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Quitting the rat race

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Re: Quitting the rat race

#181

Post by betocmn »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #67
BizarreByte wrote: post #8

It’s a short piece, but it resonates with me, specifically this part: > I’m earning the most money I’ve ever made and yet I’m the least fulfilled I’ve ever been. I’m making the most I’ve ever made and I’ve never been less happy and more depressed. I despise being a cog in a huge corporate machine, it’s like the job was designed to be as unappealing as possible. At the same time I can’t get over the fact that I have i…

Bluntly, every person I know who's expressed these kinds of sentiments is guilty of the same mistake: externalizing their happiness. They inevitably move, only to find the new place they're in sucks, just in different ways. Or they find another job, but just discover more things they hate there. Or they find a new partner, only to discover a new set of annoyances. The same psychology leads people to think they'll be…

> Happiness really does start from within.

100% - and for some people to excel in connecting with themselves, they need a calmer environment - or just more simplicity.

But his sentiment reminded me right away of the book "The Quest of the Simple Life" by William James Dawson.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#182

Post by BirAdam »

First, this comes off to me as a very privileged take.

Second, I do feel the pain of corporate life, and I switched to working for a non-profit because of it. Leaving the city… nah. Just moved to the perimeter and now I can drive 10 minutes to downtown or 20 to the mountains. Why get a septic tank, a well, my own water treatment, and all this other stuff if I need not do so?

Re: Quitting the rat race

#183

Post by themitigating »

dylan604 wrote: post #124
lapcat wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within. What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. I'm old enough now (5 years later) to confidently say that, yes: Quitting my last job really did make me happier.

It's one of those things like "time heals all wounds". Nobody likes to hear it when the wound is fresh, but it's absolutely true. When you're younger, FOMO is much stronger. As you get older, FOMO starts to get replaced with "who gives a...". With that in mind, age might matter

Just to note, as middle aged person, the "who gives a .." might not be from a deeper wisdom due to age but cynicism.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#184

Post by lettergram »

Ralo wrote: post #79
lettergram wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has a farm an hour from anywhere, I can attest it’s … interesting and dangerous. Imagine breaking a leg on a massive property, no roads to where you are, no cell service. What do you do? If you want to live, you crawl. If you’re strong enough, have enough will, and are lucky — you make it. Else, the coyotes eat you. Hell they might eat you anyway. Addendum: just last week I was surrounded by the local…

I live in the city, but have friends out in the mountains of BC and when we go hiking, we carry this 1 time use SOS beacon. It's registered with the government and if we hit it, they will send out a helicopter. He's used it before on another hiker who broke their leg. You should always carry a gun as well.

Yeah I have that as well, as do the neighbors (several miles away lol).

I was mostly trying to paint the picture most people don’t think about. When you’re off a common trail, no one’s there to help you

Re: Quitting the rat race

#185

Post by themitigating »

danielmarkbruce wrote: post #126
BaseballPhysics wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bluntly, every person I know who's expressed these kinds of sentiments is guilty of the same mistake: externalizing their happiness. They inevitably move, only to find the new place they're in sucks, just in different ways. Or they find another job, but just discover more things they hate there. Or they find a new partner, only to discover a new set of annoyances. The same psychology leads people to think they'll be…

At least in my experience this is nonsense. The circumstances of my work make a large difference to my happiness. I know because I've been in a number of different circumstances and my happiness has varied greatly.

Happy or less annoyed? I find when I was truly happy I cared less about external influences. For example, if it's hot, a person is annyoing, someone almost hits me with a car, or it my manager wants me to do something boring.

So maybe what some people think are the sources of their unhappiness is actually just making their unhappiness more obvious.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#186

Post by kudokatz »

tiffanyh wrote: post #152
BizarreByte wrote: post #8

It’s a short piece, but it resonates with me, specifically this part: > I’m earning the most money I’ve ever made and yet I’m the least fulfilled I’ve ever been. I’m making the most I’ve ever made and I’ve never been less happy and more depressed. I despise being a cog in a huge corporate machine, it’s like the job was designed to be as unappealing as possible. At the same time I can’t get over the fact that I have i…

> I despise being a cog in a huge corporate machine, it’s like the job was designed to be as unappealing as possible. How much of your unhappiness is your job, or more so a function of having a continually growing list of responsibilities that can become to feel suffocating (e.g., marriage, kids, managing people at work, etc). Because it can be a taboo subject, I’ve seen people misattribute their unhappiness to a sin…

> How much of your unhappiness is your job, or more so a function of having a continually growing list of responsibilities

I have none of the other, suggested, confounding factors. Quitting my last job was fantastic and 100% the best thing I could have conceived of to improve my life.

I also had a very similar sentiment re: cog+machine, although found it more of a combination of amusing and tragic (rather than unappealing).

Re: Quitting the rat race

#187

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

I've mentioned before, how I had to have done [to|for] me, that which I could not do for myself.

I was told "Go away, old man. No one wants you.", in, pretty much, those words.

Hurt like hell, but after I got over my sniffles, I learned to "lean into" my exile.

I just released a new kernel for the app I'm working on. I budgeted two months for it, but got it done -at much higher functionality than planned- in five weeks.

The difference in my development velocity and product Quality is nothing short of astounding.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#188

Post by boh »

These self-indulgent "I'm not happy with my high paying job" posts are getting pretty repetative and tedious. Most people don't actually work to get "fulfilled". I guess this must resonate as freedom-porn.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#189

Post by daveidol »

dylan604 wrote: post #132
nine_k wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My approach to that problem is to oscillate between large companies where the pay is extra good and you get to see huge things but the work as a cog is not very appealing, and smaller companies / startups where work is fun and personal growth is noticeable even though it pays less. I think it also accelerates professional growth.

i've done something similar but different. when i get to the absolute breaking point of cannot stand to look at code any longer, i switch industries altogether and go back to a lower paying but much more creative field. once i get tired of essentially being a broke artist, i find a tech job again to start the process over. i also try to stave off the hatred of tech by having creative hobbies, and when i'm being a bro…

What kind of art/creative projects do you work on?

Re: Quitting the rat race

#190

Post by rafaelero »

jehb wrote: post #91

Having "quit the rat race" last year, spending much time in the mountains just like the author, and now finding myself back in the corporate world again, I do have one piece of advice. Do not let your job become a part of your identity. I work just as hard at my new job as I did at my last one, but in my mind, they're just a client I'm choosing to offer services to at this time. I've made many good friends through wo…

> Do not let your job become a part of your identity.

I disagree. People should strive for a fulfilling job that allows them to express their identity. Just try not to be so picky that you end up with so few options.

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