’t rank very highly on my personal list of life goals and for this reason, said corporation shall remain nameless.
This source of income has been rationalised for a long time simply because I’ve been looked after quite well, particularly in the area of compensation. It’s not the highest paying vocation, but it pays well for the type of work that I do and offers a lot of flexibility in terms of working hours. Of course, these benefits come at a cost and as such, I’ve had to give up the freedom of my weekends and commit to a 24 hour roster.
Over the past couple of months, a number of changes have taken place that has permanently altered the working environment. The loosening of hiring policies, changes in training standards, and the hiring of hundreds of new staff has resulted in a massive overstaffing and the reduction of available hours to the entire workforce in my department. Having been here for over a year and a half, I’ve seen many an injustice served to my colleagues and co-workers. Which is why my attitude towards this establishment has never been anything more than a means to an end. A bastion of financial security whilst, I spent time answering questions in my own life.
Despite all of this, when those higher up in the food chain orchestrated the onslaught of changes, nothing really prepared me for the inevitable. All of a sudden, my hours at work were cut in half and as a result, so was my salary. I was served a harsh reminder that I lacked any control over the outcomes in this particular area of my life. My income and my weekends were in the hands of people who were indifferent to my situation.
Disgruntled by the recent changes, I sought to take control. Several months earlier, I had taken steps to reduce my hours from full time to part time with maximum hours. The majority of my debts had been paid off and I was well on the way to being debt free. I was also ready to get back into the technology industry after a much needed year long hiatus. I was able to balance the beginnings of running a web development consultancy with the support of a guaranteed income from my weekend employment. It did mean that I would potentially be working six to seven days a week, but it was a sacrifice that I was more than happy with and chose to make. The key word being ‘chose’.
So now I was faced with a rather difficult decision. I could apply to have my status return to full time ensuring that I would be able to pay the bills and continue towards my financial goals. This option would run contrary to everything that I have said thus far. I would even go so far as to compare it to returning to a maximum security prison with an increased sentence after having successfully escaped. Come to think of it, there are a lot of truths in that analogy.
The alternative would be to submit my resignation. Something that has obviously been a long time coming. I have accrued over 240 hours of annual leave since my employment, which could be considered as a nice redundancy package to be used to eliminate the last of my debts, setup a comfortable emergency fund, and even have enough left over to save towards the beginnings of an investment portfolio. I would be completely free to work on building my business.
As much as a resignation would be the ideal solution, it also carries with it the most risk. If my days at Quentin, Carter & Company (a company that two partners and I maxed out our credit cards to start; and the cause of most of my credit card debt) had taught me anything, it is that there is almost always a middle ground that involves a lot less risk. In other words, when trying to make decisions that involve risk and reward, there is usually a rational and analytical approach to arriving at a decision that ensures the maximum reward for minimum risk. Some of the more mathematically inclined will recognise this approach as calculus. I guess our lecturers weren’t lying when they insisted that there were practical applications for mathematics.
So as glamourous as resignation sounds, it’s not the decision I went with. Instead I took a step closer and reduced my status to minimum hours. This will provide me with the basic necessities like rent and food, but the onus will be on me to provide everything else from additional expenses to maintaining my lifestyle.
The decision may not be pretty or glamourous, but I refuse to prescribe to a life of decree.
I much prefer to choose my own adventure.
John Ngo
- John is a web developer and serial entrepreneur who moonlights as a croupier.
- Published: April, 2007
I’d love to hear more about your lifestyle goals. I admire that you’re making a decisive choice to take the path you want your life to go, you have a plan. The direction maybe grey but at least you have the choice. I too much prefer ti choose my own adventure.
Francis Go
- April 5th, 2007, 7:21 am
I think it’s quite empowering to consciously determine your own priorities rather than have them handed to you by default. I’m the sort of person that always plays around with the settings before using anything, and that sense of ‘control freak’ spills into other areas of my life too.
Right now, as you have probably noticed, my biggest priority is lifestyle and not being too concerned with the bigger picture. As you say, my direction is rather grey, but I feel extremely empowered through this exercise of choice. You’ve done the same with your travels, so you know what I’m talking about.
John Ngo
- April 10th, 2007, 12:22 am
the trials and tribulations of debt and desires….on your own thoughful journey, and like the buddha, he too spoke of the middle way….
Anton
- April 18th, 2007, 10:20 pm
Thanks Anton.
Following your feedback, I’ve done some light reading (Google + Wikipedia) on the Buddhist practice of ‘The Middle Way’, and it appears to perfectly encapsulate (probably even more so), everything that I’ve tried to say here.
Thanks again.
John Ngo
- April 19th, 2007, 3:31 am
I love choose your own adventures!! or at least I used to, its been a while 
Well sounds like your heading down the right track, I for one am glad you’re not killing your working life at a horrible workplace!
Collis
- April 20th, 2007, 9:17 am
I just love money.
Wazza
- May 27th, 2008, 1:27 pm