When you consider what would be “enough” in your life regarding net worth, this number will differ for everyone. It could be $2 million, $5 million, or $15 million, depending on how you want to live and how much you need to enjoy a lifestyle that makes you happy.
However, for one Redditor, hitting a $3 million net worth by the time they turned 50 is a real achievement. Unfortunately, their post in r/fatFIRE indicates they are burned out to the point where they not only want to walk away from the money but also have to take medication to go to work.
While this might be more money than most people ever see, it shouldn’t come at the expense of mental health, which is a very real issue in the workforce right now.
The Success Story
In this Redditor’s story, they spent a good portion of their early working life building up to the role of a Senior Vice President. During the two decades they spent in corporate life working their way up the ladder, they managed to save and invest around $3 million and own a $1.2 million home with a mortgage.
However, things got interesting when they took a leap of faith in their 40s to move to a start-up and received 2.5% of the company’s equity. The good news is that things went better than expected as the company went public, and their company equity has now turned into $15 million invested and a $3 million house paid off.
By all accounts, this is a fantastic success, and having the ability to earn this money and make the move into a public C-Suite role is an incredible achievement. Unfortunately, this story comes with a twist for this Redditor as the role and success took a toll on their mental health. Still, anxiety became a very dark problem and ultimately led to the need to medicate to get through the day.
Feeling Burnt Out
It should go without saying that you don’t need to be in a role, C-Suite or otherwise, to feel burnt out. Plenty of retail employees make far less than the CEOs of their companies and feel more stress with their work.
In the case of this Redditor, they began having issues sleeping. They had “generalized anxiety disorder,” which led them to feel anxious talking in public, speaking about politics, or even the thought of traveling. Thankfully, they started weekly sessions with a mental health expert and started on Lexapro, and the difference in their well-being is sizable.
The reality is that having these feelings is okay, and all the money in the world doesn’t mean your life is problem-free. In fact, “More Money, More Problems” is far more than just a rap song title, as it’s a very real way to look at life.
Know When To Walk Away
Thankfully, with a house paid off and enough money in their bank account, this Redditor knew it was time to walk away and had already begun training their replacement. The challenge here is that too many people either don’t know when to walk away or can’t because they need the money.
The challenge for this Redditor and the recommendation here shouldn’t be to hold on another 12-18 months before retiring but to walk away right now. At this very minute, they should walk into their CEO’s office and hand in their resignation. No amount of money, stock value or otherwise, is going to make any difference if they find themselves unable to function, especially without medicine.
I’m assuming this Redditor doesn’t want to medicate for the rest of their life, so the smartest way to get rid of the burnout fast is to remove the source of said burnout. This means that even if they are in a better mind today, something in the next 18 months could reverse all of their success, and this situation just shouldn’t be allowed to happen.
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