Thread by @loyndsview

"The post resonated at a time when weary people across the world are experiencing #ennui, 3dread & more work-related #stress during the coronavirus pandemic."

nytimes.com/2021/04/21/bus… #socrates #soul #zombies

1/ "Since he described his epiphany a week ago, his post has been liked over 200,000 times. It has received more than 10,000 comments from readrs describing how their own brushes w death had led them to step back from work & take stock of the way they had been livng their lives."

2/ "Even those who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs have questioned their #purpose in life as they spend long hours on #Zoom calls and answer #emails into the night."

3/ "Another person described how she had became so #burnedout at work that she was admitted to a #psychiatrichospital."

4/ “'I relate, bro,' wrote a self-described #entrepreneur from Nigeria who said he had sold his multiple cars and homes to lead a happier, more 'Spartan' life. 'Bro, welcome to the real life. Now you’ll truly, truly live.'”

5/ "People become so protective of the identity a job creates for them that they will work long, arduous hours, without pausing to consider if they are happy or fulfilled, to protect it, Professor Kreiner said."

6/ “'We as humans tend to be #mindless instead of #mindful,' he said. 'When we’re in a mindless state, we’re on #autopilot.'

Professor Kreiner added: 'Sometimes, that’s why it takes a catastrophe like this to break us out of autopilot.'”

7/ “'We’re not able to have those other #conversations off the side of a desk or by the #coffee machine, or take a walk and go and have that chat,' Mr. Frostick told Bloomberg. 'That has been quite profound, not just in my work, but across the #professionalservices industry.'”

8/ "Later, he wrote another post that indicated he had moved from #soulsearching to trying to answer profound philosophical questions."

9/ "'Who am I? It’s like a riddle my mind cannot solve,' he wrote. 'I have no idea who I am anymore. This is going to take some time … Can you answer who you are?'”