Reading - Escaping the Rat Race: My Journey to Intentional Living

Read the text and complete the activities below.

For most of my twenties, I was a proud member of the "hustle culture." I believed that being constantly busy was a badge of honor. I woke up at 5:30 AM, replied to emails on my commute, and rarely left the office before 8:00 PM. I thought I was building a successful career, but in reality, I was just running in a wheel. I was stuck in the rat race.

The breaking point happened during a family holiday. I was sitting on a beautiful beach in Thailand, but I couldn't stop looking at my phone. I felt anxious and disconnected from the real world. That day, I realized that I was surviving, but I wasn't really living.

I decided to embrace intentional living. This doesn't mean moving to a farm and throwing away your smartphone; it means making conscious choices about how you spend your time and energy. I started by setting strict boundaries. Now, I never check my phone during the first hour of the day. Instead of rushing to work, I brew my coffee slowly and read a chapter of a novel.

Quitting the rat race wasn't easy. At first, I felt guilty for not being productive all the time. However, slowing down has actually made me more creative and focused. We often forget that life isn't a marathon we need to win; it's a journey we are supposed to experience.

Rat race image

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Comprehension (Multiple Choice)
1. How did the author feel about being busy in their twenties?
2. What happened on the beach in Thailand?
3. According to the text, what does "intentional living" mean?
Activity 2: Vocabulary Match

Match the bold words from the text to their definitions.

A) Limits you set to protect your time and mental health.
B) An exhausting, competitive routine where people fight for wealth/power.
C) The regular journey between work and home.
D) Feeling bad because you think you did something wrong.
1. Commute
2. Rat race
3. Boundaries
4. Guilty

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