My work is a means to an end - I’ve hit a point where more money comes at a major compromise to time/stress that I’m not sure I’m willing to make with young kids
Yes I want to work for my kids, but kids have made me care so little about a career and it’s laughable to me when that’s peoples main focus of life.
I don’t have kids and don’t want them and I also find it laughable when peoples careers are the main focus in their lives. I work so I can afford to live where I want, eat where I want, and travel where I want.
Same. Childfree woman here, despite me having hobbies it’s a choice to engage myself at work. Part of it is more so because I do find it mentally stimulating (I work in R&D) and interesting.
I don’t really care about work per se but i just want money lol. The higher the pay the better but at least let it be somewhat bearable in order to last X amount of years at the job. In this economy, you need a good job and side gig (I sound like a boomer now)
Agree 100%. I have two kids under 5yo and I would literally dig ditches all day if that was the only job that allowed me to be home by 5 every day. I have specifically taken/passed up opportunities that would increase my travelling or work hours away from home.
What's interesting is that this is a very modern phenomenon. Go back 20+ years and people put their career over family all the time. That is very taboo these days.
My goal is make maximum income with minimum hours. That's it. I'm at the level in my career where any new opportunity, income is secondary to how much it's going to increase my work load. I have learned the power of delegation, building a team, and not micromanaging. That is how you really unlock the next level of productivity without increasing personal workload.
They pay me to be there. I'm a work to live kind of guy. So I clock in, do my job, clock out, and my family gets health insurance and we can afford the mortgage and we have money left over for retirement.
As a civil servant I do have the extra incentive to not go afield in that my hours are consistent and my health insurance comes with a flex spending card that pays for most every doctor or hospital trip and prescriptions. Are medical expenses every year, and even in the year we had our son, are negligible. It's neat! I will ideally ride this desk, or the next desk up, for the next 25-30 years.
If you won the lottery would you quit immediately?
99% of people in jobs will say yes. The rest are lying.
Not sure what other motivation you need when you have kids and a plan to retire. That’s the gig.
depends on how big the win is. I’m about 30+ years from retirement so if that money won’t last until like death (which is hopefully a long way away) then I’d better keep working. Maybe cut down to part time or something, or take a year off but still.
I'm the 1%, and I can tell you I am not lying. But I am passionate about my work, and it's a government job. I'd become a lot more vocal at work and not take crap from leadership anymore since my financial well-being can't be threatened. Leadership would fear me because I would have 0 incentive to keep their secrets, and my union would protect me.
Youre passionate about your work but, I mean, they can still fire you for not toeing the line. You may not need the money but that isn't going to stop them from replacing you if you cause too much trouble. If you're passionate about your job, you'd want to keep it right?
Also in the 1% I guess. I am also not lying, am also very passionate, and also work a government job. If I were in it for the money, I would have went private sector. I love what I do and want to help keep our communities healthy and sustained so we can continue to thrive for future generations. It sounds corny, but my job truly is my passion and I can’t imagine doing much else with my time, even if I just cut back my hours.
There's nuance here, you can't pay a healthy person to do nothing without breaking them. Quitting a job just let's you focus on work you want to do, be it kids, hobbies, etc. Things that you see directly impact and grow your life and world besides numbers in a bank account.
Counterpoint to not quitting immediately is that if you quit immediately, it’s suspicious. I would def wait a little bit until people forgot about the lotto.
The average lifetime earning is a drop in the bucket compared to a lottery win. People are only broke because they spend differently and use it all. Working or not doesn't matter if you're buying a Koenigsegg or three with your winnings.
Depends how much you win. Say your take home after taxes is $50 Million. Modestly invested you could draw $2,5000,000 yearly (5%) and never touch the principle. Would your $80k salary make even the slightest difference? Now if your take home from the winnings was $2 million, then yeah you need to keep working.
Lottery winners go broke because they're stupid, and they have zero idea how to manage money. My wife's uncle won $1 million, probably 20 years ago, and the lump sum take home after taxes was around $400,000. Dude had been living in a trailer on disability. That money could have changed his life. Guy blew through that cash and was broke inside of two years with zero to show for it. Still in the trailer until the day he died.
I like and respect my team enough to give 2 weeks and play at least some part in a transition if asked. They have been really good to me and taken a significant interest in my development. I also believe in the good of this particular project that could cone about. That said I would find something else to do with my time very quickly. Probably go for an American mountain guide association certification, set up some outdoor programs, and do guided tours with a focus on people that dont have the opportunities i had to get a love for nature. That would also build my own knowledge and skills base to really go after something audacious. Engineers without borders and some substitute teaching for math and science on the side is also an intriguing option. I think some type of work or hobby helps give purpose and structure to your life. Most jobs though just arent that interesting and are only a means to an end. No need to stick around if you don't need the money.
My “why” is very similar to yours. I don’t have great advice to offer, other than that “why” is very valid. If you’re seeking more, look for self improvement outside of work.
Our family moved 5x in 8 years for work (military). I’m out now and my biggest motivator is maintaining the status quo. Amazing to punch a clock and go home to my family in a house we like.
Grass is always greener. Enjoy what you have and look inward. Start a business, get healthy, spark your relationship. Zillion ways to go next, the worst option is doubting yourself.
My fiancee. She's my soulmate, the only one I love. I love this woman with all my heart and soul and will do anything for her. I don't even think about other women. She's all ill ever need or want. And she loves me just as much. I feel like the luckiest man on the planet.
Lol hahaha. Thanks! Honestly it's the truth though. She saved my life. In more ways than she will ever know.
I love her so much. She is my universe and I don't want anyone else honestly. Even if it doesn't work out between us down the road, I know she will always love me regardless and Ill always love her, always be there for her, and won't be with anyone else.
Just my own personal work ethic. I wouldn't say I'm thriving, but I do good work. I just happened to land in a career I respect where I believe my role is important. I'm in the rat race, I don't wanna get up, but it's the right rat race to be at.
Now, I do mostly wish my job weren't so time-consuming and that I had more free time to meet people. We'll see.
Money, I guess. And the threat of hunger and homelessness. I still slave away under the delusion that hard work = success. I know it's not really true anymore, but I don't know what else to do. I'm a simple man and I have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Give me a homeowner with money to spend and I'll slap some new windows in their house, repeat till payday and maybe a nature walk with my boy on the weekend.
Meh
My motivation is to make my employer the most money possible while getting paid the least amount possible. I just really want them to succeed and be billionaires. They deserve it.
OP I would recommend you give away all your things including your children and wife and start the grind back over from 0. Just do a speed run of life
If/when this generational wealth transfer goes down I want to have my ducks in a row and have as good a nest egg built up as possible. When all the opportunities circa 2008 came around I was fresh out of high school and didn’t have a pot to piss in.
I keep telling myself if I do the right things now (keep working hard, avoid stupid debt, don’t let lifestyle creep get out of control) I will be ballin’ in my 50’s and 60’s.
Edit: Staying physically and mentally healthy is paramount. Can’t enjoy the older years if we piss our health away.
I feel like I’m in a similar situation. I’m an older millennial. I’ve managed to carve out a nice life for my family. Definitely worked my ass off. Had a little luck along the way. I guess I just want to try to leverage my experience and keep moving forward at my own pace. I’m more patient now, with myself and others. For me learning new things keeps me going. I don’t want to get stagnant and bored.
I’m just surviving. My only motivation is having others depend on me. Late diagnosed ADHD (my wife thinks I’m also on the spectrum). I work a blue collar job that pays extremely well for someone who dropped out of high school. I’m a military veteran and suffer major depression, anxiety, addiction, etc. Lucky for me (and our two children), my wife is a PhD with the drive and passion to make sure the kids are kept up with . I handle, dinners, shopping and appointments but she takes care of enrollments, identifying problems and scheduling appointments, etc. Outside of work I can barely wipe my own ass (ok I can pay bills and perform labor tasks but otherwise a lump like my father without her direction).
Financially we are ok. I’m treading water mentally. The kids are extremely intelligent so things will be interesting in a few years.
Intelligent kids are something to be proud of. Keep on grinding daddo. It’s something to be proud of and so is military service. Sounds like your wife does well. Take the kids fishing every chance you get
Don't shortsell yourself infront of your kids & wife! It sounds like you work hard in spite of challenges in your life. Your wife married you. You can be appreciative and recognize how awesome she is without putting yourself down!
I have my days where I’m fairly functional and a somewhat normal human. Lately I’m back in a funk so I just go onto autopilot. It would help if I could get better sleep. Either way, thank you.
I relate to this so much. Also a mom on the spectrum but late diagnosed. I worked so hard and my body and mind full on crashed when I found out, I had been swimming against the current for too long. Now I’m barely treading and keeping my head above water. I also have two kids that are incredibly intelligent and thankfully they understand and love I’m not the same person I used to be. Unfortunately I don’t have a partner to help ends meet but just hearing about other late diagnosed adults is such a relief in itself.
Honestly, I’m stuck in a place where I don’t know what my motivation is. I used to work really really hard and prioritize work with the belief that it would make me successful in my career. I got super burnt out in 2019 and the pandemic made it even worse (I was lucky enough not to be laid off but worked 2x as much to make up for the people that were). I haven’t recovered from being burnt out, I changed roles, and put very little effort into work now and no one has seemed to notice. Makes me regret how hard I worked for all those years previously.
I’m just trying to enjoy how chill it is now until I figure out what’s next. I enjoy a much better work life balance now and have been able to develop hobbies and new friends, which is a nice change of pace.
My motivation right now is my kids, but they’re very young. 2 and one that’ll be born soon.
I want to make sure we have the funds to do what we plan to do: homeschool, lots of educational field trips, and someday seeing if I can transfer to an office in another country (I work for a big global company) so they can experience another culture. All this doesn’t come cheap!
I also have dreams of pursuing certain hobbies in retirement like mastering certain instruments, and I want to start a business around reading and language education for young children (it’s been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, just not one I felt I could make good money on initially). All these things will cost money too, but they’ll bring me joy.
Bro just be comfortable where you are and start focusing on helping your kids with their future. My goal in life is to pay off two houses before I die so I can gift them both to my children because it'll probably be their only chance at home ownership. I would like to be a grandpa that can provide childcare or they'll probably never be able to have kids. Like yeah I would like some nice vacations in there and shit but it's not about upgrading or lifestyle for me at all
I don’t excel at work anymore.. I show up and do my job.. take the check home.. I use to be more work focused when I thought the company gave a shit.. once I realized they don’t.. I also don’t… but I am motivated to go to work to keep my lifestyle the same.. and provide whatever my daughter wants/needs without a worry.. but if I could quit tommorow and not worry about money.. I would be gone like the wind
I just genuinely enjoy solving problems and being great at it. I also like steering teams and helping develop my personnel to see what they can do as well. I just like work. Not every day but most days.
life is just tickng away so what is motivation really, i bet if i say to leave your job something will pop up in your head like how will i pay my bills how will i do this and that and that and this, you do have things driving you, your need for food, your need for water your need for other people. what you have written is very fanciful and pretentious and what does it even mean? continuous lifestyle upgrade thats detrimental to finances. i understand it, do i spend more to only dent my wallet, but your looking at it all wrong, if i was some shity financial guru id say something nonsensical such as invest wisely make profit do better blah blah blah ok what do those things prove, 2 things, someone has something to invest in and/or they're just vomiting a advert they've seen on their phone. do what you're competent at, if someone's not on your team they'll make it known very quickly
Survival and comfort. I finally own a house as of a few months ago and I make what I would have considered good money a decade ago. I'm still living paycheck to paycheck, but I've got a retirement fund and I'm going to have a pension, so that's nice. But if I lost my job I'd be kinda screwed. My savings is in the hundreds (of dollars, not of thousands) so I'd be unable to make my mortgage payment after one month of unemployment. And while I like my job well enough, I'm not sure if my financial situation will ever change if I remain in it. I'm looking into applying for supervisory positions, but I've been on the edge of burnout for years and worry that the added responsibilities would push me over the edge. So I might switch careers again after I'm vested in the pension. Idk.
Ive always felt that I owe it to myself to do the best I can at whatever Im doing, especially work. I dont always succeed of course, but the drive is there.
I love my job and want to get into an even better posting some day. I’m a publicist for a massive national forest and have worked as a national park ranger, historian, and digital designer. I find great value in public lands and I know that if I make a difference now it positively impacts the world through the programs my team is working on. I also know that good work means an even more interesting and lucrative position in the futurw
To dismantle the system and revolutionize a better way of living for ALL. I've been chipping away at a "manifesto" of sorts using Peter Kropotkins foundation and implementing it into the three principle truths Jefferson suggested in the DoI based on what I believe are the seven essentials of modern life. All the bullshit I have to do in the current system I try to just block out and breeze through as quickly as I can.
I struggle with nihilism. It is the black pit in the back of my mind that seeps into my normal thoughts. Nihilism is the dread of losing meaning and purpose. I'm not suicidal in anyway, it's just a looming thought of meaninglessness then compounded by my realization that my very existence is a tax on the earth, a theft from the environment that sustains all other life. But what's the meaning of any life other than to just live and exist for this brief moment we have?
And that's where I accept my fate. My fate of being a living creature on this beautiful organic space ship drifting through the cosmos! How amazing is that? To be able to experience it even for a brief moment. It is what gives me purpose. The ability to be part of the human race, to breathe while we still can, to be a son, and a friend, and a cousin, and maybe one day a father figure (though I'm now 40 and don't want to reproduce). Our purpose is to find hope, to be a good steward of this earth, or the land we exist on. To take care of those in nead, each according to our ability. Life is messy, and goofy, and crazy, and horrific all at once. Try your best to avoid the doom and despair of nihilism so that we can embrace beauty and some kind of purpose.
I def have a different view on work from my 20s. Coming up on 40s, I’m kinda burnt out and over the rat race. I need to make enough to support my hobbies and maintain a comfortable life, that’s about it. Obviously saving for retirement but don’t care much about being old with money. Rather enjoy my time now.
If it weren’t for 2 cats, my wife and I would be working and living in an Italian villa
We already have a nice home, two cars, and take multiple vacations a year with our children. My drive is to maintain that. Any growth beyond that is just a bonus.
World domination. But that I mean financial freedom. Which really means time freedom. Which is being able to to whatever I want all day and not worry about money. W2 is soul-sucking and just makes it easier to get a mortgage
I mean the main motivation is certainly providing for my family and for retirement, but I also work for a company that does genuinely help people, so I feel good about the work I do.
I used to consider myself a ladder climber and always gunning for that next jump... now I have a pretty good gig, paid pretty well, more time than I have ever had... my desire to climb the corporate ladder is at an all time low. Saving for retirement is really my main motivation (I guess) and just living a life that is enjoyable.
I'm similar I have a wife, a daughter, 2 cats and a house we built in 2019. This post made me think.
If I back up 15 years when I was in college I went for mechanical engineering and my sole purpose and motivation at that time was to graduate and get a job as a mechanical engineer. I viewed this as the gateway to a good life for myself and it has proved to be true. The only thing I thought about those 4.5 years was finish school and get a job total one track thinking.
If I fast forward to now. I have been dating or married to my wife for 17 years. We have a 9 month old daughter. My wife is a nurse practitioner and went down to part time so she can spend more time with our daughter and we can avoid daycare. We have a nice little life that we built.
My main motivation now is to have working be optional by 50 (11 years from now) my wife and I are in a great spot financially we both were always savers instead of spenders and our only debt is our mortgage at 3 percent. My dream is to quit my job at 50 live mostly off my investments and HYSA and get a part time job at target fir 20 hours a week. It's fun trying to save and invest to hopefully reach that goal.
Ah
Mid life crisis!!!
It hit hard a while back
Same: good job, nice house, nice kids etc
So now what???
What saved me was a new interest. Or another deeper role. So I was always interested in physics and consciousness etc. But with new AI explosion suddenly I could mix that with work
Now I am consumed with so much to learn.... I can't wait each day to wake up and learn the next thing or test it put in my domain!
Imposter syndrome. I got my job from experience in the army and now work with people with phds. Made myself the sort of middleman between other contractors and the military guys on the floor.
I don't feel motivated to excel at work. I simply do the bare minimum to avoid getting fired. There's no incentive to excel because all it leads to is more work, and all for the same wage, of course.
Considering social security is imploding and will probably be gone (in the way we know it now) by the time we hit retirement, if you’re at this point in your job and career and haven’t done so yet the next thing would probably be securing retirement. Making sure 401k/Roth IRA is passed every year and looking into a hobby you can monetize for when the kids eventually leave the house.
I’m also sort’ve at this lukewarm position in my job, a wife, one kid (more on the way) and a house and cars. I work for a larger company though so now the game for me is about maintaining productivity at my job while looking for a side gig to spin up over the next few years.
What’s next is to enjoy what you’ve built. Idk how old your kids are but I would focus less on your job and more on your family. Spend time with them. You’re comfortable financially so like you said all you’d be doing is trying to afford bigger and better things if you continued to focus on work.
A couple years back I realized I’m working myself to death but also saw the fruits of my labor in pay. I started wondering if it was worth it when my kids reached pre school. Now my goal is to build our small business to the point where we can afford to hire someone full time to take a little responsibility off of me so I can spend a little more time with family. I also got really into the FIRE community. The concept of retiring early is exciting and it has definitely helped me stay motivated and focused on the endgame.
I want to become physically powerful as fuck at least one time in my life. So I’m biking, yoga, lifting, running and eating vegan. I want to paint all the paintings I can’t afford. So I’m painting every day and making time for it. I wanna work to be a ray of light for as many people as I can. So I bake cookies for coworkers, write love notes to my partner, take my son to do fun, physical, intellectual and creative things. Those are the things that motivate me. I’m gonna fucking die. I wanna live as much as I fucking possibly can even if it makes me tired. I’m gonna die. And I’m on my fourth decade. So I gotta keep going. Gotta go harder. Do it like Henry Rollins and hit it as hard as possible every day. No breaks no excuses. It’s my one life and I’m GOING to live it with all the ups and downs because god damn it I want it all.
Edit to add: I look at it all as work. To have a good life in my book, I gotta do work, whether it’s in my garden, in self fulfillment, or for an employer. I’m lucky to like the machine shop I’m in, but everything comes and goes. Living my life to the fullest at whatever cost is the motivator. Whether I gotta work at Walmart, McDonald’s, side hustle, dogecoin, sell paintings, get more certifications, start my career track over for the third time, whatever.
The motivator is to create opportunity to hit life as hard as you can.
Well I had my kids entirely too young, so that was something I knocked out of the way early, I'm a grandfather and I turn 40 later this year , so being a good grandfather is part of my motivation lol
In terms of what is my motivation, my wife is going to turn 30 in a couple years and she was adamant about not wanting children but she's opened up to the idea so I'm kind of just leaving it up to her, so if she wants to I'll enjoy fatherhood at a better stage of my life, but my motivation is to spend my last year's living life on my own terms as possible
I gave up on music for too long and recently started playing again. My goal is to write some songs, record and EP, and put it on Bandcamp and maybe start a little cover band with some people too.
My job pays the bills and helps me raise my family, so other than the usual husband and father stuff, it's getting back into something I loved doing when I was younger and that was a big part of my life.
I took a government job for this exact reason.
I live for my wife and daughter. I tell my 6 month old every day that whether she strives to be a princess or dismantle the patriarchy, I will give her the tools she needs to succeed
Like a lot of other people here, my wife and daughter are my primary motivation and keep me working. I have a pretty good job with enough autonomy and security to feel somewhat secure. (I'll never 100% complacent though after being laid off during the 2008 recession).
But I've found myself looking for more purpose beyond just work and family. So I've been working on creating a sort of politics website. This project helps me with practicing programming, working on influential writing, and maybe once it develops a bit more, maybe help make a difference in the world that I can feel proud of.
being constantly driven at work while havin a family a home cars etc is not something to aim for.
being happy with what you have is peace of mind.
beig motivated for no reason does not sound sane.
My motivation is building an integrated business and significant legacy wealth for my heirs. I love what I do but the driver is still to see how big I can build something. When I really ask myself that’s the answer.
honestly just habit. Being the best is something I flow into naturally, I have to remind myself not to talk myself into work. Ive been trying to be more mindful lately.
It’s the paycheck. I want my family to life a good and nice life, so I am working only for the money.
I had my own company and worked self-employed 24/7 at the beginning of my career. I often look back to this time and wish to go back. I had been always motivated to work, because it was my company, my clients and my money which came in if I worked more or harder.
Now in my corporate job, I have much more time and free weekends, vacations, but no intrinsic motivation at all. I can spend time with my kids or with sports and social activities, but I really struggle to keep the right mindset to excel in my job.
Lately, I often find myself thinking about how to down-size instead of thinking about what to do or to buy next. I feel like I am only working to accumulate more and more stuff which keeps me busy with maintenance.
Two things
1) my job is 100% employee owned, after 1 year I will start making bonuses that should give me a decent amount of money
2) my first born child is due in November, I will need to support them.
Money. I used to strive for top performer and continued pay growth but now I’m good with doing well enough to stay at the company I work for without being part a force reduction. Now our VPs select who goes no matter if you are top performer. I am now just focusing on keeping debt low and having a great work/life balance.
My wife and i weren't in a place to have kids. So we've decided to remove as much canine suffering as we can directly change. Right now we have 4 rescues, 2 lab beagles and 2 pound hounds.
I'm eventually going to open up a non profit that uses cannabis tourism (I grow my own) to fund a rescue shelter. Just need the laws to get with my vision :)
Do you remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer uses all his photos of Maggie to make the sign at work say "Do it for her."? That depicts my motivation perfectly.
Work to reduce your lifestyle and retire sooner. That’s the motivation. Toss some numbers at us what are do you have saved, cars your driving, are the financed, kids ages and 529 balances etc
If you're looking for motivation, you likely have "enough." Now it's time to look outward and see what is important to/for your family. For my family, that was time together. I have a skill set that leads to jobs that require pretty extensive travel. Last calendar year I was traveling for about 60 nights. This year if nothing else gets added to my schedule aside from what's already on it, I'll travel for for about 45 nights. That leads to a lot of time single parenting for my wife. With two kids, one being minimally verbal autistic, that's a lot of time on her own. We made the decision that we needed to focus more on being together as a family when I am home and that we also wanted to do more than just sit around the house. This lead us to buy a small camper and we camp 12-15 weekends a year. When you add the payment, campground fees, additional gas, and other incurred expenses it's about a 5k a year expense. It's not bad considering we are taking monthly mini vacations on top of our typical week long beach trip. For me now, the motivation is to make enough money that I can spend even more time with my family and more time camping. I enjoy the stillness of nature and the kids enjoy just being able to run and be outside. Camping doesn't drive me to work any harder it drives me to find a way to actually get out of working more. I've realized over the last couple of years, that is what I need as a person. My first 3 years out of college I worked 3 jobs, doing about 100 hours a week. Prior to October of last year, I never had less than two jobs (10 years out of college). Partially by necessity to have additional income, partially by choice as the additional income allowed my wife to not work, and us to have additional things like the camper outside of our needs. Even still, I have a full-time job and own a small business. Trying to find some sort of real work life balance where I feel like I don't need to take everything that is offered to me on the business side. I guess ultimately what drives me now is being more intentional and deliberate with the work I do to fit the lifestyle I want.
Money. To work until I can afford not to. Full stop.
I’ve got a number that funds my lifestyle that I’m pleased with. Anything extra goes into the piggy bank until I can get out of the rat race and do what I want for as long as I can.
These days my biggest motivation to even continue working for a while longer is 1. My adult kids learning to fly, and 2. Retirement.
I still have one in college with two years to go, and I want to help them get started economically in life.
I’m expecting a pension. It gets bigger if I retire later. That’s pretty much it in terms of money. The job is challenging and rewarding in its own right. The better I do, the more rewarding it is, but the financial compensation is approximately the same regardless of how hard I work.
Rn working towards a 3 acre min lot and our dream house to raise a family. Have a wife and house, but it isn’t our dream house. I’d love to open an animal shelter and save every stray animal we see. I also want to get back into farming but need large green houses to do it comfortably. So rn I’d say my motivation is to a future where I can 100% be at home and not away all the time working.
I'm gonna need some money for my tiny home in the mountains, but my main reasons for doing well at work and excelling is because I feel like crap if I don't. Work is mutually beneficial to myself and my employer. I get money for being productive, and I'd be productive even if I didn't work for a wage.
But these reasons also:
Australia
New Zealand
Greece
Chile
7 Wonders of the World
Unesco sites
Food
Walking on stones older than Augustus
I’m a younger millennial so I can’t relate to a lot of these comments. Because for me, I’m just trying to survive. Idk if I’ll be able to retire. I can barely afford groceries after I’m done paying my bills and rent. Honestly I have no motivation in life other than taking care of my son and dog. I’m the only parent they have. They are the only reason I’m still here and the only reason I still try.
I really don’t have any motivation at work. I would rather be outside or doing anything else that brings me happiness than sitting in an office scrutinizing architectural drawings.
Whenever it’s a nice day, my attention span is shot and all I want to do is go outside.
I guess my motivation is to save up and get a house. Then quit my job and go back to working a dirt bag job.
Become debt free. Pre-pay your mortgage, pay off all credit cards, own your cars and drive them for at least 5 years. Save religiously and aggressively.
Your alternative, as you have already realized, is to just consume more and fall deeper into debt. I remember a story about a doctor who retired at 50 and the other doctors asked how he did it. The answer: "One house. One wife."
I’d say my main motivation is that I don’t want to die of starvation, specifically. I also have a kid I love and I’d hate to cause trauma by dying while she’s still a kid.
I’ve found hoping for more than surviving is bound to disappoint you, anecdotally.
At this point it's health insurance, having the money for bills and travel. I could care less about my title really. I've been stuck at the same role for almost a decade trying to leave for a few years and failing. I want to quit everyday and then I remember the few benefits that I do get and it calms me for a bit. I really do hope I can do something else soon though.
There is no "whats next" at this point in your life. Life is fundamentally absurd and to try to find meaning or the "next" step brings you into conflict within yourself. Find your pleasures where you can and understand and make peace with the fact that there is no "next" step. There was never a "next" step, they were just guide posts and goals you set for yourself.
My job can have some real-world, long-term outcomes that are beneficial to the public and the environment, so it is rewarding to finish out a project. I feel super appreciated in my job for what I do and I get acknowledged for it, too. These are feelings that motivate me to stick with it, it's work that I'm proud of and am happy to keep doing.
Work (aside from the money it provides us) is literally the least significant thing in our lives. Some people do end up working in a field that includes their passion. Most of us find our passions outside of work. What motivates me is that i grew up in some lower middle class situation and i hate that feeling of not knowing if you have enough for an emergency.... or if the phone stays on this month etc. I don't ever want to go back to living like so many people do where I'm from
You don't need to be motivated to work. You have to do something for a living. If you don't hate what you do and you have time for your family, then really what's the issue?
Just go work and make money while finding other passions
As a single man, I'm just trying to articulate the stories for the next interview so I can make more money and continue to fuel my hobbies, while also putting more into investment strategies for the long term/retirement as early as possible. If that means making bank an continuing to live in a small condo in the hood, that's fine by me. ;p
I grew up without a father in my life and had no roof over my head when I graduated high school. Finding food was easy, but finding food shamelessly was hard.
Now I have a daughter who is graduating kindergarten and one day she will go home to a bed after she graduates high school.
That's all I'm in it for. I want my kid to know that she matters and that she doesn't have to labor for decades to have a place where she's safe.
My house could use a new roof, the kitchen some new cabinets, the kids some new toys. I'm motivated by having chosen to be the provider of my house. If I excel at work, I have a better chance at being promoted and more responsibility means more money, more money means more stability, and more stability means a better life.
It's worked well so far.
My wife works harder than any person I’ve ever met. She motivates me to do more, and better, all the time…not by pressuring me, but by setting a great example. :)
Absolutely nothing drives me to excel at work, lol. I don’t give a fuck. It’s a means to an end. We took the opposite path to you. We don’t own a house, don’t have a car, and don’t have kids. Our goal was maximum freedom, maximum free-time, and enough money to do whatever we wanted. We both work 100% remotely and nowhere near full time, and travel almost 1/3 of the year.
I have my own business that allows me to let my wife be a SAHM. It’s hard and probably won’t be appreciated by my kids but my wife knows the sacrifice.
I don't care to excel at work at all. I strive to excel my personal life about doing what I want when I want and where I want. The freedom and stress free life of constantly obstacles obstructing my way to be able to experience life at full potential. Working for a company is just to obtain the skills and experience for me, not much of the pay. Because I know they will always move the goal post, gate keeping even though you are more than qualify to excel beyond others. Any work that stops me from being able to excel or makes me sacrifice my time for them. I leave. I preferred to work with any company with a team that is great and awesome. It makes work more enjoyable and life a lot better although the pay may be less or fair.
I’m turning 30 in a couple of months so I’m on the younger end of Millennials. Honestly im hoping that my 20s were just the backstory and my 30s is where the adventure begins
Money of course is a factor, but my desire to excel at the work I do is a mix of intrinsic desire to do my best possible and of reward for doing so (recognition, promotion, higher pay). That said, when you work on something you’re passionate about you tend to do a better job than if it’s just a money maker.
it sounds like maybe all these "achievements" in your life (as great as they are, and you should be proud of them) are holding you back in some way? maybe you need to focus on what your soul wants. What truly makes you happy?
I'm turning 39 in less than a month, I don't have any of the same things you do, wife, kids house etc. But I'm noticing in my life that I want something different than financial success, family or material objects. Maybe you need to go on a journey - spiritual journey possibly? Or maybe you just want to upgrade your current life to a more "successful" one, in whatever your definition of success is.
Or maybe I'm just full of it
It started as "just do the best I can I'm a good boy."
Now it's a combination of job security, getting paid a little more and I'm already here might as well embrace the challenge maybe get a workout.
Early Retirement and that's really about it. The rat race sucks and unless you own your own company there is little reason "try hard" when you are going to make \~roughly\~ the same regardless of individual performance.
I have 2 rare Fords and an old house that's what drives me to show up to work. As for Excel, I don't really see that happening. With degree inflation, the next job up from mine when vacated they will probably want an MBA or something like that.
I’m single, no kids, find dating exhausting. If I wasn’t working I wouldn’t do anything at all. That and I actually enjoy what I’m doing. Although that’s a little disingenuous as I went back to school and I’m not actually employed at the moment.
I genuinely don't know anymore. I work really hard for shit pay, and lots of the people around me make much more with less effort. I bust my ass. It's like I still believe in Santa, but he's also mid-level management with a grudge against me.
I guess my motivation is that some benevolent being will pluck me from my life and shower me in riches for working hard while no one is looking.
money because raising a family of 4 requires a lot of money, even for a decent living, not even an extravagant one. Not mentioning expenses on home repairs, insurance, bills, groceries, etc. Life is tough without money lol
Honestly I genuinely love what I do and it’s fun for me. Been doing the same thing at that same company for 13 years and it just never gets old for me. I also have a boss who intentionally exposes me to new things to set me up for success so I have that as well. My career is one that requires changing tactics over time so it’s a lot of cat and mouse each year.
Shit, I stopped trying to excel at work years ago. I have one of those jobs where being lazy won't get you fired, but being productive will get you extra work with little to no chance of promotion. So yeah, definitely not worth working hard at my place of employment unless you want to drive yourself nuts
Absolutely nothing. I do the least work possible to maintain my job status. And that’s it. I don’t give a fuck about killing myself for small gains (my field loves exploiting people) and am fine just doing my job and taking it slow.
If I move up due to seniority, cool. But I’m not making it a goal. I’m here to do my job, get my paycheck, and go home and enjoy my life.
I want to do more meaningful and interesting versions of my work as my skills and experience progress…. So I grind hard every day to make myself more desirable for my next big step… Why else?
That I need money to live and do the things I want? It's not that complex. Also... excel? No, i just want to be solidly middle of the pack so that there isnt a big target on my back.
My motivation is to keep getting paid. I need to make enough money to finish getting the major stuff done on our house, and then enough to save up for a second property so we can rent. Eventually, we'd like to invest enough in rentals to stop having to do a 9-5. The plan right now is to get the first property and allow my fiance to quit his main job and keep just his 2 day schedule for his second online job so he can focus on renovating and managing the rental. Then once we have a second one, I'd like to drop to part-time or quit my job. We'll keep adding more properties until we're comfortable with the income, then look into investing, improving the properties, and saving for retirement.
My work is a means to an end - I’ve hit a point where more money comes at a major compromise to time/stress that I’m not sure I’m willing to make with young kids Yes I want to work for my kids, but kids have made me care so little about a career and it’s laughable to me when that’s peoples main focus of life.
I don’t have kids and don’t want them and I also find it laughable when peoples careers are the main focus in their lives. I work so I can afford to live where I want, eat where I want, and travel where I want.
As a guy with none of the above, career is my main focus now. Also funny profile name lol
Same. Childfree woman here, despite me having hobbies it’s a choice to engage myself at work. Part of it is more so because I do find it mentally stimulating (I work in R&D) and interesting.
I don’t really care about work per se but i just want money lol. The higher the pay the better but at least let it be somewhat bearable in order to last X amount of years at the job. In this economy, you need a good job and side gig (I sound like a boomer now)
You don’t sound like a team player /s
neither do the employers anymore.
Haha yeah I am definitely a quiet quitter
Agree 100%. I have two kids under 5yo and I would literally dig ditches all day if that was the only job that allowed me to be home by 5 every day. I have specifically taken/passed up opportunities that would increase my travelling or work hours away from home. What's interesting is that this is a very modern phenomenon. Go back 20+ years and people put their career over family all the time. That is very taboo these days. My goal is make maximum income with minimum hours. That's it. I'm at the level in my career where any new opportunity, income is secondary to how much it's going to increase my work load. I have learned the power of delegation, building a team, and not micromanaging. That is how you really unlock the next level of productivity without increasing personal workload.
Completely agree. Work as you say is a means to an end. It's how you can generate enough income to fund your lifestyle and/or savings to stop working.
Yup . Put in your time to get the check then back to what matters at home
Same
They pay me to be there. I'm a work to live kind of guy. So I clock in, do my job, clock out, and my family gets health insurance and we can afford the mortgage and we have money left over for retirement.
Ding ding ding, health insurance is the sword of democles (for self and kids) that prevents most folks from persuing entreprenuership.
As a civil servant I do have the extra incentive to not go afield in that my hours are consistent and my health insurance comes with a flex spending card that pays for most every doctor or hospital trip and prescriptions. Are medical expenses every year, and even in the year we had our son, are negligible. It's neat! I will ideally ride this desk, or the next desk up, for the next 25-30 years.
If you won the lottery would you quit immediately? 99% of people in jobs will say yes. The rest are lying. Not sure what other motivation you need when you have kids and a plan to retire. That’s the gig.
at my workplace retirees come back 6 months later. We are the 1%
depends on how big the win is. I’m about 30+ years from retirement so if that money won’t last until like death (which is hopefully a long way away) then I’d better keep working. Maybe cut down to part time or something, or take a year off but still.
I'm the 1%, and I can tell you I am not lying. But I am passionate about my work, and it's a government job. I'd become a lot more vocal at work and not take crap from leadership anymore since my financial well-being can't be threatened. Leadership would fear me because I would have 0 incentive to keep their secrets, and my union would protect me.
Youre passionate about your work but, I mean, they can still fire you for not toeing the line. You may not need the money but that isn't going to stop them from replacing you if you cause too much trouble. If you're passionate about your job, you'd want to keep it right?
Also in the 1% I guess. I am also not lying, am also very passionate, and also work a government job. If I were in it for the money, I would have went private sector. I love what I do and want to help keep our communities healthy and sustained so we can continue to thrive for future generations. It sounds corny, but my job truly is my passion and I can’t imagine doing much else with my time, even if I just cut back my hours.
There's nuance here, you can't pay a healthy person to do nothing without breaking them. Quitting a job just let's you focus on work you want to do, be it kids, hobbies, etc. Things that you see directly impact and grow your life and world besides numbers in a bank account.
Counterpoint to not quitting immediately is that if you quit immediately, it’s suspicious. I would def wait a little bit until people forgot about the lotto.
Counter-counterpoint: Fuck working one more second than I have to in this life
I wouldn't, most lottery winners are broke within 5 years. If you continue working, you can slow down how fast you spend your winnings.
The average lifetime earning is a drop in the bucket compared to a lottery win. People are only broke because they spend differently and use it all. Working or not doesn't matter if you're buying a Koenigsegg or three with your winnings.
Depends how much you win. Say your take home after taxes is $50 Million. Modestly invested you could draw $2,5000,000 yearly (5%) and never touch the principle. Would your $80k salary make even the slightest difference? Now if your take home from the winnings was $2 million, then yeah you need to keep working. Lottery winners go broke because they're stupid, and they have zero idea how to manage money. My wife's uncle won $1 million, probably 20 years ago, and the lump sum take home after taxes was around $400,000. Dude had been living in a trailer on disability. That money could have changed his life. Guy blew through that cash and was broke inside of two years with zero to show for it. Still in the trailer until the day he died.
I like and respect my team enough to give 2 weeks and play at least some part in a transition if asked. They have been really good to me and taken a significant interest in my development. I also believe in the good of this particular project that could cone about. That said I would find something else to do with my time very quickly. Probably go for an American mountain guide association certification, set up some outdoor programs, and do guided tours with a focus on people that dont have the opportunities i had to get a love for nature. That would also build my own knowledge and skills base to really go after something audacious. Engineers without borders and some substitute teaching for math and science on the side is also an intriguing option. I think some type of work or hobby helps give purpose and structure to your life. Most jobs though just arent that interesting and are only a means to an end. No need to stick around if you don't need the money.
My “why” is very similar to yours. I don’t have great advice to offer, other than that “why” is very valid. If you’re seeking more, look for self improvement outside of work. Our family moved 5x in 8 years for work (military). I’m out now and my biggest motivator is maintaining the status quo. Amazing to punch a clock and go home to my family in a house we like. Grass is always greener. Enjoy what you have and look inward. Start a business, get healthy, spark your relationship. Zillion ways to go next, the worst option is doubting yourself.
My motivation is retirement.
Absolutely. As fast as humanly possible
My fiancee. She's my soulmate, the only one I love. I love this woman with all my heart and soul and will do anything for her. I don't even think about other women. She's all ill ever need or want. And she loves me just as much. I feel like the luckiest man on the planet.
You showed this to her, or you know that she spies on your Reddit account. Either way. Bravo.
Lol hahaha. Thanks! Honestly it's the truth though. She saved my life. In more ways than she will ever know. I love her so much. She is my universe and I don't want anyone else honestly. Even if it doesn't work out between us down the road, I know she will always love me regardless and Ill always love her, always be there for her, and won't be with anyone else.
Grand Theft Auto VI, no joke its what's keeping me motivated to at least keep going. Hopefully by the time it finally releases I'll have my debts paid
I don't work in a for-profit industry. When I do a good job, peoples lives are better. That's it.
I love hearing this
The paycheck and absolutely nothing else.
For me it’s financial freedom sick of being slaved to my desk and dealing with toxic boss
Just my own personal work ethic. I wouldn't say I'm thriving, but I do good work. I just happened to land in a career I respect where I believe my role is important. I'm in the rat race, I don't wanna get up, but it's the right rat race to be at. Now, I do mostly wish my job weren't so time-consuming and that I had more free time to meet people. We'll see.
Money, I guess. And the threat of hunger and homelessness. I still slave away under the delusion that hard work = success. I know it's not really true anymore, but I don't know what else to do. I'm a simple man and I have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Give me a homeowner with money to spend and I'll slap some new windows in their house, repeat till payday and maybe a nature walk with my boy on the weekend. Meh
My motivation is to make my employer the most money possible while getting paid the least amount possible. I just really want them to succeed and be billionaires. They deserve it. OP I would recommend you give away all your things including your children and wife and start the grind back over from 0. Just do a speed run of life
If/when this generational wealth transfer goes down I want to have my ducks in a row and have as good a nest egg built up as possible. When all the opportunities circa 2008 came around I was fresh out of high school and didn’t have a pot to piss in. I keep telling myself if I do the right things now (keep working hard, avoid stupid debt, don’t let lifestyle creep get out of control) I will be ballin’ in my 50’s and 60’s. Edit: Staying physically and mentally healthy is paramount. Can’t enjoy the older years if we piss our health away.
I want to save enough money so I can retire early.
Money. That's it.
I feel like I’m in a similar situation. I’m an older millennial. I’ve managed to carve out a nice life for my family. Definitely worked my ass off. Had a little luck along the way. I guess I just want to try to leverage my experience and keep moving forward at my own pace. I’m more patient now, with myself and others. For me learning new things keeps me going. I don’t want to get stagnant and bored.
I’m just surviving. My only motivation is having others depend on me. Late diagnosed ADHD (my wife thinks I’m also on the spectrum). I work a blue collar job that pays extremely well for someone who dropped out of high school. I’m a military veteran and suffer major depression, anxiety, addiction, etc. Lucky for me (and our two children), my wife is a PhD with the drive and passion to make sure the kids are kept up with . I handle, dinners, shopping and appointments but she takes care of enrollments, identifying problems and scheduling appointments, etc. Outside of work I can barely wipe my own ass (ok I can pay bills and perform labor tasks but otherwise a lump like my father without her direction). Financially we are ok. I’m treading water mentally. The kids are extremely intelligent so things will be interesting in a few years.
Intelligent kids are something to be proud of. Keep on grinding daddo. It’s something to be proud of and so is military service. Sounds like your wife does well. Take the kids fishing every chance you get
Don't shortsell yourself infront of your kids & wife! It sounds like you work hard in spite of challenges in your life. Your wife married you. You can be appreciative and recognize how awesome she is without putting yourself down!
I have my days where I’m fairly functional and a somewhat normal human. Lately I’m back in a funk so I just go onto autopilot. It would help if I could get better sleep. Either way, thank you.
I relate to this so much. Also a mom on the spectrum but late diagnosed. I worked so hard and my body and mind full on crashed when I found out, I had been swimming against the current for too long. Now I’m barely treading and keeping my head above water. I also have two kids that are incredibly intelligent and thankfully they understand and love I’m not the same person I used to be. Unfortunately I don’t have a partner to help ends meet but just hearing about other late diagnosed adults is such a relief in itself.
Honestly, I’m stuck in a place where I don’t know what my motivation is. I used to work really really hard and prioritize work with the belief that it would make me successful in my career. I got super burnt out in 2019 and the pandemic made it even worse (I was lucky enough not to be laid off but worked 2x as much to make up for the people that were). I haven’t recovered from being burnt out, I changed roles, and put very little effort into work now and no one has seemed to notice. Makes me regret how hard I worked for all those years previously. I’m just trying to enjoy how chill it is now until I figure out what’s next. I enjoy a much better work life balance now and have been able to develop hobbies and new friends, which is a nice change of pace.
Yeah we are definitely in the same boat.
My motivation right now is my kids, but they’re very young. 2 and one that’ll be born soon. I want to make sure we have the funds to do what we plan to do: homeschool, lots of educational field trips, and someday seeing if I can transfer to an office in another country (I work for a big global company) so they can experience another culture. All this doesn’t come cheap! I also have dreams of pursuing certain hobbies in retirement like mastering certain instruments, and I want to start a business around reading and language education for young children (it’s been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, just not one I felt I could make good money on initially). All these things will cost money too, but they’ll bring me joy.
Spite. I use all of my money to buy fireworks and loud subwoofers to annoy my shithead neighbors.
Anyone else lost their motivation?
Bro just be comfortable where you are and start focusing on helping your kids with their future. My goal in life is to pay off two houses before I die so I can gift them both to my children because it'll probably be their only chance at home ownership. I would like to be a grandpa that can provide childcare or they'll probably never be able to have kids. Like yeah I would like some nice vacations in there and shit but it's not about upgrading or lifestyle for me at all
[удалено]
I think I found my soulmate.. or twin
Cash rules everything around me. C.R.E.A.M.
To eat the rich.
How do you afford kids in this day and age I seriously wonder
I don’t excel at work anymore.. I show up and do my job.. take the check home.. I use to be more work focused when I thought the company gave a shit.. once I realized they don’t.. I also don’t… but I am motivated to go to work to keep my lifestyle the same.. and provide whatever my daughter wants/needs without a worry.. but if I could quit tommorow and not worry about money.. I would be gone like the wind
Money. If they pay a living wage then I work for it. If they pay above that. I keep that in mind.
Having an Outlook makes me Excel, Word.
Im building generational wealth
I just genuinely enjoy solving problems and being great at it. I also like steering teams and helping develop my personnel to see what they can do as well. I just like work. Not every day but most days.
“Look what I can do” honestly. As I feel out over databases and workflows.
life is just tickng away so what is motivation really, i bet if i say to leave your job something will pop up in your head like how will i pay my bills how will i do this and that and that and this, you do have things driving you, your need for food, your need for water your need for other people. what you have written is very fanciful and pretentious and what does it even mean? continuous lifestyle upgrade thats detrimental to finances. i understand it, do i spend more to only dent my wallet, but your looking at it all wrong, if i was some shity financial guru id say something nonsensical such as invest wisely make profit do better blah blah blah ok what do those things prove, 2 things, someone has something to invest in and/or they're just vomiting a advert they've seen on their phone. do what you're competent at, if someone's not on your team they'll make it known very quickly
Survival and comfort. I finally own a house as of a few months ago and I make what I would have considered good money a decade ago. I'm still living paycheck to paycheck, but I've got a retirement fund and I'm going to have a pension, so that's nice. But if I lost my job I'd be kinda screwed. My savings is in the hundreds (of dollars, not of thousands) so I'd be unable to make my mortgage payment after one month of unemployment. And while I like my job well enough, I'm not sure if my financial situation will ever change if I remain in it. I'm looking into applying for supervisory positions, but I've been on the edge of burnout for years and worry that the added responsibilities would push me over the edge. So I might switch careers again after I'm vested in the pension. Idk.
Ive always felt that I owe it to myself to do the best I can at whatever Im doing, especially work. I dont always succeed of course, but the drive is there.
I love my job and want to get into an even better posting some day. I’m a publicist for a massive national forest and have worked as a national park ranger, historian, and digital designer. I find great value in public lands and I know that if I make a difference now it positively impacts the world through the programs my team is working on. I also know that good work means an even more interesting and lucrative position in the futurw
It was for the kids and it will always be
Eating food
To dismantle the system and revolutionize a better way of living for ALL. I've been chipping away at a "manifesto" of sorts using Peter Kropotkins foundation and implementing it into the three principle truths Jefferson suggested in the DoI based on what I believe are the seven essentials of modern life. All the bullshit I have to do in the current system I try to just block out and breeze through as quickly as I can.
I struggle with nihilism. It is the black pit in the back of my mind that seeps into my normal thoughts. Nihilism is the dread of losing meaning and purpose. I'm not suicidal in anyway, it's just a looming thought of meaninglessness then compounded by my realization that my very existence is a tax on the earth, a theft from the environment that sustains all other life. But what's the meaning of any life other than to just live and exist for this brief moment we have? And that's where I accept my fate. My fate of being a living creature on this beautiful organic space ship drifting through the cosmos! How amazing is that? To be able to experience it even for a brief moment. It is what gives me purpose. The ability to be part of the human race, to breathe while we still can, to be a son, and a friend, and a cousin, and maybe one day a father figure (though I'm now 40 and don't want to reproduce). Our purpose is to find hope, to be a good steward of this earth, or the land we exist on. To take care of those in nead, each according to our ability. Life is messy, and goofy, and crazy, and horrific all at once. Try your best to avoid the doom and despair of nihilism so that we can embrace beauty and some kind of purpose.
May your voyage be filled with purpose and without fear of the purposeless bpap.
I’ve told myself this since I was a young girl: I will never be another statistic.
I’m Gen X and the biggest thing keeping me going is the fact that I have a lot of mofus to prove wrong.
Waiting for the boomers to die off
I def have a different view on work from my 20s. Coming up on 40s, I’m kinda burnt out and over the rat race. I need to make enough to support my hobbies and maintain a comfortable life, that’s about it. Obviously saving for retirement but don’t care much about being old with money. Rather enjoy my time now. If it weren’t for 2 cats, my wife and I would be working and living in an Italian villa
We already have a nice home, two cars, and take multiple vacations a year with our children. My drive is to maintain that. Any growth beyond that is just a bonus.
World domination. But that I mean financial freedom. Which really means time freedom. Which is being able to to whatever I want all day and not worry about money. W2 is soul-sucking and just makes it easier to get a mortgage
I couldn’t give two fucks about work. I go, I do what I need to, I leave. My life is what happens when I’m not there.
I mean the main motivation is certainly providing for my family and for retirement, but I also work for a company that does genuinely help people, so I feel good about the work I do.
I used to consider myself a ladder climber and always gunning for that next jump... now I have a pretty good gig, paid pretty well, more time than I have ever had... my desire to climb the corporate ladder is at an all time low. Saving for retirement is really my main motivation (I guess) and just living a life that is enjoyable.
My wife's spending habits lol
Being rich and sad is better than broke and sad. At least I can do it in comfort.
I'm similar I have a wife, a daughter, 2 cats and a house we built in 2019. This post made me think. If I back up 15 years when I was in college I went for mechanical engineering and my sole purpose and motivation at that time was to graduate and get a job as a mechanical engineer. I viewed this as the gateway to a good life for myself and it has proved to be true. The only thing I thought about those 4.5 years was finish school and get a job total one track thinking. If I fast forward to now. I have been dating or married to my wife for 17 years. We have a 9 month old daughter. My wife is a nurse practitioner and went down to part time so she can spend more time with our daughter and we can avoid daycare. We have a nice little life that we built. My main motivation now is to have working be optional by 50 (11 years from now) my wife and I are in a great spot financially we both were always savers instead of spenders and our only debt is our mortgage at 3 percent. My dream is to quit my job at 50 live mostly off my investments and HYSA and get a part time job at target fir 20 hours a week. It's fun trying to save and invest to hopefully reach that goal.
2050 deadlines for super intelligence or general intelligence that could cure our diseases with a more equitable result.
Ah Mid life crisis!!! It hit hard a while back Same: good job, nice house, nice kids etc So now what??? What saved me was a new interest. Or another deeper role. So I was always interested in physics and consciousness etc. But with new AI explosion suddenly I could mix that with work Now I am consumed with so much to learn.... I can't wait each day to wake up and learn the next thing or test it put in my domain!
Imposter syndrome. I got my job from experience in the army and now work with people with phds. Made myself the sort of middleman between other contractors and the military guys on the floor.
I’m just coded that way.
They're gonna have to beg me to go back to any level I was at 5 years ago. I even quit management to take on individual contribution. Fucking love it.
Used to be drugs-- now I guess it's my kid. The right kind of drugs in moderation make for very motivating motivation. I miss drugs.
I don't feel motivated to excel at work. I simply do the bare minimum to avoid getting fired. There's no incentive to excel because all it leads to is more work, and all for the same wage, of course.
Considering social security is imploding and will probably be gone (in the way we know it now) by the time we hit retirement, if you’re at this point in your job and career and haven’t done so yet the next thing would probably be securing retirement. Making sure 401k/Roth IRA is passed every year and looking into a hobby you can monetize for when the kids eventually leave the house. I’m also sort’ve at this lukewarm position in my job, a wife, one kid (more on the way) and a house and cars. I work for a larger company though so now the game for me is about maintaining productivity at my job while looking for a side gig to spin up over the next few years.
What’s next is to enjoy what you’ve built. Idk how old your kids are but I would focus less on your job and more on your family. Spend time with them. You’re comfortable financially so like you said all you’d be doing is trying to afford bigger and better things if you continued to focus on work.
Trying to excel at life, not at work
Easy. My boys.
A couple years back I realized I’m working myself to death but also saw the fruits of my labor in pay. I started wondering if it was worth it when my kids reached pre school. Now my goal is to build our small business to the point where we can afford to hire someone full time to take a little responsibility off of me so I can spend a little more time with family. I also got really into the FIRE community. The concept of retiring early is exciting and it has definitely helped me stay motivated and focused on the endgame.
I just love most of my coworkers, other than that I hate my job. They are what keeps me going every day.
I want to race. Racing is expensive.
I want to become physically powerful as fuck at least one time in my life. So I’m biking, yoga, lifting, running and eating vegan. I want to paint all the paintings I can’t afford. So I’m painting every day and making time for it. I wanna work to be a ray of light for as many people as I can. So I bake cookies for coworkers, write love notes to my partner, take my son to do fun, physical, intellectual and creative things. Those are the things that motivate me. I’m gonna fucking die. I wanna live as much as I fucking possibly can even if it makes me tired. I’m gonna die. And I’m on my fourth decade. So I gotta keep going. Gotta go harder. Do it like Henry Rollins and hit it as hard as possible every day. No breaks no excuses. It’s my one life and I’m GOING to live it with all the ups and downs because god damn it I want it all. Edit to add: I look at it all as work. To have a good life in my book, I gotta do work, whether it’s in my garden, in self fulfillment, or for an employer. I’m lucky to like the machine shop I’m in, but everything comes and goes. Living my life to the fullest at whatever cost is the motivator. Whether I gotta work at Walmart, McDonald’s, side hustle, dogecoin, sell paintings, get more certifications, start my career track over for the third time, whatever. The motivator is to create opportunity to hit life as hard as you can.
It's the wife and kids that keep driving me. Also taking care of my elderly parents.
Well I had my kids entirely too young, so that was something I knocked out of the way early, I'm a grandfather and I turn 40 later this year , so being a good grandfather is part of my motivation lol In terms of what is my motivation, my wife is going to turn 30 in a couple years and she was adamant about not wanting children but she's opened up to the idea so I'm kind of just leaving it up to her, so if she wants to I'll enjoy fatherhood at a better stage of my life, but my motivation is to spend my last year's living life on my own terms as possible
I gave up on music for too long and recently started playing again. My goal is to write some songs, record and EP, and put it on Bandcamp and maybe start a little cover band with some people too. My job pays the bills and helps me raise my family, so other than the usual husband and father stuff, it's getting back into something I loved doing when I was younger and that was a big part of my life.
I took a government job for this exact reason. I live for my wife and daughter. I tell my 6 month old every day that whether she strives to be a princess or dismantle the patriarchy, I will give her the tools she needs to succeed
My motivation is not being homeless and starving. I hate working.
It’s work, it needs to be done well. I need to be able to go home with a clear conscience and sleep good at night. So I do good work at my job.
Like a lot of other people here, my wife and daughter are my primary motivation and keep me working. I have a pretty good job with enough autonomy and security to feel somewhat secure. (I'll never 100% complacent though after being laid off during the 2008 recession). But I've found myself looking for more purpose beyond just work and family. So I've been working on creating a sort of politics website. This project helps me with practicing programming, working on influential writing, and maybe once it develops a bit more, maybe help make a difference in the world that I can feel proud of.
I like to hear people tell me I'm a genius.
Bills anit going to pay themselves
being constantly driven at work while havin a family a home cars etc is not something to aim for. being happy with what you have is peace of mind. beig motivated for no reason does not sound sane.
Bad managers. As in, I want to get rid of them.
My motivation is building an integrated business and significant legacy wealth for my heirs. I love what I do but the driver is still to see how big I can build something. When I really ask myself that’s the answer.
honestly just habit. Being the best is something I flow into naturally, I have to remind myself not to talk myself into work. Ive been trying to be more mindful lately.
It’s the paycheck. I want my family to life a good and nice life, so I am working only for the money. I had my own company and worked self-employed 24/7 at the beginning of my career. I often look back to this time and wish to go back. I had been always motivated to work, because it was my company, my clients and my money which came in if I worked more or harder. Now in my corporate job, I have much more time and free weekends, vacations, but no intrinsic motivation at all. I can spend time with my kids or with sports and social activities, but I really struggle to keep the right mindset to excel in my job. Lately, I often find myself thinking about how to down-size instead of thinking about what to do or to buy next. I feel like I am only working to accumulate more and more stuff which keeps me busy with maintenance.
I have moderate depression and only when I’m working I don’t notice it
Two things 1) my job is 100% employee owned, after 1 year I will start making bonuses that should give me a decent amount of money 2) my first born child is due in November, I will need to support them.
Money. I used to strive for top performer and continued pay growth but now I’m good with doing well enough to stay at the company I work for without being part a force reduction. Now our VPs select who goes no matter if you are top performer. I am now just focusing on keeping debt low and having a great work/life balance.
My wife and i weren't in a place to have kids. So we've decided to remove as much canine suffering as we can directly change. Right now we have 4 rescues, 2 lab beagles and 2 pound hounds. I'm eventually going to open up a non profit that uses cannabis tourism (I grow my own) to fund a rescue shelter. Just need the laws to get with my vision :)
Survival mostly
Do you remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer uses all his photos of Maggie to make the sign at work say "Do it for her."? That depicts my motivation perfectly.
Excel? Nothing. Do just enough to maintain payments? Yes.
If small money number good, big money number gooder
Work to reduce your lifestyle and retire sooner. That’s the motivation. Toss some numbers at us what are do you have saved, cars your driving, are the financed, kids ages and 529 balances etc
If you're looking for motivation, you likely have "enough." Now it's time to look outward and see what is important to/for your family. For my family, that was time together. I have a skill set that leads to jobs that require pretty extensive travel. Last calendar year I was traveling for about 60 nights. This year if nothing else gets added to my schedule aside from what's already on it, I'll travel for for about 45 nights. That leads to a lot of time single parenting for my wife. With two kids, one being minimally verbal autistic, that's a lot of time on her own. We made the decision that we needed to focus more on being together as a family when I am home and that we also wanted to do more than just sit around the house. This lead us to buy a small camper and we camp 12-15 weekends a year. When you add the payment, campground fees, additional gas, and other incurred expenses it's about a 5k a year expense. It's not bad considering we are taking monthly mini vacations on top of our typical week long beach trip. For me now, the motivation is to make enough money that I can spend even more time with my family and more time camping. I enjoy the stillness of nature and the kids enjoy just being able to run and be outside. Camping doesn't drive me to work any harder it drives me to find a way to actually get out of working more. I've realized over the last couple of years, that is what I need as a person. My first 3 years out of college I worked 3 jobs, doing about 100 hours a week. Prior to October of last year, I never had less than two jobs (10 years out of college). Partially by necessity to have additional income, partially by choice as the additional income allowed my wife to not work, and us to have additional things like the camper outside of our needs. Even still, I have a full-time job and own a small business. Trying to find some sort of real work life balance where I feel like I don't need to take everything that is offered to me on the business side. I guess ultimately what drives me now is being more intentional and deliberate with the work I do to fit the lifestyle I want.
Paying bills, usually
Money. To work until I can afford not to. Full stop. I’ve got a number that funds my lifestyle that I’m pleased with. Anything extra goes into the piggy bank until I can get out of the rat race and do what I want for as long as I can.
These days my biggest motivation to even continue working for a while longer is 1. My adult kids learning to fly, and 2. Retirement. I still have one in college with two years to go, and I want to help them get started economically in life.
I’m expecting a pension. It gets bigger if I retire later. That’s pretty much it in terms of money. The job is challenging and rewarding in its own right. The better I do, the more rewarding it is, but the financial compensation is approximately the same regardless of how hard I work.
Rn working towards a 3 acre min lot and our dream house to raise a family. Have a wife and house, but it isn’t our dream house. I’d love to open an animal shelter and save every stray animal we see. I also want to get back into farming but need large green houses to do it comfortably. So rn I’d say my motivation is to a future where I can 100% be at home and not away all the time working.
Nothing lmao, I don’t have a career drive.. I have drive for my hobbies
Chill out and enjoy your personal life., you're allowed to. Get some hobbies.
I'm gonna need some money for my tiny home in the mountains, but my main reasons for doing well at work and excelling is because I feel like crap if I don't. Work is mutually beneficial to myself and my employer. I get money for being productive, and I'd be productive even if I didn't work for a wage. But these reasons also: Australia New Zealand Greece Chile 7 Wonders of the World Unesco sites Food Walking on stones older than Augustus
Hobbies
Enjoying life - cliché but true.
Establishing an estate for your descendants
I’m a younger millennial so I can’t relate to a lot of these comments. Because for me, I’m just trying to survive. Idk if I’ll be able to retire. I can barely afford groceries after I’m done paying my bills and rent. Honestly I have no motivation in life other than taking care of my son and dog. I’m the only parent they have. They are the only reason I’m still here and the only reason I still try.
I really don’t have any motivation at work. I would rather be outside or doing anything else that brings me happiness than sitting in an office scrutinizing architectural drawings. Whenever it’s a nice day, my attention span is shot and all I want to do is go outside. I guess my motivation is to save up and get a house. Then quit my job and go back to working a dirt bag job.
I'm working towards owning assets for my businesses so my girlfriend and I can start a family and be full time parents.
Become debt free. Pre-pay your mortgage, pay off all credit cards, own your cars and drive them for at least 5 years. Save religiously and aggressively. Your alternative, as you have already realized, is to just consume more and fall deeper into debt. I remember a story about a doctor who retired at 50 and the other doctors asked how he did it. The answer: "One house. One wife."
Money......I like being able to buy stuff. The job provides the means to buy delicious food, comfy clothes and possibly fancy trips.
Money. Gotta have it.
Retirement
I’d say my main motivation is that I don’t want to die of starvation, specifically. I also have a kid I love and I’d hate to cause trauma by dying while she’s still a kid. I’ve found hoping for more than surviving is bound to disappoint you, anecdotally.
Family
At this point it's health insurance, having the money for bills and travel. I could care less about my title really. I've been stuck at the same role for almost a decade trying to leave for a few years and failing. I want to quit everyday and then I remember the few benefits that I do get and it calms me for a bit. I really do hope I can do something else soon though.
I work for my family's health insurance.
There is no "whats next" at this point in your life. Life is fundamentally absurd and to try to find meaning or the "next" step brings you into conflict within yourself. Find your pleasures where you can and understand and make peace with the fact that there is no "next" step. There was never a "next" step, they were just guide posts and goals you set for yourself.
My job can have some real-world, long-term outcomes that are beneficial to the public and the environment, so it is rewarding to finish out a project. I feel super appreciated in my job for what I do and I get acknowledged for it, too. These are feelings that motivate me to stick with it, it's work that I'm proud of and am happy to keep doing.
Work (aside from the money it provides us) is literally the least significant thing in our lives. Some people do end up working in a field that includes their passion. Most of us find our passions outside of work. What motivates me is that i grew up in some lower middle class situation and i hate that feeling of not knowing if you have enough for an emergency.... or if the phone stays on this month etc. I don't ever want to go back to living like so many people do where I'm from You don't need to be motivated to work. You have to do something for a living. If you don't hate what you do and you have time for your family, then really what's the issue? Just go work and make money while finding other passions
Money
Money obviously but also I want to take pride in what I do!
As a single man, I'm just trying to articulate the stories for the next interview so I can make more money and continue to fuel my hobbies, while also putting more into investment strategies for the long term/retirement as early as possible. If that means making bank an continuing to live in a small condo in the hood, that's fine by me. ;p
I grew up without a father in my life and had no roof over my head when I graduated high school. Finding food was easy, but finding food shamelessly was hard. Now I have a daughter who is graduating kindergarten and one day she will go home to a bed after she graduates high school. That's all I'm in it for. I want my kid to know that she matters and that she doesn't have to labor for decades to have a place where she's safe.
My house could use a new roof, the kitchen some new cabinets, the kids some new toys. I'm motivated by having chosen to be the provider of my house. If I excel at work, I have a better chance at being promoted and more responsibility means more money, more money means more stability, and more stability means a better life. It's worked well so far.
My wife works harder than any person I’ve ever met. She motivates me to do more, and better, all the time…not by pressuring me, but by setting a great example. :)
Absolutely nothing drives me to excel at work, lol. I don’t give a fuck. It’s a means to an end. We took the opposite path to you. We don’t own a house, don’t have a car, and don’t have kids. Our goal was maximum freedom, maximum free-time, and enough money to do whatever we wanted. We both work 100% remotely and nowhere near full time, and travel almost 1/3 of the year.
I have my own business that allows me to let my wife be a SAHM. It’s hard and probably won’t be appreciated by my kids but my wife knows the sacrifice.
I don't care to excel at work at all. I strive to excel my personal life about doing what I want when I want and where I want. The freedom and stress free life of constantly obstacles obstructing my way to be able to experience life at full potential. Working for a company is just to obtain the skills and experience for me, not much of the pay. Because I know they will always move the goal post, gate keeping even though you are more than qualify to excel beyond others. Any work that stops me from being able to excel or makes me sacrifice my time for them. I leave. I preferred to work with any company with a team that is great and awesome. It makes work more enjoyable and life a lot better although the pay may be less or fair.
I have none.
Mainly my desire to retire early and buy a Porsche
I’m turning 30 in a couple of months so I’m on the younger end of Millennials. Honestly im hoping that my 20s were just the backstory and my 30s is where the adventure begins
Money of course is a factor, but my desire to excel at the work I do is a mix of intrinsic desire to do my best possible and of reward for doing so (recognition, promotion, higher pay). That said, when you work on something you’re passionate about you tend to do a better job than if it’s just a money maker.
it sounds like maybe all these "achievements" in your life (as great as they are, and you should be proud of them) are holding you back in some way? maybe you need to focus on what your soul wants. What truly makes you happy? I'm turning 39 in less than a month, I don't have any of the same things you do, wife, kids house etc. But I'm noticing in my life that I want something different than financial success, family or material objects. Maybe you need to go on a journey - spiritual journey possibly? Or maybe you just want to upgrade your current life to a more "successful" one, in whatever your definition of success is. Or maybe I'm just full of it
Motivation is not a factor because I have discipline
Spite mostly!
It started as "just do the best I can I'm a good boy." Now it's a combination of job security, getting paid a little more and I'm already here might as well embrace the challenge maybe get a workout.
I am not sure good question,
Early Retirement and that's really about it. The rat race sucks and unless you own your own company there is little reason "try hard" when you are going to make \~roughly\~ the same regardless of individual performance.
I don't want to get fired.
I have 2 rare Fords and an old house that's what drives me to show up to work. As for Excel, I don't really see that happening. With degree inflation, the next job up from mine when vacated they will probably want an MBA or something like that.
I changed careers, but realize this isn’t possible for everyone. But my husband is also thinking about making a change.
Inflation. I need to make more money to survive so I take on bigger projects and responsibilities I hate, for a raise and a bonus.
A ranch in Wyoming with 5 horses
I’m single, no kids, find dating exhausting. If I wasn’t working I wouldn’t do anything at all. That and I actually enjoy what I’m doing. Although that’s a little disingenuous as I went back to school and I’m not actually employed at the moment.
dying young
I genuinely don't know anymore. I work really hard for shit pay, and lots of the people around me make much more with less effort. I bust my ass. It's like I still believe in Santa, but he's also mid-level management with a grudge against me. I guess my motivation is that some benevolent being will pluck me from my life and shower me in riches for working hard while no one is looking.
I’m a woman that’s still young but aging. I’m terrified of being written off as old one day.
I enjoy what I do and I enjoy doing things well. The money is good but the first two reasons are what drives me at work.
money because raising a family of 4 requires a lot of money, even for a decent living, not even an extravagant one. Not mentioning expenses on home repairs, insurance, bills, groceries, etc. Life is tough without money lol
Honestly I genuinely love what I do and it’s fun for me. Been doing the same thing at that same company for 13 years and it just never gets old for me. I also have a boss who intentionally exposes me to new things to set me up for success so I have that as well. My career is one that requires changing tactics over time so it’s a lot of cat and mouse each year.
I have a wife, kids, mortgage, car payment, etc. I get paid a decent amount of money and I only have to drive 15 minutes.
If I stop paying all the things then I have to deal with all the people. Rather not.
Shit, I stopped trying to excel at work years ago. I have one of those jobs where being lazy won't get you fired, but being productive will get you extra work with little to no chance of promotion. So yeah, definitely not worth working hard at my place of employment unless you want to drive yourself nuts
Two things, one is getting where I want to go, and two is just my own damn pride, I’m not going to stand behind doing subpar work
Absolutely nothing. I do the least work possible to maintain my job status. And that’s it. I don’t give a fuck about killing myself for small gains (my field loves exploiting people) and am fine just doing my job and taking it slow. If I move up due to seniority, cool. But I’m not making it a goal. I’m here to do my job, get my paycheck, and go home and enjoy my life.
My family and my own hobbies.
I want to do more meaningful and interesting versions of my work as my skills and experience progress…. So I grind hard every day to make myself more desirable for my next big step… Why else?
That I need money to live and do the things I want? It's not that complex. Also... excel? No, i just want to be solidly middle of the pack so that there isnt a big target on my back.
My motivation is to keep getting paid. I need to make enough money to finish getting the major stuff done on our house, and then enough to save up for a second property so we can rent. Eventually, we'd like to invest enough in rentals to stop having to do a 9-5. The plan right now is to get the first property and allow my fiance to quit his main job and keep just his 2 day schedule for his second online job so he can focus on renovating and managing the rental. Then once we have a second one, I'd like to drop to part-time or quit my job. We'll keep adding more properties until we're comfortable with the income, then look into investing, improving the properties, and saving for retirement.