I was recently caught up in the rat race. I had gotten promotion at work and was working every hour that god sends to show that I 'deserved' it. I was working so hard that I was becoming inefficient through lack of 'r n r' and so got in a vicious cycle of having to run faster just to stand still.

Then my dad was diagnosed with metastatic melonoma...which means it had already spread before he was diagnosed (they have never found the primary tumour). At 79 his prognosis was very poor - the operation to remove the tumor in his neck could have killed him. Thankfully they operated and he has a good constitution- he's out on the golf course at 7.30 every morning - and he had a positive attitude. At this stage its not cureable, but he is currently symptom free and back playing golf!

ANyway when this happened on top of my crazy working life I crashed and burned. I now work 9 to 5 but am thinking about cutting down to 4 days a week. I still have a mortgage to pay but I don't buy unnecessary things - my £320 bike was absolutely necessary and a godsend. Oh, and I like I a glass or two of red wine (hic!).

Sometimes we run into a brick wall that makes us re-think our priorites. If someone offered me an early retirement package tomorrow I would jump at it. The stuff that makes us happy and sustains us isn't the stuff we buy, but quite often we are confused into thinking it is.

Don't know if this is any help.