You have likely arrived here because you typed “I hate my job” or a similar phrase into a search engine. That’s great because it means that we have a lot in common. You see, I too hate my job.

Now… I know hate is a strong word, but it really seems to be appropriate when describing the daily 9-5 grind known as the rat race. I have personally given 20+ of the best years of my life to this system and honestly, have little to show for it, except for stress, health concerns, debt and a general feeling of hopelessness.

For many years now I have followed the masses and did what I thought was right. I got a post-secondary education, landed a good job with a large corporation, bought a house, went on vacation and generally tried to provide an above average lifestyle for my family.

Recently, I have been pre-occupied with thoughts of quitting my job and getting back to basics. Downshifting, you might say. These feelings pretty much dominate my thoughts lately. Nothing else, it seems, would give me greater pleasure than to “pack it all in” and start over. In the last year, these thoughts and feelings have been overwhelming. It’s hard to describe other than, it feels like a tug-of-war between what I feel I have been programmed to think (career, money, status, security) and what I feel inside (the need for freedom).

For the record, I don’t just want to quit my job and live off the system. I believe in working for a living and not simply sitting idle. In the event that I do “retire”, I would make sure I had enough money to be self-sufficient. I have never required any type of social assistance and doubt that I ever will. I don’t consider myself to be lazy, although some people reading this might think otherwise. I contribute 100% in my current job, although I have never felt less motivated. I don’t over-achieve unless I am exited about what I am doing, and I have never felt less excited in my entire life. Are there others out there with similar thoughts? I would venture to guess, yes.

I grew up in poverty and had very little as a child. I made a promise to myself that I would do better for my kids. I have succeeded in doing that, but somewhere along the way, I started getting mired down in the hyper-consumer, high-debt and high stress kind of lifestyle. Before I knew it, I no longer had any choice. I was trapped in the system and felt “owned.”

Yes, I am “owned.” My life is no longer mine. I am owned by my company, the bank and the government.

I have no choice but to accept anything that is presented to me because I simply cannot quit. I have been with my company so long that there is no way I could get anything else. I have built up my salary and my vacation time to the point that it could not be replaced very easily. It would take years.

Because of a high debt load, my income just meets our needs. Somehow any pay increase is eaten up (by what?) as our lifestyle becomes more demanding.