The Good Trap

Happy Monday! It’s time to wake up and get to work.

We’ve spent a few weeks talking through some of the downsides of being trapped. Today I’d like to spend a little time talking about the upside.

So, let me start with a bit of a counterintuitive statement: Work is inescapable and this is very good news.

Just what you wanted to hear on a Monday morning right? 😉 

Hang with me and I think by the end of this you will be stepping into your day with a refreshed appreciation for the work you get to do today.

I’ve always found it interesting when people say, I want to work hard now so that I can retire early. However, when I speak with many of the men and women I admire who are in the retirement phase, most of them are looking for ways to get back into the workplace.

Consider this graphic from Empower, a leading financial services company that offers wealth management, IRAs, 401Ks, etc.

Apart from Financial Need, every other reason listed here has more to do with personal growth than it does with success, money, and status.

When I was working on the YPT logo, the idea for this article crystallized for me. While providing feedback to the designer I found myself googling, “What is a maze that you can’t get out of?” 

This is when it hit me, for a long time I’d felt like the Young Professional Trap was something I needed to warn people to recognize and escape or avoid. While this is still true, what is even more important, is helping us realize that being trapped by work is fundamentally good for us, and the goal isn’t to escape, but rather to embrace the journey.

When we diminish our work by labeling it as a means to an end, we are trying to race through the maze, instead of enjoying the beauty within the labyrinth.

What if you pictured walking into your office today as if you were entering this incredible maze, the Villa Pisani Labyrinth in Italy?

As Americans, we’ve glorified the idea of retirement. The crazy thing is, retirement is only about 100 years old. The origins of “retirement” in the United States are connected closely to the Industrial Revolution when pensions were created as a mechanism to make room for younger, more productive workers.

Setting aside the debate about whether this was right or wrong, I think we can admit that in the age of the Industrial Revolution, it makes intellectual sense. At 40, Lebron James may be defying the odds by competing at an elite level in the NBA, but there is no doubt he would not be able to score 20+ per game at age 60.

In 2025, I think it is pretty safe to say that we’ve destroyed the original idea of retirement. This is yet another way that the distortion of the American Dream is quietly destroying the right relationship with work.

So, as you start your week, I want you to remember these three truths:

1. Your work is dignified and matters.

2. Your exact job has a specific purpose for your personal growth.

3. Your work is a beautiful labyrinth meant to be enjoyed.

Don’t get me wrong. We are all entitled to “having a Monday” from time to time. But our friends, family, and co-workers need us to redefine Mondays. They need us to redefine retirement. They need us to redefine work.

Why? Because when we redefine “Mondays”, we are taking one step towards greater flourishing, for us and them! And that is worth the work!

As always, please respond to this email if you’d like to talk and discuss anything from this or prior posts! And if you have any friends who you think might derive value from this - I’d love for you to share it with them.

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With Hope and Gratitude,

Alex