Leave Some Possibilities for Your Life

Today at a dinner, I heard a saying that a long commute to and from work can kill a person's possibilities.

For example, the one - way commute time I can tolerate is one hour. If it takes more than an hour to get to a place, I'll think it's quite far and tiring. But if it's within an hour, I'll think it's okay.

Today, it took me about 25 to 30 minutes to get to the company one - way. Some people have a one - way commute as long as an hour, which is really energy - consuming.

Let's say you get off work at 6:30 and the commute takes an hour. The earliest you can get home is 7:30. If you have to cook by yourself and it takes another hour to eat, then it'll be 8:30 to 9:00.

This is still the case when you haven't wasted much time, and it's already 9:00.

If you also want to study, explore side hustles, and look for new possibilities, you'll have very little time.

And getting off work at 6:30 is already considered early. Many people get off work at 7 or 8 o'clock, so the time will be pushed back by one or two hours, and it'll be 11 o'clock. Then you can only go to sleep at night and go to work the next day.

As a result, you'll end up in a state where you go home from work, eat dinner, take a short rest, and then go to sleep right away. After waking up, you go to work immediately. In this way, there are only two things in your world: going to work and getting off work.

This is really scary. The scary parts are as follows:

1. You'll become numb.
2. You won't have your own time.
3. You won't have time to stop and think.
4. Your health and emotions will break down.

Some people, especially those doing mental work, are in this state for a long time.

So, only when a person really loves their job or career, can find their sense of presence and value in it, not just for the money, or when the salary is very good, can they accept such a state.

My ideal state is to get off work at 5:30. Then, having dinner at a leisurely pace, it'll be 6:30 to 7:00.

After 7:00, spending an hour walking, exercising, resting, and digesting, it'll be 8:00.

Starting at 8:00, doing some things like writing articles, editing videos, or making deliveries, which will take about one to two hours. Then it'll be around 10 o'clock. Then you can wash up and rest, and go to bed before 11:30.

It's a pity that few jobs allow you to get off work at 5:30. The so - called 9 - to - 5 job seems to be just a joke or an ideal state.

Now, being able to work from 9 to 6 is really enviable.

There's a saying that "strive for survival within 8 hours and seek development outside 8 hours". But the premise for this saying to hold is that you really have time outside of 8 hours.

You don't need to have a full 8 hours. At least you should be able to spare two or three hours, or at least one or two hours.

There's a saying that the best way to ruin a person is to keep them busy all the time so that they never have a moment of leisure.

When a person has absolutely no time to stop and think or rest, they're very likely to take the wrong path, go astray, and easily get stuck in a dead - end.

For me, when looking for a job, I either look for one that I'm interested in and that can improve my career and personal abilities. Even if it's a bit busy, as long as it helps with personal growth, it's okay.

Or I'll look for a relatively relaxed job that can give me more time to explore more possibilities.

What I'm most afraid of is having no money, no growth, and no time.

Xiaolu's Daily Reading and Writing 2025.03.23 [Day 566]