While on Corn Islands (Las Islas del Maíz) in Nicaragua I stumbled upon a group of locals that go scuba diving to catch lobsters. They only go with fins, tank (for air) and regulator (makes the compressed air breathable) and without any knowledge whatsoever in scuba diving. Because they do not calculate how long time they can be in the water and in a regular day does 12 dives most, if not all of them, get decompression sickness. This is the most serious diving decease you can get and if you don’t die from it you can get chronical pain or other heavy problems.

So why do they choose not to pick only a few lobsters or catch just enough fish to eat for themselves and cover their everyday life expenses and live healthy, instead of killing themselves trying to get wealthy? This makes me think about people in “developed countries” where people do the same. Instead of working less to earn just enough money to survive while getting a lot of free time to live, most people choose to do more and more demanding work while getting less time over for “life”.

But what is “life”? For some people who find pleasure and excitement in their jobs it can be a good decision to work more, but for people wanting to spend time with friends or family or have other hobbies the work time should be minimized. Of course if your hobbies are expensive you need to find a balance to keep up with your lifestyle.

The conclusion? Try to find a balance that works best for you and remember that having free time can be an easier, healthier and more satisfying option than having a big salary.