Hi guys, I just turned 27 yrs old and I’ve been thinking of quitting… I’ve been working since the day I graduate and ahh I just need to relieve this pressure… did this ever happened to you and what did you do?

As soon as you see anyone suggest you're "just soft", just disregard anything that comes after.

You are allowed to have whatever feelings you have at whatever age they occur. Your life is your own.

It is NOT normal to be groomed for labor from childhood. We're literally taught to get good grades only so we can get "good" jobs to pay for things. Not taught how to have good character or even be good people to each other. Just make money to buy things.

If you are having these feelings means you have a chance to learn this very simple but important lesson earlier: you are not your job, no matter how good (or bad) you are at it. You are not defined by the value someone else places in what they can extract from you.

Your next step is to be strategic. Yes that might very well mean you work longer, but with the goal in mind to take a break *and* to reconsider how to approach work when you return. This will change how you approach life and you will have people (like that person above) who will tell you you're wrong/odd/soft/blahblahblah. But find the thing you can live with. It might mean not chasing wealth. It might mean saving and working with an exit plan in mind for every job. It might mean multiple small but enjoyable jobs. It could mean anything that *you* are comfortable with.

And when you wakeup one day 20yrs from now. You won't have the problem many of these ppl will have. Because you'll wake up and still recognize yourself. You'll still know who you are. You'll have a life of joy not a life of items and accomplishments, but rather a life of meaning. You'll have character. You'll have a story to tell and it'll be the one you've written. It won't always be easy, but it'll be yours.

I wish you good luck in this journey.

My ex partner experienced similar after he had to file his company for bankruptcy and let everyone go. He was not in a good state after that so I suggested a sabbatical for at least two months. Filing for bankruptcy and letting go of more than 80 people he hired really got to him. He felt completely useless. A friend of ours worked at a university in Florida back then. I spoke to her because I thought if he is surrounded by young people who see how experienced he is and could teach them, it would give him back a sense of self worth. Through her he got a seat as a guest lecturer for three months. Being away from his old environment and sharing his skills and knowledge with a new generation re-energized him and gave him back his hope.

We are no longer together but he is now a senior vice president for Sony and lives in Japan quite successfully.

If you feel this way you could consider doing a sabbatical. If you decide to do one make sure to set yourself some goals and something that you want to get out of.

You can ask your HR if your company offers sabbaticals and under what conditions (e.g. is it paid or not, how long can it be, do you need to present results afterwards?)

If sabbatical is not for you and a vacation doesn’t help, see if there is anything you can change in one area of your life that would give you joy.

If that doesn’t help it’s worth it considering finding something new either in your current profession or something completely different

I’m not sure if you’re just soft or working in too aggressive of a work environment but the reality is most everyone has to work and we’ve all had to work since graduation.

If you’re working in a high pace
environment you can always lower your expectations of living and go into a slower pace /lower pay job that may provide you less stress. You may not be able to afford many luxuries in life or have a lot of savings but there’s a trade off that comes with working hard and earning a high salary.

But 27 and feeling like this is a bit too young to throw the towel in unless you can fall back on a trust fund or you want to sacrifice your financial independence and just have someone else take care of you.

I quit a job I didn’t like at your age, then spent 6 months traveling and after that started my own business which I still do today (mid 30s now). I quit because I had an awful boss and a “is this all there is to life?” feeling going on. I also wanted to get certain things like traveling out of my system as I figured when I hit my 30s and I would get married and have kids (spoiler: I’m still happily single and realized I don’t want children).

Note: at that time I had a solid savings, family and friends I could stay with for free, and my travels kept to a realistic budget.

Sabbatical is also something to look into. Some employers will work with you to make this work. Another option is to offer to stay on very part time, which would give you income for basic expenses while granting you the breathing room you need.

Happening to me right now. Commenting to follow - not sure what to do. I’m currently recruiting for other roles which are completely different and also thinking of taking a break and traveling

Most people work from graduation until retirement at 65. But you don’t have to. Young people these days have the ability to earn high salaries, invest, etc and retire before 40. There’s a FIRE bowl here I believe…Financial Independence Retire Early movement. I practice some of their methods and plan to retire at 42.

In the meantime, take a few weeks off to recharge. Perhaps you’re just burned out and need a change of scenery.

I have felt like this my whole life. Started working at 15 and am now 38. Bottom line, if you can financially afford a break, take it. Does your employer offer FMLA leave? You could activate that. If not, then maybe try to find a job that requires less mental effort. Like only work 40 hrs a week, no more. I haven’t found a good permanent solution for burnout though.

I have taken some breaks throughout my career to travel/relax and get mental rest. If you can afford it, go for it! And be confident with your decision. I’m 37 and I feel like you-only now I have kids and a mortgage and can only dream of hitting the lottery.

Every day, but I have bills…I think some days I would rather join a community of self-governing food-growers that live in tents, but I have to feed my kids and pay my taxes and pay these student loans that they convinced me to take out when I was 18 and have been paying on for over 15 years but now have a larger balance on them than what I even took out (our government is only made to make the middle class work itself do death).

Same.. not sure if I should just quit and do nothing.. been there when I got very frustrated and then took a long time to get back into another job..now m not able to quit even

My experience is that working at a different location might help cuz it’s a new environment and idk for me sometimes it’s motivating and energizing

I’ve felt the same way. I realized that it’s difficult to work for someone else and still life an abundant life that of course includes peace and joy. I’m currently working towards outperforming the career world so I can step into full time entrepreneurship and freedom with the guidance of some successful individuals that have fruit on the truth.

Depending on where you work there may actually be policies in place that allow you to use benefits for a sabbatical, or even paid leave. Some employers allow for FMLA or disability or even fully paid leave for mental health reasons, and all you need to qualify is a doctor's note. Fully explore your options at your employer before taking non-paid leave or quitting outright.

That said, it's important to put your mental health first and just "pushing through" is how you get yourself to a breakdown or mid-life crisis in a few years. Listen to your heart and make a plan to give yourself time to reflect on your next step. Use your EAP if you have it to get some counseling to help deal and recognize what's happening.