To me, one of the sad truths about the world today is that most people look upon work as something to escape from. To them, this major part of life is a necessary evil, even an obstacle to the life they dream about.
Want proof?
- 67% of Americans are disengaged at their work.
- The 4-Hour Workweek is one of the top-selling books of the last decade.
- People are beginning to define early retirement as their dream.
- Given the option between “work a long time at a fulfilling job” or “retire early,” only 34% of Americans would choose to work a long time at a fulfilling job.
- At least half of the U.S. workforce is quiet quitting.
I could add, from plenty of personal conversations, that there are some people who choose simplicity as a means to escape work. I don’t think that’s what the simple life is for.
There’s not a doubt in my mind that some of the discontent we feel about work comes from our faulty thinking on the reason for it. In our desire to get out of work, we are missing the point of it.
Dorothy Sayers, in her famous essay Why Work? begs us to see work anew. She seeks nothing less than “a thoroughgoing revolution in our whole attitude to work.”
Sayers believes we should look upon work, “not as a necessary drudgery to be undergone for the purpose of making money, but as a way of life in which the nature of man should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself.”
Work, in this regard, is not something to be avoided. It is something to be pursued and enjoyed.
Your work contributes to the good of society and moves us ahead. We need your talents and abilities. We need you to work hard and do it well. It makes us better as people and it enriches our lives.
I enjoy hard work. I work 50 hours most weeks because I find happiness and joy in it. And I believe that those who feel the most fulfilled at the end of their lives are those who have chosen to work hard on the right things during it.
Now, just to be clear, I am not advocating to be busy just to be busy. And I am not advocating working hard for wrong, selfish reasons (i.e., getting rich). I am advocating for the importance of doing your work (whether paid or unpaid) in a focused and deliberate way and putting your whole self into it.
I am advocating for doing the best you can, to accomplish the most you can, with the one life you have to live.
Reasons for Work in the Simple Life
If one has chosen simplicity as a lifestyle, where do we find the motivation to learn how to work hard? If we are content to own less (even prefer it), what is the point of hard work and striving for success?
Let me offer a few reasons:
1. Work forces personal development.
Work, by its very nature, presents challenges and growth opportunities. It requires us to improve and develop and become better versions of ourselves. The more we grow, the better at work we get… and the greater the challenges become.
We learn important life lessons when we give ourselves over to hard work: determination, attentiveness, responsibility, problem solving, and self-control. These lessons, in turn, serve us in other areas (health, relationships, hobbies, etc.).
2. Our work brings benefit to society.
Like I mentioned earlier, our work contributes to the good of society. It serves others, it enriches people’s lives, and it moves everyone forward. Whether we are bagging groceries, delivering mail, analyzing stocks, curing cancer, or managing other workers, we can view our work as an act of love to the people we serve.
3. Hard work is an example to our kids.
When we strive to do our best work each day, our kids take notice. And among the greatest lessons I hope to pass on to my children is the importance of working hard on things that matter.
4. The hours will pass anyway. It makes sense to try to make the most of them.
Each new day brings with it an important choice: either we fill it with our best or we allow it to slip away. There is no other option—the hours are going to pass anyway. Choosing to work hard makes the most of them. (Please note: I am not discounting the importance of rest or balance. I have written about both extensively.)
5. Work is fulfilling in and of itself.
In my opinion, there are few joys in life more satisfying than lying down at night with tired legs attached to a tired body. To know I gave my full energy to something important is an amazing feeling and fulfilling in itself.
6. Working hard keeps our lives occupied with important matters.
Living an unoccupied life is a recipe for disaster. Choosing to fill our time and energy with things that bring value to others helps keep us from selfish and foolish decisions with idle time.
There is value in hard work—both for ourselves and others.
How to Enjoy Work More
I have known countless people who are happy with their work. They find meaning, significance, and joy in it. Additionally, I have met many people who are unhappy with their work and choose to spend an additional percentage of their life complaining about it.
Changing our attitude toward work isn’t always easy, but it’s possible. And I would argue, important. As I’ve stated above, there is joy and fulfillment to be found in it.
Sometimes, learning to love work can come from a simple change in our thinking—rather than the much more drastic change in jobs, which doesn’t usually solve the problem anyway.
So let me end with a few thoughts on how to think differently about work and find more fulfillment in it:
1. Realize that you were designed to work.
Whether by creation or evolution, humans are designed to work. This is an important part of our nature. It explains our drive to grow as individuals and as a society. It explains the internal satisfaction we experience when completing a task. It makes sense of the positive emotions we experience when resting after a hard day of work.
2. Understand that work always takes place in an imperfect world.
Our world is imperfect because we exist in a universe full of people who often fall short. Though we each have an ingrained desire to accomplish good for the sake of others, in reality, we often function with selfish desires and intentions. These imperfections always lead to less-than-ideal working conditions.
As a result, work includes overbearing bosses, deadlines, stress, under-resourced projects, tasks we do not enjoy, and often anxiety.
The realization that these imperfections are always going to be present in our workplace allows us to accept them and move forward.
3. Notice how your work contributes to the common good.
If the goal of our work is to contribute good to society in exchange for provision, then our work ought to benefit society. We should spend 40 or more hours per week producing a benefit for others—notice how your specific work accomplishes that.
Whether you grow healthy food, produce quality clothing, intentionally parent children, create beautiful art, build strong shelter, develop new life-enhancing technology, do taxes, research medicine to prolong life, educate others, govern society honestly, or operate in any other of countless opportunities, you contribute to the common good of our neighbors and our society.
4. Do your work ethically.
Work done ethically and honestly with proper balance will always result in more enjoyment than the alternative. Your motivation for work is also a part of your ethic.
These same principles of life hold true to every aspect, including the 20% we spent working.
5. Stop trying to get rich.
While fair compensation is always appropriate, the pursuit of riches and wealth as an end goal is a losing battle. Riches will never fully satisfy. We will always be left searching for more.
People who view their work as a means to get rich often fall into temptation, harmful behavior, and foolish desires.
When we replace the desire to get rich with a more life-fulfilling desire to receive honest compensation, we open our hearts to find peace in our paychecks and greater value in our work.
The Value of Work
Please don’t view your work as something only to be endured or avoided. Rethink the value of it—whether you are 18 or 80.
Regain focus and motivation to use your passions and abilities to contribute good to a society in need of them. Utilize your strengths. Develop your talents. Study your craft. And encourage others.
Work hard. Enjoy it. And at the end of the day, we will all be better because of it.
My knee jerk reaction to this is dismissal, but on second thought, I feel it’s extremely idealistic.
I wanted to have a life of meaningful and fulfilling work, a career, but that is not the reality in our world anymore. Unless you are lucky to work for a small business or forward thinking organization that values its employees, most of the work out there is contract, or subject to the whims of the market. I struggled in the civilian workforce for 15 years before I joined the military. Granted, the military has its own challenges (a large faceless organization that struggles to care for its people), but I have found meaning and joy here as much as stress and disappointment. There needs to be a balance between the two, and the compensation – actual pay but also other benefits – must support what you want out of life outside of work. While I don’t love what I do every single day, there isn’t a day that goes by I am not grateful I made this decision and committed to the arduous process of joining the military.
I agree with your article! I feel a lot of fulfillment in working when I feel like my work makes a positive difference to others and helps me grow and evolve as a human :)
When would you have time for your dental and other appointment? And it will take you five days a week and more than 8 hours a day.
40/50 hours per week ? Absolutely not . I am in Canada and work 4 days a week. Hybrid schedule save on many stuffs that we should spend if we go to the office everyday . Businesses would not have to micro manage nor run everyday … more time with family and
Kids
I agree whole-heartedly with every case that you make.
More differentiation is needed, though, between employment and work. Retiring early doesn’t mean the end of work. I hope to retire early so that I can pursue meaningful work that is limited to my free time right now, which I know could not do in place of my current career to support my young family and provide health insurance, without tapping into a nest egg.
“Quiet quitting” doesn’t mean not working hard. I don’t do my employment duties outside of work hours, but I am working non-stop when home with my three daughters and rescue dog. That’s actually a good thing to focus on them and not do try to be an employee during family time.
Sure, there are people who quick employment and go sit in the recliner for the rest of their (much shorter) life, but they are probably not reading this blog. :)
Dear Ariane,
I really enjoyed reading what you wrote on Joshua’s post. It’s true that being retired really becomes a huge choice for health reasons. I’m 65 and I don’t think I’ll stop working anytime soon. Volunteering I understand how much having three children can be a heavy burden. I think that when they are independent and earn their living, we can also rely on their help. This is the case for me.
Joshua, thank you for this excellent post! I agree completely.
if work give us happy its great, but many people work only for money and this makes big problem for them in future if of course they have distance for they work. Another question is if you work and havent got good payment for this work its also problem for people which can’t live well or they havent got for basic needs.
Thank you so much for this post. I really needed this.
I work in a firm I hate so much. I keep complaining about it and I have seen how i have failed to actually enjoy my stay there and learn what I am to learn. Knowing fully well that I will never be there forever.
I had a rethink recently to change my attitude to work and I prayed about it. It has really helped.
I really needed this. Thank you!
Hi Joshua, I am a long time reader of this blog and I love every blog post. But here I would like to disagree. I am from a developing country. I love to work for the joy that work gives me. But unfortunately I had to quit my work due to poor management at work place. Underpaid and management started taking advantage of my love to work by making me work more and neither appreciating my work nor compensating enough for the work I do. I could not stand this so I had to quit. If employers take care of employees properly and if they appreciate that the work done by employees helps in the growth of their organizations then they treat employees well. Dedicated employees are the strength of any organuzation. If they are not treated well then how will they work? Just like employees even employers should have gratitude for the work done by their employees and should treat them well.
So you quit working entirely?
I had to. Because it was a stuggle everyday. I am searching for a job now.
Thank you so much for your article. I was beginning to think I was alone. I love my work. I work long hours with joy being able to serve others. That’s my purpose. I understand not all people feel that way which is totally okay. I do what I need to do the best way possible. I have joy in helping others any way I can. I am a health care professional and finally own my own private practice. I have been an independent contractor for years though. In 23 years of practice, I have taken 1 day of sick leave and have never had paid vacation. This is normal when you are an entrepreneur. I think everyone should imagine not having sick leave or paid vacation. It will change your perspective hopefully. Hopefully you will not take it for granted. It is a blessing. Everyday is a blessing. Yes, I am a Christian. I believe everyone has a gift to share. I find myself trying to find balance in all areas gives me peace.
Becoming Minimalist should apply to work as well as other areas of life. Corporate jobs today have reduced vacation days if any were offered at all and expect long hours and always on availability. Studies show the detriment to health, families and communities when people work long hours. People can be productive and make a difference in this world without working 40-50 hours a week. I am a long time reader and have found many inspirations in this blog, but must politely disagree with this post.
Thanks for the comment. But you are disagreeing with what? Where did I say people had to work 40-50 hours/week at their job to be productive?
This post seems a bit… Puritan to me.
Although I agree that work allows us to grow personally and in our profession of choice. It turns out that it may be – as it is my impression more and more now then ever before – work is a place of daily struggle and no longer a place where work is combined with pleasure. At least as I have seen too often, it is a battleground between people who have political views and want to be heard in the workplace, as is unfortunately too often the case. And that won’t change any time soon unfortunately. Discrimination, micro aggression of all sort resists and is in the mainstream to stay unfortunately still.
Of course work is a struggle. You are imagining a scenario where work is always pleasure? I work for myself and can tell you there is daily struggle in my work. Even roses have thorns.
I believe in work that’s enough to pay the bills. I am running a small business at the moment and, although I could scale up a lot, I’d rather keep it small. Manageable. I’d rather spend time with my daughter, drive her to tennis lessons, cook for the family, take vacations anytime we’d like to, than run a huge agency and be a slave of my own success. When it comes to being hired, I did the 50 hours per week / no weekends off thing and the only thing I got was 10 years wasted for someone’s business. When they closed it down, it didn’t matter that I put in my best years. No, because it wasn’t my business and there’s nothing I can do about it.
I’m a firm believer in working as much as you are comfortable to. For some people work is the no.1 item in their lives. For many of us kids and husbands trump any titles and huge salaries. As long as we understand what makes US HAPPY, there’s no right or wrong.
The only thing you got was “years wasted for someone’s business”? Are you really going to stand by that statement?
I am not sure if you meant for it to come across this way, but there seems to be an implication here that choosing not to work or frankly not to work “hard” (50 hours a week?) is somehow bad/suboptimal. I disagree. I think that so many, Americans in particular, are unsure what they would do with themselves or feel “unproductive” if not working is a sad statement to the lack of balance in our culture. There are many beautiful, wonderous things we can do with our time outside of work, many you might deem “unproductive”. We can enjoy the outdoors, volunteer, spend more time with family, pursue hobbies or passions, do more of the things many are forced to pay others to do, sit and watch children play, watch the trees sway in the wind. . .In a more balanced world, we would be able to work 20 or 30 hours a week much of our life and enjoy all these things throughout our life. Now we bookend them into childhood and retirement and often never make it to the retirement bookend because the lack of balance destroyed our heath. My family is European/Mediterranean. My grandfather had time to garden more, make his own wine, spend more time with his neighbors. These non-work activities feed the soul, round us out as humans, and make us better/happier friends, spouses, parents and ironically more productive members of society (though I am not sure that should be the goal).
Are you confusing “work” with “job?” Volunteering is work, so is serving your family.
Let’s face it. Most of us work because we have to for the money. I think the people that really love their work are workaholics because they don’t find anything else to give them joy and meaning.
You can find joy and meaning just as much in hobbies then in work. If you do find joy and meaning in your work that’s ofcourse better but honestly, a lot of people are just glad they have work that pays them enough to pay the bills (and a lot of people don’t even have that luck.)
So yeah, I can totally understand people that want to retire early and then spend their time with hobbies and other activities that bring them true meaning and joy.
You believe golfing (a hobby) will bring true meaning to a person’s life?
Joshua, have you thought about becoming a public school teacher, especially in an area of high need? Young students could really use a wise and thoughtful person like yourself on their side.
I completely agree with loving what you do and working for purpose and contributing for the good and not for financial gain. However do we really need 40-50 hour weeks to do that? I don’t think so. I can guarantee our kids would prefer we spend some of that time with them rather than at work. We can be purposeful through being a good citizen in so many ways and not working so many hours. So many people I’ve worked with who have burnt out are because of long work hours. Not to mention those who would struggle to work these long hours you mention because of their health. Not everyone is in a position to do what they love because of poverty, racism, their health, societal stigma etc. So this feels quite a damaging statement to me.
I think its OK to choose a simple life where we don’t work as much. There’s a huge amount of pleasure in taking a seat by the river and watching the world go by sometimes and this is massively beneficial to our mental health.
So maybe we can consider that purposeful work is an important part of our life but not stick a number on how much we need to do
No, I have not. But thanks for asking.
I resigned from my job before the Great Resignation became a thing. FINALLY I got to do things that were meaningful to me, that drew upon my creativity and problem solving skills, all of it unpaid. I no longer have to tiptoe around egos, listen to why I couldn’t work on a project because I didn’t have the right letters after my name despite having many more years experience, get paid $20K less per year than the male employees etc. And this was one of the better places I worked at! You could not put me back in the yoke of a job for any amount of money in the world. If employers can’t find employees to work for them now they have only themselves to blame. Using workers as “just in time labour” to be shed the minute the bottom line wobbled has consequences. The bill is now due.
I find the views in this article are very middle class. There is more slavery in the world now than ever before. People are expected to work overtime to ridiculous amounts for no extra pay. Technology has made our working days more complex not less and more is expected. Employers and corporations will do anything in their power to take away the rights of workers by taking away unions, the only real voice that employees have, and big business is destroying the planet. Yes I guess we should work, feel fulfilled and shut up.
Patrick, I understand your point, but I would argue that the article was written to encourage the employers and big corporations to change, to prevent the very slavery which you mention from continuing to happen. For example, “Do your work ethically” and “stop trying to get rich”. I don’t think Joshua meant for us all to “work, feel fulfilled and shut up”. I think he meant “work, feel fulfilled, and make a difference in the world”.
I currently live in a developing country where the minimum wage is about 10 USD per day. People work hard here to meet their basic needs, but they exhibit many of the positive attitudes about their work that Joshua writes about. I see such creativity and optimism coming from that hard work in the culture here.
You thought this article was about slavery? That’s what you took from it?
I am very shocked at the reactions and feelings towards working. Working is so important to a successful economy and growth of the people in your area. I never questioned work. Not working was not an option to my future development and success. If I had a bad manager or environment, I learned a lot and what not to do in my next opportunity. Each was a stepping stone.
So sad that so many feel this way about working hard.
Spot on as per usual! Since I’ve retired early, I have realized that productivity is part of what makes me happy. It is not the entire thing, but a large part of it. If I am productive even around the house, I feel better…happier. BUUUT I want to do it on my terms.
I think the sweet spot is to realize that the way we can all contribute to society is by doing work that means something to us, AND that helps the larger good. Finding the right fit of productivity and meaning is where it is at.
I worked as an itinerant teacher of the Visually Impaired & Orientation & Mobility Specialist (teaching cane travel) for about 45 years before I retired. I really feel this was a gift given to me by God (to be able to do this work). I loved it most of the time. Loved my students & parents, liked most of my supervisors, tolerated most of my admins (but there were exceptions to all of these). I worked in several states throughout that time, always my focus was on my students. Now @ 67 I am waiting tables two days a week or so at a local dinner theater 7 miles from home. Wasn’t even looking for a job & just fell into it (a God moment). I get to serve people & help them have an enjoyable experience (I waitressed before I went to college & in college), get to be around people of all ages, & make a little extra fun money. I love my colleagues here & have made new friends. My life has been so blessed, even though my husband passed 6 years ago & my only brother & parents are gone. Life is what you make it, but when you let God lead the way, it’s even better.
I retired early and have been living on my social security benefits. I also own my own home. This article is so affirming and relatable to me. I have found myself wanting to be useful but don’t know how to go about it. I do miss having an office and friends to go to and interact with daily. My time is spent at home and alone. But one day I believe I will find my God given gift and can use it to make a difference in someone’s life.
No, I think that this is geared towards the comfortably middle class. Those not even making a living wage don’t have the leisure of time to contemplate such things. If Barbara Ehrenreich tried to replicate her book today, she would be working three jobs and still homeless maybe living out of her car or worse. I’m so grateful not to be in that position and I find that I agree with a lot of this article.
I’m an editor and was able to transition from full-time employment to freelance work from my former employer and other contacts. It keeps my brain healthy, allows me to learn new things, and the flexible schedule means I can fit in my other interests, above all, photography and writing. But when I watch my son’s health deteriorate from an overabundance of stress at his job and sitting at a computer for 9 or 10 hours a day, I can’t agree with you 100%. He hopes to change his situation. Then there’s my cousin, who retired 20 years ago and has done nothing but watch TV, gain a lot of weight, and let her mind go downhill. No way would I wish that for anyone.
Would you give the same pep talk to the people profiled in Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickled and Dimed?
100%!!! I like the sentiment of the article, but it is from a privileged perspective. Working for survival can really take the fun out of a job. Pride, meaning, satisfaction and joy are lacking at poverty wages. Lets not forget how society views the working class and in capitalism extremes (fascism), decent food, a roof over your head and even medical care are not withing reach.
What a wonderful and well thought out piece! At age 60, I just started playing in my mind with the concept that maybe not being financially able to retire at my age and play during the day like my retired friends isn’t such a bad thing – it lends structure and purpose to my life, a built-in social network, financial security, and protection from mental decline. This article confirms what I was thinking and more. Thank you for writing this.
I can so relate to this comment from Chris. I am a social worker and spent 25+ years working in hospice care with patients nearing end of life and also helping elderly get needed services to remain safely in their own homes. It was very demanding work with unpredictable hours (never knew when I left home in the morning when I would return). It was extremely low pay for my required degree, license and years of experience, and mentally and emotionally exhausting much of the time, but I also found it to be very enjoyable and fulfilling. It is because as Joshua pointed out, I knew I was making a positive difference in many people’s lives.
I retired two years ago at a near point of exhaustion. Many people assume it was burnout from dealing with death and dying all the time, but it truly was not that. That part of my work is what kept me going over the years. It was the stress of unrealistic corporate demands attempting to meet constantly changing government regulations and the insane amount of meetings and documentation that resulted. I think it has been very difficult for the baby boomer generation to experience over time how all of these things meant to “improve” things have actually lowered the quality in nearly every field from healthcare and education to many others. This has very much contributed to people of all ages being very frustrated and detached in their jobs and needs to be seriously addressed at the highest levels of government and management.
I so relate. I love the work I do, ensuring the civil rights of the folks who attend the university where I work. It’s difficult work, but it’s also fulfilling, challenging, and interesting. I’m also lucky that my boss and immediate coworkers are wonderful, dedicated, and funny people who I genuinely enjoy.
What is burning me out – day after day – are the constant demands made by the state and federal governments, with no avenues for support or added resources. What’s burning me out is the unwillingness of leadership in my university to recognize and address problems when we beg them to pay attention. When something inevitably blows up (as predicted and forewarned), my office is immediately thrown under the bus.
“Go somewhere else, do something else,” I constantly hear. Where? Where am I going to go in this country where I don’t face the same story over and over? My job is politicized and scrutinized even though the vast majority of the population and sadly, elected officials, don’t even have a basic understanding of what I do. It’s disheartening, it’s infuriating, and it’s isolating.
I agree the detachment issues comes from how management treat workers. Especially in Health Care, I have been a Longterm care Nurse for 19 years, the worst I have been treated is in the last 3years, I work for my family and my community.
I totally agree with you Joshua. I have several different “jobs”. Some pay and some don’t. I clean houses and write and those both pay but I get my joy from knowing I did my best and helping people. I do a volunteer work and I work at home. Those “jobs” don’t pay but again my joy comes from knowing I am pouring love into the world and helping others in the most meaningful way I can. We are supposed to work hard and enjoy the benefits of it. We are designed to fill our days with meaning and work that benefits ourselves and others. Money is the least of the benefits of work. It’s important but it is not the most rewarding part.
Hi Joshua, I love this! I read your book In 2016 and then retired and 62 and went to Ecuador. I couldn’t afford to retire, I just did it because I was stressed out from life and felt overworked. I sold my home and things I had in FL, stayed with family in KY for a month and moved in October 2017. I live on the ocean, in my condo purchased and love the freedom.
It was great for about 4 months. I played golf, read, blogged, and life was good. But I did find something missing. The lack of something, but wasn’t sure what it was. I did come up with three things that I wanted to do thoughin the remaining years of my life. And it was this.
1. Be present.
2. How can I help?
3. Pay it forward.
After my first 6 months in Manta, Ecuador, in April of 2018, I took a seasonal position working April and October in my beautiful birthplace of Kentucky. I found it fun and fulfilling being around horses and the horse culture in Lexington, Kentucky. And I was near family.
Then I began to AirBnB my condo in Ecuador when I was in KY those months with the horse gig. It was fun and challenging. I was also writing a blog and creating a journey of sorts to share with others about getting away and being engaged with another culture in a different country. I loved it.
Then COVID hit. I was in the states more and Ecuador less but I had the AirbnB. Then when I was looking on LinkedIn a start up company was looking for people to work in their company remotely. It was doing Zoom calls and coaching people for marketing and sales. That had been my career for 30+ years. I had a sales and marketing company where I trained salespeople on the road how to sell their services and products their companies offered. I also had a teaching background for 3 years after college, and in sales coaching and training was perfect for me I found. I really enjoyed the business culture.
I’m still with the start up beginning my 3rd year. It’s software for real estate conversion and it’s just so much fun to coach and teach remote associates.
My point is, working between 25-30 hours a week, helping this company, provided me with a tiny house in the Appalachian mountains where I have my US home now. I still have my condo in Manta, Manabi, Ecuador. My tiny home all of 399 sq ft is halfway between Florida and Kentucky.
Thank you Joshua for helping me to become a minimalist with your inspirational writing! But working is still fun and needed in my life!
I retired at 62 because I couldn’t stand my job one day more. But after a year and a half I found that I was really not satisfied staying home. I wanted to be engaged, productive, have social interaction and feel like I had a purpose. So I got a part-time job at a golf course. Checks all the boxes and I do feel better!
I am 62 and so need to retire but the need for health insurance keeps me stuck.
I’d like to see Part II of this article — Why Retire? If work brings so much meaning to our lives, as it did mine, what are the implications for retirement? I was forced into early retirement during the pandemic, and ageism has ensured I won’t be rehired into similar work. Because I agree with what you wrote above, and therefore poured myself into 50 years of fulfilling work, retirement seems like a slow glide to meaninglessness.
I think this is a great comment! I’m in a similar situation and am interested in reading any responses / suggestions. I too feel directionless.
Anne, I’m so sorry that happened to you. When I was planning my retirement from a demanding, fulfilling career that I loved, I spent a couple of years thinking about what I could do with that time and energy and continue contributing, feeling useful, learning new things, and associating with other people. A book by Ernie J. Zelinski called How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free was helpful to me. My dad, who retired early then went to law school and spent his last several years in a volunteer position that drew on his work experience and expertise, was my role model. I wish you the best of luck finding meaning in your retirement years.
Hi Anne.
I’m sorry you are dissatisfied with retirement. You clearly loved work. I retired as well during the pandemic at age 60. We were working from home 5-days a week and home is where I always loved to return too after leaving the office; not get up, work from home and getting off meant nothing. But, I went to a funeral where the minister read the Eccl ch-1 and I discovered that according to Solomon, all life is “meaningless”, with a proposition that only obeying God and his commandments produces lasting meaning. That funeral changed my attitude towards living in retirement. Now, I realize, a bike ride is far more fulfilling than all I accomplished during my career. In short, accomplishing great levels of success is just as meaningless as a bike ride in the long run, if you believe it is of as much value.
You can find a more in-depth conversation on retirement in my book, Things That Matter.
I loved my work. I loved the problem solving, and helping groups with various viewpoints find consensus. What I didn’t love was the endless meetings to appear busy and avoiding decisions to avoid being blamed. I don’t miss the patriarchy, and how even if I was twice as good and asked my boss what I needed to demonstrate to move up, the man next to me would get the promotion without even asking. I don’t miss the bureaucracy and the managers who has exceeded their competence making my life more difficult with metrics that caused folks to do the wrong thing, and the management trend of the year which would totally upend everything, with no lasting improvement. I don’t miss the delicate egos I had to work around to get my job done, and do what was best for the company. All of this is why I retired early.
Mr. Becker, thank you so much for posting Dorothy Sayers essay. I don’t know that l would have ever found it otherwise. It puts to words something quite difficult to grasp. Thank you for continuing to do the good work God has made you for in this world. Bless you and your family. May our nation be awakened to the Lords truth.
Sincerely A. Hoskins