The Rat Race - Can you get out of it?

[SadPanda]

After leaving school, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do so trained in something that I never really wanted to do, just was told to do by my father.

In the end for 16 years I ended up in minimum wage dead end jobs, with nasty managers, nasty customers and high pressure and stress. For a year I worked 18 hours a day. Not what anyone wanted really, and in the end caused me to burnout last year. I just couldnt fight anymore.

I'm not a work people person in general, I never have been and really won't be and prefer to work alone. I just can't handle the fast paced business world anymore, is that being lazy? It's not that I don't want to work, as I have plans to setup a business from home, but I need to be able to take time out if I need to, as sometimes I can't concentrate or I have a moment of forgetfulness or feeling really low or tearful.

I'm really scared that at some point soon, I will be told that I will need to go back ''out there'' and start working with people as thats what everyone else does, but I know that it will cause me to breakdown again (i'm crying thinking about it now).

Has anyone else managed to escape the rat race and managed to work successfully from home?

Thx

 

[MikeyC]

It's very difficult to exit the rat race. My friend wants to get out of it because he's tired of it. He really hates capitalism and what it does to people financially, so he (ironically) wants to make lots of money quickly so he can get out of it.

I've never worked from home, but you need to have a very successful business to make it work. It can be done but you've got to put in the effort, if you're keen enough.

For a year I worked 18 hours a day. Not what anyone wanted really, and in the end caused me to burnout last year. I just couldnt fight anymore.

Whoa, that's insane! No wonder you burned out! I don't know how you survived, but yeah, you just completely ran yourself to the ground. I worked for 29 straight days earlier this year and that was enough for me!

I just can't handle the fast paced business world anymore, is that being lazy?

No, it's not lazy. It's a daunting thing to think about when you realise you have to work 5 days a week for probably the next 50+ years. I don't like it, either, but I know I'll have to continue working jobs I'm doing to dislike just to make ends meet.

 

[KiaKaha]

I havent had a full time job in a while and I kind of feel the same way you do. I would love to get out of the rat race for good... because it doesnt appeal to me AT ALL. Sometimes I think I would be better off in a commune where everyone helps each other and there is no competitiveness.

I would like to work 'out there' eventually as I have a specific goal, but right now I get so overwhelmed by anxiety and sadness that I just freak out, or break down. Its really pathetic and embarrassing but I cant help it.

Anyway I have been surviving by working at home too and I do OK, luckily I have some pretty mean web skills and I am also good at search engine optimization (if you need help with that let me know). Its tough, but it can be done... you just need patience, a lot of hard work and a unique idea.. it's definetley possible.. I know that there are people who manage to work at home full time and do really well. All I can say is that if you do have an idea for a work at home business, keep at it...because big success may just be around the corner.

 

[NP88]

If you had enough money you could :

Buy land, grow crops and raise livestock on said land, have a well for all your water needs, solar/wind power for energy, hoard gold and non perishable food supplies, build a bunker, stock bunker with weapons/ medical supplies.

Now your off the grid out of the rat race and prepared for any major disaster. My dream at least.

Also, I can't keep a job due to my anxieties and am wondering where to go from here... : / I feel for for you as I understand somewhat.

 

[Waybuloo]

With the way that globalisation and extreme capitalism have shaped our economies I think more and more people will appreciate locally grown and produced, ethical products which attract a sense of national pride as well as badge of quality, which is keenly lacking at present. I'm sick of buying made in China goods and the like, which break and have inbuilt crappiness, much like inbuilt obsolescence. I think it would be a good sustainable business idea to create something local and market it as a wholesome, quality item. I have been looking for such items recently and know that there is demand out there. For instance hand made soaps free of harsh chemicals. The problem is finding a niche that hasn't got enough market saturation AND that will attract ongoing demand. I want to make something with my own hands, but just lack the focus.

 

[Beatrice]

With the way that globalisation and extreme capitalism have shaped our economies I think more and more people will appreciate locally grown and produced, ethical products which attract a sense of national pride as well as badge of quality, which is keenly lacking at present. I'm sick of buying made in China goods and the like, which break and have inbuilt crappiness, much like inbuilt obsolescence. I think it would be a good sustainable business idea to create something local and market it as a wholesome, quality item. I have been looking for such items recently and know that there is demand out there. For instance hand made soaps free of harsh chemicals. The problem is finding a niche that hasn't got enough market saturation AND that will attract ongoing demand. I want to make something with my own hands, but just lack the focus.

I like your posts a lot.

 

[Silatuyok]

My dream is to one day work in community supported agriculture. This means that I would have my own little farm, probably not more than a half acre or so, and I would have people from the community "subscribe" to receive a box of produce from me once a week. It wouldn't make me rich, but I'd get to work outside all day at home, and only have to deal with people when I deliver their food. It's perfect, though I have a long way to go before I will be able to put it into practice. Some day.

 

[coyote]

i haven't escaped completely

but i gave up a very high-stress career and lifestyle in the city

i scaled way back and moved to a laid-back resort area

the job i have now still gives me way more anxiety than i'd like

i guess i'm a little scared to take the next step

this is my inspiration: The Banker and the Fisherman

 

[Waybuloo]

I like your posts a lot.

Thanks
Maybe I should make money out of them hehe.

 

[Emma03]

There were some posts here about buying land, being self-sufficient, and being part of a non-competitive community. I would love to be able to do this...and the thing is, with oil being a non-renewable resource, we are going to HAVE to produce our own food and live locally. And humans actually evolved to be cooperative, it's a shame that our society positively reinforces the opposite.

 

[MikeyC]

and the thing is, with oil being a non-renewable resource, we are going to HAVE to produce our own food and live locally.

There's apparently 40-50 years of oil left, but apparently we're extracting more and more barrels per year. Last I heard we're extracting 8 barrels a day. A few years ago it was 6. Demand keeps rising for a resource everyone knows is finite, but as long as companies make money off it, they don't give a damn. But yeah, when oil is depleted (some of us will see that in our lifetime), we'll have to try to produce our own food.

And humans actually evolved to be cooperative, it's a shame that our society positively reinforces the opposite.

Absolutely. I agree. We're forced to be against one another when human nature is the very opposite. I watched a movie where it was saying that the world we live in is against every action our body wants. It's a sad thought.

 

[Silatuyok]

There's apparently 40-50 years of oil left, but apparently we're extracting more and more barrels per year. Last I heard we're extracting 8 barrels a day. A few years ago it was 6. Demand keeps rising for a resource everyone knows is finite, but as long as companies make money off it, they don't give a damn. But yeah, when oil is depleted (some of us will see that in our lifetime), we'll have to try to produce our own food.

Don't worry, I'll teach y'all how to farm and bake bread.
I don't really ever say "y'all", btw. ::