The rat race starts sometime after you are done with college. You get your first job which pays decently enough to allow you to buy your college dreams. For some, the first dream would have been to buy a 72-inch plasma TV or a 152-inch one. So you buy a TV. The next dream on your list is to buy a car. So, you get yourself a functional car as you wait to buy the car of your dreams.
You grind harder at work to get a promotion or salary raise. This means that you can now afford to move to a slightly more expensive house so you do. On and on it goes, having a dream, working hard, fulfilling the dream then moving on to the next one.
What is Rat Race?
Wikipedia defines the ‘rat race’ as endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. It is usually comprised of a lot of competitiveness and comparison. The competition to get ahead of others at the workplace or in business is usually endless. When you get to defeat your peers and get out of the cubicle, your peers change.
You and your new peers all strive to get the corner office. You win again and get the corner office. The stakes are then raised and you look at the floor above you.
This competition goes on to the top floor where the board sits. Thus, this journey of competition with no particular end in sight is the rat race.
Let’s Put It This Way
To get a proper understanding of this concept, take an illustration of Steve and Angela. Steve and Angela were in the same class in college. Both of them loved playing around with numbers. So, ending up in the same business class was not a surprise. College was a mixture of hard-partying during the weekends and teaming when schoolwork piled up.
Nothing of them worked particularly hard in class, but they kept up with school and managed to get decent grades. They used to meet with mutual friends in the evenings too. Fast forward, they graduated from college and got decent jobs. Without realizing it, both creep into the rat race slowly.
As all college friends do, they promised to stay in touch. Not just that, they fulfilled that by meeting on scrabble games. For a while, they would meet once a month, play a few games, and shared memories. After some time, Chris stopped showing up to the meetups as her girlfriend got pregnant. Chris had to work overtime to make more money for the expected increase in expenditure.
Julie, on the other hand, got promoted and moved to another city. Steve, after some time, got married. He started putting consistent effort into work to get a promotion.
Steve used to own an old Toyota corolla. With the promotion to the Head of Department, he got a new car and sold the old one. His wife got pregnant and they moved to a bigger house. The monthly scrabble was forgotten as he now got engaged in playing live games.
He got a mortgage; he got a second car, also set up college funds for the kid, and started preparing his mind to invest in stocks.
The expenses magically grew higher every year. Steve continuously complained and started working even harder to earn more money. On the other hand, Angela never got around to settling down. For her, getting ahead in her career was everything. When she got out of college, she realized how much time she has wasted on trivial things.
Therefore, she planned her days to the minute, ensuring that she makes the most out of each day. Hence, advancing in her career for Angela was not hard. Rather, it became easier for her due to the self-discipline she instilled in herself. So, he moved up the ladder, beating department heads for the managerial job. From there, she went to a managing director position and finally moved to another company for a higher-paying job.
It does not mean that she abandoned her friends. She did not. Rather she appreciated their company. But she limited the time of meeting with them. It was, therefore, hard for her to sustain any other relationships away from work.
Twenty years after college, Steve was sitting in his car, preparing for a meeting when he felt the weariness of the rat race crashing onto him. His marriage was not going well considering the amount of time he used to spend at home. He was advancing in his career and the investments were paying off. Still, he wasn’t happy.
He thought that making a lot of money, driving an expensive car, and giving to best to his kids will make him happy. But he was tired; tired of trying to get ahead with no end in sight, tired of doing the same repetitive job over and over again. He wanted to return to the scrabble group with no responsibilities and only chit-chat with college friends.
At that very moment, Steve calls his scrabble squad and plans for a meet-up. A good numbered promise to show up including Julie, Angela, and Chris. However, only Angela shows up that night. They discussed the rat race that night: whether they are happy now that they have achieved everything or not? Could they see an end in sight? Was it pointless?
Steve thought that there was another way to do it than going over the monotony of their current life. Angela resigned from the job and didn’t know any other way to go about in life. The rat race fed her, clothed her, let her go on expensive vacations, and made her as happy as it could.
Getting Out of the Rat Race
As Angela got home, she decided to examine as if there exists a different way to do things. Was there a point in advancing her career, day in day out? She now hates her job and its repetitive nature. After having in-depth research, she decided to get out of the rat race.
The Audit
First, she had to determine if she was in the rat race. There was no way she would get out of something she hadn’t identified to be a part of. So, she asked herself 3 fundamental questions:
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Is there an end in sight?
No. Her advancement in her career was a life-long and continuous process.
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Was her life and career, in general, characterized by competition?
Tremendously, it was the only way she could get ahead.
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Was it characterized by comparison?
Not so much, but there was enough of it to be concerned.
Alternatives
The next step was to determine whether there are alternatives she could use to make income. The rat race provided her with bread and butter, and getting out of it would surely be costlier.
After brainstorming, she realized that she has no other skill apart from numbers. The only thing she likes was painting and drawing occasionally.
The Exploration of the Alternative
How do you make money out of drawing and painting? This is the question that struck Angela’s mind. She decided to extend hours of working at home. It was a stressful situation. However, drawing and painting relaxed her.
She felt good while doing something so explorative. And also, it was a sigh of relief for not depending on it to make her income. Therefore, after spending ample time at the job, she looked forward to winding it down at the end of it. At the same time, she explored the different ways to turn her passion into an income-generator.
Rat Race Exit
Ultimately, by mixing her day up with an activity that wasn’t for income solely, Angela was slowly getting out of the rat race.
Needs vs Luxuries
To stop fully depending on her day job, Angela had to determine what she needed and drop luxuries accordingly. The drop in her luxuries and concentration on needs make her able to even quit the job.
On the contrary, Steve could not get out of the rat race. His fear of the loss of income, competition, and need to be like his peers worked against him.
Angela spent her time changing small aspects of life and knowing that happiness is not a future goal. Instead, it is to be achieved now.
Fast Forward: 2 Years Later
Angela leveraged her corporate contacts and started her design studio. Moreover, she started managing a school too. She isn’t in a profitable position yet but she is projecting to become profitable in the coming months.
At that time, she can either manage the whole business or hire someone under her. Finally, Angela would have escaped the rat race and can start living life on her terms.
This is just a simple example of what a lot of people face in the world today. Most people will, unfortunately, have to slave away their prime years working for a paycheck. But you don’t necessarily have to follow this path.
Every day, more and more people are starting online businesses in the form of e-commerce, blogs, media influencers, digital marketing, and alike. Thanks to the internet. It’s time you take your financial future into your own hands and do not indulge in the rat race.
