The un-rat race

I met friends for lunch today - one of whom is taking a break from working, and the others of us readily admitted that we're planning to downshift rather early in our working lives. Maybe not necessarily retire early, but likely shift down to a less stressful existence. All of us are the kind of people who are perceived to have our lives together - have good jobs, volunteer, and are generally productive members of society.

It struck me that none of us really wanted to pursue the traditional version of success as none of us were really interested in making a gazillion dollars and working 80 hours a week. And I know many other people who are taking breaks along their career, or who have taken on less stressful positions in order to do what was right for themselves and their families.

I'm not totally sure if this is a local phenomenon - the local economy is booming, and it's pretty easy to be complacent at the moment - or if this is a generational thing. But I'll be very curious as to what the next 15 or 20 years looks like in the working world.