At this point in time, it’s clear to anyone who’s paying attention to that achievement ethos is on the way out. More and more individuals at every station of life are giving up their efforts to climb the corporate ladder, win the rat race, or pursue “the American Dream” (which is itself simply about pursuit). Young people who are quitting or pushing for better work/life boundaries; experienced workers who are retiring early or leaving to pursue personal passions. Rising interest in professional sabbaticals. Burnout. The Great Resignation.

Is this just media hype? Are we (myself included) making too much out of this? I believe the answer is a qualified no. These things, it seems, are cyclical. The hard driving business culture of the 80’s (yuppies, Wall Street, American Psycho) gave way to slacker culture in the 90’s. The dot com boom and bust preceded a wave of hipsterdom, including growing interest in formerly “counter culture” ideas in the early 2000’s like organic farming and off-the-grid living, Eat Pray Love and ashram retreats. This is a moment, but it’s the kind of moment we’ve seen before.

For myself, this moment has been one of reflection. I started out my career with reasonable ambitions – not too modest, but not overly ambitious. I saw myself rising to a comfortable mid-level in my chosen path, confident in my ability to pursue and succeed in that quest, and not overly interested in going further. Somewhere along the way, I got hungry. I saw the opportunity to go beyond that career goal, and I did. And I kept going, finding each level more interesting and exciting than the last, the relentless pace and continued achievement an intoxicating experience in and of itself.

The birth of my son brought some perspective, and reframed my priorities, as it does for most parents. But it didn’t really change them. At some point in the last 2 years, as I was pushing for that next-next level, fine tuning my resume, building my portfolio of skills, interviewing for jobs at and above my ability, I came to realize something. I didn’t care. Not that I didn’t enjoy my work, not that I didn’t want to work, but that the pursuit of the next thing was not as exciting as it used to be. In fact, it wasn’t exciting at all. I came to a realization that I’d overshot my goals. That the life I wanted to lead was the one I’d first imagined for myself, and that in the pursuit of more, I’d lost sight of how much I’d already accomplished. I’d become more focused on what I hadn’t done than on what I had.

Now, you should know that I am not writing this as a well-heeled retired executive, or a newly minted anti-capitalist. I’m just a middle-aged dad who has a nice mid-senior management job. And…it’s nice. It’s a lot more of what I wanted in the first place. And that drive for what’s next? Now I have the space to allow it to show up in different ways; a deeper passion for my hobbies and interests; a more entrepreneurial interest and ambition; more planful time spent with my son.

So, is this the moment that work changes for good? That the promises of greater and greater leisure time finally comes true? Unlikely for most. But the opportunity to re-assess is real, and the benefit to those who do is too. So take the time to think deeply, to rest deeply, and to consider what’s really important to you. Make active choices about the life you want to lead, and the values you want to live. And go forward with that at the center of your ambition – with your own definition of achievement, instead of simply pushing for what’s next.