[notjustanymike]

It was an important lesson for me to learn. I read "Ego is the Enemy" by Ryan Holiday, which covered a lot of these thoughts, and helped me understand why I worked.

What happened later was also interesting. I rejoined the workforce, matched and then quickly surpassed the level I'd left, and did in part because I'd decided to be who I wanted to be instead of what I thought the role dictated I should be.