I Don't Want to Work to Quit
It’s been a while.
Life happened as it sometimes does. Things have changed behind the scenes, my writing took a back seat for a few months, but my interest in philosophy, my framework, cause and effect, and life in general has not changed.
The last few months have had me questioning what I wanted my life to look like long term. I’ve had to wrestle with the very human need to have income coming in. It got me thinking about what the purpose of work is, both short and long term.
Why is the goal of working to stop working?
Retirement says that the goal of working is to stop. We sacrifice ourselves for 30 years or more, sometimes in careers we like and sometimes not, with the goal of being able to quit at some predetermined age.
Why?
Why is the goal quitting? Why isn’t the goal fulfillment, joy, and balance? Why doesn’t that goal start at 20 years old instead of 60?
So many people want two 6 month vacations every year. That’s indicative of stress, anxiety, and over-work. When vacation is used as an escape from life instead of an addition to an already fulfilling life, it means something is out of balance.
There is nothing wrong with a vacation. It’s wonderful to take a break or explore the world. But why are we doing it? Escape or enjoyment?
I’m 50 right now. I’m trained as a teacher. I could go back to the classroom. Presumably, if I worked for 15 years or so I could build enough of a retirement savings that I could survive from 65 until death. But what does that do for me, my life, my emotional and mental well-being, my writing, and my time now?
What about me now?
That’s not to say that I don’t care about future me, I just don’t believe that present me needs to sacrifice so that future me can be okay. I believe current me needs to build a career that future me can carry on with, without feeling burdened by it.
I don’t want to work to quit. Quitting is not a reward, it’s an escape. I want a life I don’t need to escape from.
Retirement is framed as a reward. For me, it is probably one of the most bizarre systems humans have created.
Retirement stems from a systemic need for people to work. To keep the system running, people need to work within the system. If we want groceries in the grocery store, somebody needs to grow, manufacture, and package those things and then deliver them to the store. Those steps require people to do the work.
But why are they doing the work?
Are they doing it because they enjoy truck driving, farming, or manufacturing? Or are they doing it because the system says they have to?
The latter creates retirement as escape and a perceived reward for 30 or more years of sacrifice. The former creates a lifetime of fulfillment.
The system is self-perpetuating and self-protective. The system needs people to work but people don’t necessarily want to do the jobs that are available. So the system creates a reward that promises freedom from work if people sacrifice themselves for a large chunk of their adult lives.
It’s a system of delayed gratification built on the assumption that people won’t work if not forced into it in one way or another.
Where does that assumption come from?
Lottery winners quitting their jobs.
Presumed laziness.
Unhappiness.
Stress.
Fear.
The biggest fear is that if the system fully supported its population, nobody would work. But I don’t believe that to be true.
Given full systemic support, people would find work to do that they enjoyed.
Would it changed the landscape?
Yes.
Retirement as a reward would cease to exist.
If everybody had the option to have two 6 month vacations every year anytime they wanted, people would create lives they don’t need to vacation from. That creates a very different perception of work and the reason for work.
Work should be done for fulfillment, not survival.
The reward of working should not be quitting, it should be fulfillment and joy.
So what does that mean for me?
It means I’ve chosen to take on work that allows me to make my own schedule. With survival no longer in question, I can come back to writing and begin the process of creating a truly fulfilling life of writing that my 80 year old self will be happy with.
I’m not trying to quit. I’m trying to create a lifetime of balance and fulfillment that doesn’t require present me to sacrifice so my 80 year old self can simply exist.
In a world built on retirement, it’s a challenge that can’t be taken lightly.
Love to all.
Della