Quitting The Rat Race

What it is, and how to escape it.

Image Credit: Steve Cutts

Look around at all the people you know. What are they all doing?

When I asked myself this question, I realized people in my network were all doing roughly the same few things:

• Working too much
• Chasing money
• Seeking a cocktail of attention/significance
• Looking for success without knowing what it was

These four things are what I call the rat race. The rat race, to me, is trying to find happiness and fulfillment in being like everybody else and following a set formula.

Life in the rat race is like trying to copy someone else’s masterpiece hoping to feel like you did it all by yourself and learned something along the way.

So, I made a decision to quit the rat race. This meant being different and treading my own path.

There was no pre-defined plan. Basically, there were three rules:

1. Grow in the process
2. Do things that scare me
3. Find things I love and do more of them

Pretty simple rules if you ask me and cliche at best — but effective when implemented.

Here’s how to quit the rat race: