Vol. 021–Want to Stop Paying the Misery Tax? Here's how

1 oz of water to garden your health

2 Tools for growth

1 Cool Product

Random Musings 

Reading Time: 2 minutes and 25 seconds

This week's inspiration is from The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life––by Paul Millerd. It brought up the misery tax, an idea I never thought much about...until reading this book. 

Action to water your health

Regardless of where you live you pay some kind of tax. In the US there are: 

• Income tax

• Sales tax

• Payroll tax

• Property tax

• Vehicle registration tax

You get the point, there are over 100s of taxes you pay. But one tax you pay without knowing is:

Misery tax 💰: This is the spending an unhappy worker allocates to things that “keep you going and keep you functioning in the job." Examples could be alcohol, retail therapy, drugs, really anything that will make work "workable". 

This idea isn't new. After all, we've been working and spending on "things" to get by at work since the beginning of time. In this modern-day work-from-home culture the work and life balance can become blurred. 

The issue is not work-life balance, because there are people who love their work and that is part of their life. The point we often neglect is when we pay the misery tax without even knowing it. 

The currency of misery tax is not only cash. It's also mental and physical depletion. Day by day. Bit by bit.  

The Hedonic Misery Moshpit 🏃‍♂️

Hedonic Treadmill:  happiness returns to a baseline or ‘set point regardless of our circumstances, choices, or accomplishments. 

So we know that happiness returns to baseline at some point. But I would argue that our level of happiness is lower when we pay the misery tax. I took a stab at drawing it up above. 

Work ≠ Job

Work can be: 

• Your actual job

• Side Project

• Relationships

• Friends

• Family

• Anything you're trying to work at

If your unhappiness is tied to this you do/buy stuff to offset it. Pay the tax. Do not pass go. 

So Now What?

Should we all just accept this existential crisis? 

No. 

We should reflect, relax and resume. 

Reflect: on interactions with work, family, friends, etc. Does it energize you? drain you? 

Relax (or don't): Want to hustle? go for it. Want to chill? do it. Just do you ( stop listening to naysayers). We all get fuel from different things.

Resume: Adjust your trajectory. Remove the noise. And repeat.

Tools for growth

Feast: We all know that yelp is watered down nowadays. Half the time you can't really trust their reviews. We usually trust our friends more. Feast keeps this in mind. Restaurants won't see the reviews. Message me if you want to add me. 

Insured Nomads: Wow! this concept is not new but its implementation makes so much sense. If you are a nomad and need travel insurance this website takes care of it for you. 

Here's an example: 

Cool Product

Craighill Jack Puzzle: This Jack Puzzle is comprised of six different notched brass bars that interlock in one specific way to create a unified "jack" shape. Something about it is comforting and soothing. 

Random Musings

Earth.fm: Listen to natural soundscapes anywhere in the world. Pretty awesome. Sounds are soothing and calming. They also support non-profits globally, in particular the earth.

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of braincrumbss