Sometimes, the smallest things will put you on the path to somewhere different.
In my case, it was buying my wife's ancestral home, and starting to renovate it. Not a huge effort, though a long one, it put me on the path to personal change, discovering new things in the process.
Working a full-time job and renovating a seventy-year-old home in the same span of time is quite the crucible. Money matters, but time is the scarce resource. Learning to work out a way to work, build, and breathe in the same lifetime has sent me back to the books -- several of them -- and I'm slowly learning how to manage things more effectively.
A very competitive day job can be demanding. Falling into the bottom ten percent of performers doesn't bode well for one's future, but walking around feeling overwhelmed by everything that's possible makes it hard to focus.