[Voices of the MZ Generation Column] A Life Driven by Inertia vs. A Life Led by Yourself

If You Are Preparing to Stand Alone After Resigning
You Must Break Free from Habitual Inertia
Constantly Check Your Sense of Initiative

It has been over a year since I resigned. Living as a private practice lawyer and freelance writer, there is a question I often ask myself: 'Am I fully in control of my life right now?' When I was working at a company, I didn’t need to ask this question frequently. In fact, back then, it was necessary to fall somewhat into inertia. It is difficult to board a crowded subway every day with the mindset of leading your life. Rather, you have to adopt a somewhat resigned attitude. After all, as long as you commute, you receive a salary and build your career, so there was no need to obsess over the feeling of leading your life.

However, after quitting, I often realize that the most dangerous thing can be 'inertia.' If you live each day caught in inertia, you might find yourself stuck in a dilemma before you know it. Simply doing what you can moderately cannot guarantee your future. In a way, it is the business owner’s role to think about the future while working at a company. Employees can just focus on what they need to do today. But when you are on your own, you have to become your own manager, the master of your life, and someone who has a vision for your life.

To do that, you inevitably have to ask whether the things you are doing now are truly led by yourself. Of course, you cannot always do everything with passion, but it is important to have the feeling that you are leading your life in a broad sense. A company owner should not be dragged around by the world without knowing where their company is headed. I also need to gauge the direction of my life as I go.

In particular, to maintain that ‘sense of control,’ I feel there must be something I can do come rain or snow. Much of my life is filled with external requests such as manuscript commissions, lecture invitations, and legal consultation requests. However, strictly speaking, these are tasks that must follow ‘external requests,’ not things I fully lead. If you are a solo freelancer or entrepreneur, you need to create things on your own even without such requests.

For me, that is ‘writing.’ No matter how busy I am traveling nationwide for lectures or drafting legal documents, I look at life long-term and continue my writing. This allows me to accumulate manuscripts that can be published as one or two books each year. This flow protects the core of my life. In other words, if about half of my life consists of tasks that follow ‘external requests,’ the other half is things I continue on my own regardless. It is the latter that fundamentally protects and sustains my life.

Paul Jarvis, a solo entrepreneur and writer, says in his book Company of One, “If you are a solo entrepreneur, you focus on building a business around your life, not searching for other ways.” When working at a company, it is difficult to live centered on your own life. Rather, the company’s schedule centered on commuting occupies most of your daily life. But when you stand alone, you must create your work centered on your life. This can be a wonderful freedom, but it also means taking responsibility for leading your life.

Nowadays, as more people consider various lifestyles, if you are preparing to quit your job and stand on your own, remember the sense of ‘control.’ What protects a solo life is the feeling of leading your life and the actual things you lead.

Jiw Woo Jung, Attorney & Cultural Critic

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.