Become Happier

Hi all- I’m a first year analyst at a BB, my goal ever since freshman year and now that I’m here, I’m not happy. I wake up everyday and force myself to get out of bed (now that it’s wfh I just log in from my bed until I get work). I know IB is a grind but I’m genuinely not happy. It made me reflect and I spent every waking minute thinking about finance in college. Watched every movie, read every book and blog, etc. I haven’t had a vacation since 2012 (>1 day long). My hobby used to be finance (loved learning more about it) but doing it 90 hours a week hasn’t helped and I realize I have no hobbies. I play video games but honestly don’t want to sit in my same desk for both hobby + work. Did anyone else go through this? My family is also going through a lot of personal things so I feel like that side is breaking too

 

I think that a lot of people feel the way that you do right now, maybe it just isn’t said aloud. I think the lack of human interaction is taking a toll on us all.

 

can't tell if this is a serious post, but curious to hear more haha

 

Hey man sorry to hear that. Definitely a tough spot to be in especially after grinding for so long to get there. To me, it sounds like a purpose problem. Chasing after rewards is rather fleeting, as soon as you reach what you want you jump to another goal and keep grinding. Incentives are a funny thing. Yes, it’s good to save and put food on your plate, buy nice things and compete with the best of the best. These are all good things, but they shouldn’t be the MAIN thing. I would take some time to consider what is your purpose in life. Not what goals you want to achieve, but rather what type of person you want to be, what type of family you want to have, and what type of friendships you want.

For me, this comes down to religion. If I wasn’t a Christian, I know I’d be depressed. There’s only so much gratification from worldly incentives and it’s been extremely important for me to keep a longer term (eternal) perspective. Now, it might be something else for you, as I know there are a lot of happy people who aren’t Christian, or even religious. The point remains though, that pursuing incentives only gets you so much fulfillment.

Good luck dude.

 

Hey man sorry to hear that. Definitely a tough spot to be in especially after grinding for so long to get there. To me, it sounds like a purpose problem. Chasing after rewards is rather fleeting, as soon as you reach what you want you jump to another goal and keep grinding. Incentives are a funny thing. Yes, it’s good to save and put food on your plate, buy nice things and compete with the best of the best. These are all good things, but they shouldn’t be the MAIN thing. I would take some time to consider what is your purpose in life. Not what goals you want to achieve, but rather what type of person you want to be, what type of family you want to have, and what type of friendships you want.

For me, this comes down to religion. If I wasn’t a Christian, I know I’d be depressed. There’s only so much gratification from worldly incentives and it’s been extremely important for me to keep a longer term (eternal) perspective. Now, it might be something else for you, as I know there are a lot of happy people who aren’t Christian, or even religious. The point remains though, that pursuing incentives only gets you so much fulfillment.

Good luck dude.

 

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