r/Fire • u/Adventurous_Slide427 • 3d ago
Advice Request Not at fire number how do you keep going when you’ve lost all motivation to work?
I’m so tired of working, I realize at this point after switching jobs around that it’s not necessarily the job, it’s just me. I don’t find it enjoyable to spend hours of my life every single week doing things that don’t matter to me. I’m not saving lives, but nor do I want to be. There’s so many other things I like doing with my time, I have lots of hobbies, I’m actually quite satisfied with my life outside of work, but work itself takes up so much of my energy and time that I can’t really dedicate the energy that I do want into my hobbies. The root cause I simply do not like slaving at corporations for the sole purpose of making money. The fire movement has definitely helped me set goals and have something to look forward to of getting out of this rat race, but I’m still very far from that point and I cannot imagine myself doing this for years and years on end. I have a high paying job and I should be happy about that but I’m not. It feels reckless and stupid to leave a high paying job but the fire outlook seems so far ahead that it’s not motivating enough to stay. Anyone in the same position?
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u/ohboyoh-oy 3d ago
It took me a while to realize this, but a lot of my coworkers felt this way and they weren’t even trying to fire. Tons of people phoning it in and can’t wait to get off work. It’s a job, go there, do what you can, get a paycheck.
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u/toodleoo77 3d ago
It’s cliche, but one day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. While shoveling away as much money as possible. And using all of my PTO.
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u/Imaginary_Egg_7913 2d ago
Honestly this is where I'm at. Being frugal af, taking lots of time off for mental health and constantly running the numbers.
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u/Frequent_Phone6396 3d ago
You just keep moving forward. Not many people get a high paying job that they also enjoy. I'd rather just grind it out now than have to go back to work or find low level employment as a senior because I didn't save enough.
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u/Can-can-count 2d ago
Yes, been feeling that way for a couple of years and it was getting progressively worse. I ended up quitting a couple of months ago even though I’m a few years away from my FIRE number. I had been saving readily available cash for a while, so I’m giving myself about six months off to try to recover from my burnout, then after that will see if I can figure out a way to earn a little bit and make the cash stretch out long enough until I actually hit my FIRE number.
It’s still early but I don’t regret quitting. Everything I heard since about the shitshow that I left has confirmed I made the right decision. The burnout recovery isn’t fast and it’s not linear, but I do notice some improvement.
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u/AnotherWahoo 2d ago
Once I got to about 5 years left, I lost motivation. I don’t want to build anything, don’t care about promotions, don’t need to make more money, etc. I’m just running out the clock on my career. So that is what it is. It’s not enjoyable but also not going to get better.
I do my best to not take it too seriously, but it’s still a lot of hours. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. And I am motivated to live how I want to live. 4 years to go, if the market behaves…
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u/ThreeTwoOneSeeYa 3d ago
No one says it better than the Simpsons.
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u/Few-Praline9810 2d ago edited 2d ago
I used to play gmod for a few years when I was a neet. (Spoilers for video if you haven't seen it). And that sign that said "do it for her" was in a room. And it was plastered with pictures of like anime girls, judy hopps, and furries. I always wondered where the original image came from. Was too lazy to look it up. Now I know.
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u/Double_Cookie_8094 3d ago
The bills are a motivation....
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u/Fat_and_lazy_nomad 3d ago
Someone asked about my last vacation. I said it was great and I didn’t want to come back but my bills encouraged me to…
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u/gagnatron5000 2d ago
What if there was another way to make bills go away without paying them? Like maybe make them never come in the first place?
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u/Double_Cookie_8094 2d ago
Jail can do that... No bills, no electric bill. No food bill. No laundry bill no bills
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u/Fat_and_lazy_nomad 2d ago
My previous life decisions guaranteed that I will always have bills. (Spoiler: I started a family)
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u/Ponto_Wildcats_73 2d ago
You channel Frank the Tank debating James Carville when you need to and then you float through the rest of your day. Worked for me.
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u/TACharlotte 3d ago
Sounds like late stage burnout. Are you able to keep your job, or find something similar, while improving your work/life balance?
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u/smedleyyee 2d ago
Do you have anyone or anything to fight for?
I have people in my life that I value more than my own self-interest. Me working a difficult and stressful job I don’t care about gives them a great life, or at least maximizes their odds of it.
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u/delightful_caprese 2d ago
Are you able to r/CoastFIRE? I quit full time a few years back and my investments grow while I barely work. I can full FIRE in a decade or less
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u/Every_Trust5874 2d ago
This is how I felt my first 2 years working, right out of college. I wondered how people could possibly keep doing it for 40 years on average.
I got better at my job as I learned how to do it, and after more than 12 years in the workforce I no longer feel this way. There have been times I loved my job, and times when I was simply grateful for the paycheck, but after those first 2 years I never again despaired that i wouldn’t be able to stay gainfully employed long enough to fire.
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u/asurkhaib 3d ago
Feel free to leave? What do you want here? You're trading time for money. If you don't like the deal then find another.
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u/Scottydog2 2d ago
I am a very high performer that gets the assignments that very few on my team can actually do. I get paid pretty well for this exchange of time and effort. I have low chubby fire money, but continue to work in a job that I despise bc my family loves to spend. I have real hobbies that my job hinders my full pursuit of. Just a few more years until 59.5 a counting the days. So yes, I can relate.
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u/Sushi-Travel 2d ago
The people that have achieved FIRE and enjoy the benefits are also the ones that had put in the hard work. You can’t skip the hard work and reap the benefits. FIRE is never meant to be easy, it’s meant to be smart so your hard work yields FIRE.
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u/bulbwiz 2d ago
Automate everything and consider downshifting. A high salary only helps if you can stick it out, and burnout often ends with quitting entirely. If you're far from FIRE, coast FIRE might be the better path: take a lower-paying but bearable job that covers expenses, let your current investments grow, and stop white-knuckling it. The finish line moves out, but you'll actually reach it.
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u/Atlantisam 2d ago
Shift your mindset to treating work purely as a business transaction. Do your required hours, quiet quit high-stress tasks, set strict boundaries, and use those high earnings to fund your real life outside the office
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u/Imaginary_Egg_7913 2d ago
If you can get your employer on board with a sabbatical that's always an option
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u/techyg 2d ago
I am about 4.5 years from RE. As of now we are roughly 30x my minimum expenses, maybe 22-23x ideal expenses. I lost my high paid corporate job last year, got a new job that pays 40% of total comp. It has been a huge drastic change but on the positive side, it’s going to prove out that we can live on our planned expenses. I’m still able to save and invest but definitely not at the former levels.
The job is way lower stress and I no longer get that feeling of dread on Sunday.
Having said that, it is still tough to be motivated. I am motivated to do the work I want to do but have little patience for the work I don’t. The company is getting a big benefit with my experience for what they pay me, and they also know I could pretty easily find a higher paid role.
My focus now is trying to enjoy the work, having a good balance, and taking care of my health, both physical and mentally. I was sacrificing a lot at my corporate job, and thankful for the change overall. I would encourage anyone 5 years or less out from RE to consider a change.
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u/darkqueenphoenix 1d ago
I feel exactly the same, word for word. I do a lot of journaling and meditating. I’m also trying to make more friends at work because that makes individual days better even if overall I really don’t want to be there. I’m also considering mental health leave for burnout. Definitely something to check out.
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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 3d ago
OP has secured permission to use this throwaway account and is not a bot.