Rat Races and Redefinitions - Jonathan Voos

On conventional wisdom, success, and the joys of I-30

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Rat Races and Redefinitions

On conventional wisdom, success, and the joys of I-30

May 22, 2023

Dear reader,

I’ve long said that if you want to discover someone’s true character, ride with them during rush hour on I-35. After one week of commuting to downtown Dallas from west Fort Worth for my internship, I regret to inform you that this adage holds for I-30 as well. You’d have an easier time getting a hit off of New Braunfels graduate and Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller than getting through Arlington unscathed. It doesn’t help that even the slowest of Texas drivers enjoy channeling their inner Gandalf far too much:

While I could spill many jars of metaphorical ink on I-30’s nonsensical traffic patterns (I think I have the road names and exit numbers I pass in my commute close to memorized after one week), I instead want to talk about the theme of my Substack page: Finding Balance.

Conventional wisdom holds that our successes define us. Especially in corporate and legal settings, many people live seeking a leg up in the proverbial “rat race” (which is also a synonym for I-30 at rush hour). Success becomes about how much money you make, how good your resume looks, and whether you are doing “better” than your peers.

Yet, most people never find fulfillment in this way of life. In the legal context, anyone seeking a clerkship or “big law” job feels pressure to pile on as much as possible to make their resume stand out. Few who do so seem particularly happy.

When getting “more” becomes the primary focus of our daily pursuits, satisfaction is difficult to find. We compare ourselves to others and allow our incomplete perspective to dictate our happiness. In a world full of stress, depression, and anxiety, the value of finding joy should significantly outweigh the value of the above-warped definition of success.

Ecclesiastes 4: 4-6 (ESV) says this about running the aforementioned rat race:

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

The CSB study guide explains Ecclesiastes 4 as follows:

Ecclesiastes returns to the theme of wealth, describing how foolish it is to spend one’s life in the pursuit of riches. First, Solomon declares that people work hard not out of love for the task but out of a desire to do better than their peers. The work and the wealth it brings give no satisfaction; there is only the pathetic pleasure of beating others in a race for success. Second, a conventional proverb declares that laziness brings on poverty. Against this, verse six gives a counter lesson—that it is better to have little with peace than to have much with a constant hunger for more. A strong work ethic is not wrong, but it needs to be balanced with an appreciation for the joys of life. In verse eight, the example of the person who works ceaselessly to acquire, but has no one with him to share it shows how sad is the life that is governed by a desire for more.

In short, although hard work is good, we must ensure we’re working for the right reasons. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” When we work for our own glory in chasing money, power, fame, and success, we are “striving after the wind.” Instead, we should seek to bring glory to God and live a healthy and joyful life.

Accordingly, I’m beginning to develop a different definition of success which, as you probably can guess, centers around “finding balance.” Finding success to me means finding a meaningful job that captures my interest, makes a difference, and, most importantly, enables me to prioritize my relationships with both God and my future family. I have no clue what this will look like in practice because finding balance amidst the chaos of life is a constant struggle. Faith, relationships, sleep, exercise, and health all too often get pushed to the back burner as I allow the things of this world to distract me.

Nevertheless, I know I need to trust God to make my path straight. So when I felt I needed to turn down an organizational leadership role, I listened. When I felt writing onto law review was wrong, I listened. I struggled with both of these decisions for weeks because again, common knowledge holds that young people should stack their resumes as much as possible in hopes of landing the best job possible.

And while I can articulate potential rationales for both decisions, I confess that I don’t fully understand why I needed to say no. I only know that God confirmed the first decision through Psalm 81—A call to obedience. Then, He confirmed the second decision through the above verses in Ecclesiastes after some prayer and fasting.

Ultimately, I think it all ties back to finding balance. Rather than working myself to death solely to bolster my resume, I’m prioritizing health and relationships and forcing myself to trust God’s plan for my life. Living out the call in Proverbs 3:5 to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” is easier said than done. Yet, I’m seeking to do so with these two decisions and am excited to see what the future holds!