[2muchcoffeeman]

That in turn effectively triggers an existential crisis - what do with all this extra time?

Give your money to me. I have a million things I want/need to do. So many things to do in the world. How can you possibly get bored?

[harryf]

That's exactly the right perspective but if you've spent the last 20 years doing some job purely for the money, it's not an easy mental state to transition to and whether you're able will likely have a large part to do with your education and upbringing.

For example your social network may be largely people you work with - if you stop working, you lose those connections. And lockdown has shown what impact social isolation can have.

[throwaway0a5e]

You'll never find them on HN and Reddit but there are tons of people in their 40s-60s who despite working 40hr/wk for the last 20yr have all manner of projects and hobbies they would simply spend their time on if they suddenly didn't have to work, no change of mind required.

[throw0101a]

> have all manner of projects and hobbies they would simply spend their time on if they suddenly didn't have to work, no change of mind required.

The risk is that previously those things were "special" because you could only spend a little bit of time on them. If you spend all your time then the enjoyment can become 'commoditized' and routine. They may become as fun as brushing your teeth.

[inter_netuser]

Has this happened to you?