Dreamcatcher: The posts and podcasts that inspired me this week

Welcome to the Dreamcatcher, where I share the posts and podcasts that inspired me in some way this week.

Death by Monthly Salary – Super Millennial

I’ve been ready for a new challenge for some time now, but I’ve let several excuses keep me from making a move. One of those is a healthy monthly salary with great benefits. Super Millennial Michael says: “A monthly salary can kill your creativity, make you a zombie for eight hours a day, and leave you unfulfilled. I know so many people who are “stuck” because of their salary. They’ve created a life based around it and can’t leave unless they go somewhere with similar pay.” That resonates with me in many ways. It’s hard to think about giving up a good, steady salary and benefits to take a pay cut for something I would enjoy more (at least for a little while) or to try to do something on my own. Michael gives good advice here about using the security of that regular salary to spend money investing in yourself and finding what might be your next “thing.” Aside from this blog, I haven’t really done that, and even then I haven’t spent much getting I Dream of FIRE up and running. I’ll try using my 30-day experiments as a way to test some new things.

Completing your 30-day trials to form new habits – MoneyMiniBlog

Speaking of 30-day challenges, Steve Pavlina offers a great guide for how to keep yourself from copping out during those challenges. He offers specific, actionable advice that helps avoid ambiguity in your challenge and thus reduces your ways out. Sure, my 30-day journaling challenge isn’t the kind of thing that is going to break me. But if I move on to more difficult challenges in the future some of these tips are going to pay off. I really appreciate the following advice: “It’s important to frame the decision correctly from the beginning. Be all-in for the whole 30 days. If you can’t do that, you haven’t made a real decision. You’re just hoping. Eliminate the possibility of quitting partway through. You’re not going to do that. For you that option doesn’t exist.” Good stuff, Steve.

Stop thinking – My Curiosity Lab

 Dr. Curious makes yet another appearance in the Dreamcatcher with a nice post on meditation for beginners. I’ve had fits and starts with meditation. I actually did it for several months around two years ago — even paying for a year of Headspace — but fell away from practice. I didn’t get to the point of feeling like I was seeing the benefits. However, there have been a few times lately where I’ve closed my eyes and felt an urge to meditate. I gave it a shot  twice, but haven’t exactly picked up a habit. Dr. Curious inspired me to download the Insight Timer app to see whether that can help get me back into a rhythm. Thanks for the tip, Doc! (As it turns out, I actually meditated this morning using the app.)