How I Wanted to FIRE and Quit My Job, Only to Discover Through Investing That I Didn't Really Need To

"I just want to throw everything away and escape from this place as soon as possible."

Until just a little while ago, I was so pushed to the brink by my work that my mental health was about to collapse.

Getting out of bed every day felt like a heavy burden.
All that occupied my mind was the sense of responsibility to "do what I must," and the corresponding erosion of my own spirit.

For me at the time, the word "life balance" was nothing more than a theoretical abstraction.

Work for survival took up 100% of my life, leaving no room for anything I actually wanted to do.

In the midst of that despair, I clung to one single "hope."

That was investing.

My goal was simple.

"I'll earn money through investing, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) as soon as possible, and quit this job."

At the time, that was the only light in the darkness.

However, the investing I started so desperately as a means to quit my job would end up turning my life upside down in ways I never expected.

The pleasure of everything connecting

I was shocked when I started studying investing.

Politics, economics, world affairs, finance, and the daily money in our lives—things I had vaguely heard about in the news—

I realized that "everything is connected," like puzzle pieces clicking into place.

News from the other side of the world would ripple out and move the numbers in my own assets.

Analyzing that dynamism and thinking deeply about it became incredibly fascinating.

It wasn't just a money game; it was the ultimate, exciting intellectual entertainment of unraveling how the world works.

I faced the screen, read books, and analyzed the market with obsession.

As I immersed myself in that joy, my brain completely awakened.

Before I knew it, my perspective had widened more than ever before, and I realized that the "options" in my life had multiplied.

And that change brought a strange transformation to the "work" I was supposed to hate so much.

The joy of work brought on by a healthy sense of "not taking things too seriously."
By increasing my knowledge and options through investing, a large space opened up in my heart.

"At the very worst, I can always quit this company and survive."

I was able to think that way.

This mental breathing room—the realization that I didn't have to cling to my job—gave me a healthy sense of detachment toward my work.

I, who had been on the verge of a mental breakdown from worrying too seriously, was now able to take a step back and face my work calmly.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

My knowledge of world affairs and economics began to link with my professional business.

I began to see business structures that were previously invisible, and ideas like "Wouldn't it be interesting if I did this?" started springing up like a fountain.

As a result of my widened perspective and positive mindset, ironically, the very job I wanted to quit so badly became incredibly fun.

Here, I faced the ultimate paradox.

"Wait? I started investing to quit my job, but thanks to investing, my job has become fun... so I don't really need to quit anymore."

A new place where my words "reach" others

I desperately wanted to vent this dramatic change within myself and the "joy of thinking" I gained through investing somewhere. That's how I started on note.

I took the words that had been locked inside me and put them into writing.

For the first time, I felt the tangible response that "the articles I write are being read by someone."

Someone I don't even know is receiving my analysis and my words.

That feeling was irreplaceable.

Now, I find myself thinking about "what to write on note next" even during work, and this place is becoming a main part of my life.

This is my work-like balance

I used to believe that I couldn't do the things I "wanted to do" unless I reduced the things I "had to do" (work).

But I was wrong.

When I pushed the "thing I wanted to do"—investing—into my already maxed-out life with all my might, my perspective widened, my options increased, and as a result, the quality of the "work I had to do" improved, and everything started moving in a positive direction.

Quitting my job to find relief isn't the only salvation.

Learning how the world works through investing, giving shape to ideas at work, and expressing them on note.

Now that these three things overlap, the control of my life is completely in my own hands.

You don't have to aim for a perfect balance.

My life is currently at its most fulfilling, having dived into the things I can be passionate about.