This is why I quit the rat race.
If you're thinking of quitting the rat race,or you already have and wonder how to never get sucked back into it, this video may resonate with you.
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How I Quit The Rat Race
There's an old saying that goes “The only thing certain in life is uncertainty.”
But there's one thing I'm certain of:
I'm never going back to the rat race. Ever.
If you're thinking of quitting the rat race,or you already have and wonder how to never get sucked back into it, this video may resonate with you.
Years ago, while commuting to a toxic job, I saw a meme that said, “Are you still commuting to a job you hate just to pay for the house that sits empty while you are at the job you hate?” Passive aggressive, perhaps? But it deeply resonated with me.
People have different ways of defining a rat race. But for me, I see it as a hedonic treadmill of chasing after one new achievement or possession to the next. It's overworking as a badge of honor, living the default life and seeking “success” based on what we observe from others.
The rat race is a hamster wheel, an endless path to nowhere. And I was in so many of these races in the past, yet not even aware of it.
Whether it’s one milestone after another on social media, a shiny new thing, a fixation on numbers, a job promotion, it’s the endless pursuit for perceived happiness through status, material possessions and hustle.
I was hyper focused on scaling up nonstop, and I burned out. It was only when I started seeing the rat race for what it truly is that I realized I didn't want to be part of it anymore.
Don't get me wrong. I still have goals, I still work, and I don't just sit around doing nothing all day. But what's different now is defining my why behind every intention instead of just blindly following the status quo.
It's no longer living life on autopilot, but about living on purpose. After all, life is too short to waste spinning in a hamster wheel.
Getting out of the Rat Race is challenging, especially when bombarded by ads, the media, and social pressure.
Simple living helped me to quit the rat race and never get sucked back into it.
But living simply does not necessarily mean following an ascetic lifestyle where you're not spending anything or owning nothing. Not everyone fits that stereotype, and I honestly think it's not for me
However, my husband and I integrate simple living in 3 realistic ways. By minimizing unnecessary expenses to avoid financial stress. This eliminates the need to take extra work just to pay endless debts
Making smart investments with money saved from not buying meaningless things. This way, we can retire when the time comes and not slave away at jobs for the rest of our lives.
And most importantly, rejecting the societal pressure to keep up with others in terms of wealth and status.
By spending wisely, saving and investing consistently and maintaining a simple lifestyle, this opens up more freedom to pursue a life that has more time for what matters - hobbies, relationships, and personal development.
As we keep these 3 things at the forefront of our lives, we don't just walk away from the rat race now but avoid getting sucked back in.
As the 14th Dalai Lama once said “Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
I don’t see myself nor my life as anything extraordinary. Like most people, I have a job, a family, my occasional struggles, needs, and wants.
But I no longer see myself part of the rat race as my intentions and actions are no longer driven by the search for a new high or to comply with the status quo
It's liberating to stop feeling like we had to live up to people’s expectations, or to check similar boxes that they do.
Simple living helps us to stay away from the rat race by fostering a lifestyle that values time, relationships, and personal fulfillment over material success and societal expectations.
Because In the end, these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you live?
How deeply did you let go?- Jack Kornfield