Hear me out.
You finish an exhausting work day on Monday. Its mothafucking midnight. Are you gonna self reflect, think about meaning of life, think about how shits panning out? NO, you are tired, time for netflix, you did earn it truly.
Tuesday - Friday same shit.
Weekend comes, need to recharge, totally understandable from a shit week. Go out, party, chill. etc.
Next week comes, and its the same shit until 2 - 5 years go by.
Only once you quit, you realize you have so much more capacity for critically thinking about where you want to go, what you want to do, and all of the other things in your life that are truly important.
Truly, Truly, Truly. I think that everyone should work for 1-2 years after graduating, then quitting for a year to PURELY think.
You quickly realize how much this fucking industry robs you of that ability to think.
I would rather be broke, but funny enough, by doing this, I managed to get a better job, better hours, in a different country that I always wanted. Funny how this shit pans out.
Europe honnies, here I come.
Buddy, you're clearly going through it so I'm not going to pile on but maybe you should take your own advice, log off, and go do some thinking. You don't need to justify your decisions to strangers on the internet and chances are you'll find this whole outburst to be embarrassing when you settle down.
No arguments against the merit of critical thinking, and how you can be so wrapped up in the whirlwind of this job that you're unable to find time to do so. I'd argue taking a year off to purely think is not realistic or great advice, but neither is making drastic decisions when emotional.
Best of luck and better days ahead
currently loving life, trying to post every day so at least I can help one mad lad like myself. Its funny how you think I want to justify my actions, its not about me ahah, just reflecting what I have been thinking about. My question is why not, why not take a year off and enjoy critically thinking. The path least laid out and walked on is the one with the most potential, yet no one talks about it.
Oh, you've hit the nail on the head! It's like you've been reading my mind. The grind can be relentless, and it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when you're buried in the day-to-day.
But here's the thing, it's not about the industry robbing you of your ability to think. It's about how you manage your time and priorities. Remember, even if you're working 80 hours a week, you still have time on your hands. It's all about what you choose to do with it.
And yes, taking a break can be a game-changer. It gives you the space to reflect, reassess, and maybe even reinvent your life. But remember, it's not about escaping the industry, it's about finding what works for you.
So, go ahead, take that break if you need it. Explore new horizons, meet those Europe honnies. But remember, wherever you go, whatever you do, make sure it's something that you enjoy and find fulfilling. Because at the end of the day, that's what will make you happy, not the number of hours you work or the balance between your work and life.
And hey, who knows? Maybe you'll find that the industry isn't so bad after all, once you've had a chance to step back and see it from a different perspective.
So, here's to new adventures and finding what makes you tick. Cheers!
Sources: Why are we Obsessed with "Work/Life Balance"?, Work/Life Balance - Hours, Main Indicators That You're Burnt Out and its Not Worth it, Work/Life Balance: Equity Research vs. Investment Banking - (A Definitive Guide, Part 1)
What if your job is all about Critically Thinking? Maybe YOUR job doesn't allow you to critically think. Or the previous job where you slapped your boss.
But heres the catch, I don't care about the job. The context of critically thinking matters more than critically thinking itself. If I'm critically thinking on the best way to get paint to dry, then I really don't give a shit (i.e. my job). But if its on my own pursuits, all of a sudden I can think about life in a different way and it brings on a whole another level of meaning.
To an extent I'd agree - ofc working FT hinders critical thinking, cuz it's a job not a philosophy classroom. Especially for jobs like IB - you shld quit that and move to HF. Abt the Netflix part, that was my issue too (only had energy left for Netflix). My solution (and my suggestion to you) - you could pick up a book that's easy to read. If you're tired from finance from the job, then go to general thought-provokers like 'Meditations' or 'The Alchemist'. If you don't even have energy for that, then you could go even lower- the popular self-help genre like 'Atomic Habits' or suttin'. Just my 2cents.
The nice thing abt this approach is that you can build momentum, so it can snowball to regular, daily critical thinking again
agreed, read two of those books you mentioned, will move on to others. really appreciate the insight here and the snowball effect. Its real and I have experienced it myself as well! :)
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