My pursuit of financial independence consequently led to my career becoming my identity. I've optimized for raising my income and savings to reduce "time to FI", that by the time I get there -- about 4 years, give or take -- that I've become the thing I explicitly set out to remove from my life. It's not that I don't like working, but I wish to do so on my own terms. Maybe that means short-term contracts a few months out of the year, and having that reduced income cover my living expenses, supplemented with investments. I've done the numbers many times, but I've spent little time considering what I'll do with all that extra time.
What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
31–40 of 277 posts
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#32I wonder what the money equivalent is of the term "first world problems". Millions of Americans spend sixty hours a week at work and still worry about whether they need to give up their health insurance this year so they can afford to replace their fifteen year old car because they'll lose their job if it breaks down and makes them late again.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#33What happens? Your marriage suffers (if you have one). Your children suffer (if you have any). And you suffer.
And it's not just work. If your side project becomes your whole identity, the same is true.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Boy, did I learn this the hard way.
How so?
For me, as I got older, lost passion for what I had been doing for 20 years - and being on the old end of the ageism-specrum-stick... it is hard to deal with.
I have left 'Silicon Valley Tech' -- as I am no longer interested in any of the things I did before and seek positions which are more fulfilling in other industries and pay about 25% of what I used to make...
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#35Think only problematic insomuch as your career doesn't equal your higher calling, i.e. your career is status driven or following the herd.
The problem is most careers don't really qualify as "higher callings". Originally "higher calling" meant a much more important (e.g. scientific, humanitarian, patriotic, artistic, priesthood, etc.) not some person working up a management career in some BS enterprise selling BS through marketing... So while a doctor might have his "higher calling" as career, I doubt that can be the case for the millions of corporate d…
You might be surprised to find that many doctors fall into the very description in this article. Higher calling is a social construct and the reality is being a physician is a _lot_ of hours, a lot of BS, and a lot of patients who need self help more than your help. Its in most ways just like any other job, if you don't find some satisfaction in the actual work, you are going to be miserable. Many are.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#36My pursuit of financial independence consequently led to my career becoming my identity. I've optimized for raising my income and savings to reduce "time to FI", that by the time I get there -- about 4 years, give or take -- that I've become the thing I explicitly set out to remove from my life. It's not that I don't like working, but I wish to do so on my own terms. Maybe that means short-term contracts a few months…
Just curious - what's your financially independent number? Are you factoring in cost of living into your ideal scenario, or is there wiggle room for leisure and travel and the like?
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#37This is a thinly veiled advertisement for the author's psychological services - the company they had to start to solve this problem.
It is hard to get anywhere in this world without working your ass off. It is a sign of extreme privilege to even have the freedom to complain about it.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
This really depends on how you define success. If success means creating something unique, new, and amazing that is known and loved by millions, whether that be a company, piece of art, or scientific innovation, then yes, it's unlikely you'll get there without an enormous amount of hard work, and unlikely you'll get there even if you put in that work. If success means happily living with your partner in the suburbs o…
People born with talent have an opportunity to both themselves and the world to make use of this talent to do great things. When you replace a drive for greatness with contentment with mediocrity, you make us all worse off.
Less than one in 10,000 will have an opportunity of "greatness".
Most people might get moderate success, and if they take than with good grace and leave space and time in their lives for their community and their health we will all be better off.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#39I always feel a bit sad when I see people who are younger than me and much more successful with their career.
But on the other hand I don't work much (<20h/week) so it's probably okay.
Re: What happens when your career becomes your whole identity
#40I always feel a bit sad when I see people who are younger than me and much more successful with their career. But on the other hand I don't work much (<20h/week) so it's probably okay.
People tell me that I didn't "live up to my full potential". I say, "I know. That would have been exhausting."