Over the past few months, I’ve been going through an incredible journey of self-reflection and discovery of “enough”— which I will detail in another journal. This journey has encouraged me to reevaluate how I spend my time and money, making shifts in my thinking that lead to long-term happiness — as well as short-term happiness, as I now have a greater appreciation for what I already have. As we’re approaching Black Friday, I had the strong urge to not fall into the normal trap I fall into every year with trying to find the best deal. In 2017 this mindset lead me to a negative net income for the year (will post a link to article).

I wanted to do something different his year that reflected my new values.

It started with the pursuit of Financial Independence

Over the past few months, I’ve discovered the world of Financial Independence (FI)— the pursuit of getting to that end-state where you no longer had to work, giving you the opportunity to work on things that bring you joy. While I’m nowhere close to reaching the financial independence figures I’ve set myself, I did have excess to give.

I wanted to give back.. but what did I have to give?

I’ve been a hobbyist photographer and videographer for over 10 years. I’ve accumulated way more gear than I make use of. I’ve honed my craft over the years and but was unable to commit to making it a profession. I’ve done a few paid gigs through the years, but always disliked the exchange of money for time — and others defining how much my time was worth. Because of this, I rarely accepted paid gigs.

My pursuit of enough has led me to try something new this year to counter the common rituals of Black Friday. I don’t need to be financially independent to do what makes me happy, I don’t need to spend money this year on BF, I don’t want anything in return. I just want to do something this BF that aligned with my values — and that wasn’t shopping.

Giving my time

So this Friday, I decided that I will be dedicating a couple of hours of my time to help as many families as possible with their Holiday photos.

I sent out a fb to my friends and family reading:

As I’m writing this, I don’t know what will come out of it. I don’t know if others will appreciate it, sign up for it, or even trust that I’m doing this with the right intentions. All I know is that while I’m waiting for the feedback, I feel good. I feel like this decision to try this out is aligning with my values. I hope this encourages others to look at this holiday a bit differently.