I’m a 26(f) and I started working in 2022, it has always been hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I am going to work forever (until retirement age). I struggle and think about this every day, it consumes me because I really don’t think this is how we are supposed to live
I don’t hate my job; it’s not even hard to do. But I wake up at 5am, leave the house at 6am to get to work at 7am, work until 4pm and I get home at 5pm
It feels like I have no time for myself and I struggle to understand how I am supposed to do this for 40 more years without a mental breakdown
You’re not crazy for feeling this way. But you are stuck in a mental trap that’s making it way heavier than it actually is.
Right now you’re not just living your day. You’re stacking 40 years of imagined days on top of today and then asking your brain to carry all of it at once. Of course it feels unbearable. Nobody could hold that weight.
You are not doing 40 years. You are doing today.
And yeah, your current setup kind of sucks. A long commute will drain the life out of anybody. That’s not a “this is how humans are meant to live” problem. That’s a logistics problem. People build lives that fit them better all the time, but it doesn’t happen by sitting in dread. It happens by making changes.
Right now your life is work and recovery from work. That’s why it feels empty.
So here’s the truth you probably don’t want but need to hear. If you keep your schedule exactly like this and don’t intentionally build a life outside of it, then yeah, you will burn out. Not because work exists, but because your life has no space that feels like yours.
You need to start reclaiming your time, even if it’s small at first. One evening a week that is protected. One thing you actually look forward to. A class, a walk, dinner with someone, anything that reminds you you’re a person and not just an employee.
And then zoom out a little, but not 40 years. Just enough to ask better questions.
Can you reduce your commute eventually?
Can you shift your hours?
Can you work toward a role that gives you more flexibility?
Can you build a life that has meaning outside your job?
Because the goal is not to escape work entirely. The goal is to build a life where work is just one part of it.
Right now you’re staring at a life sentence. What you actually have is a starting point.
But it’s on you to shape it. Nobody is coming to redesign your life for you.
Start small. Fix what you can. And stop trying to survive 40 years before breakfast. You’re only responsible for today.