Leftist poison running through society has ordered you to believe that work is just an evil "means to an end,"
A means to an end is not necessarily evil, not sure why you think it is.
Yes, work is a means to the end of live the lifestyle I want to live and to be able to retire and never work again. 50 years of working should be enough.
so there is a gaping hole in your identity that - sorry - can't be filled with materialism or this pathetic pretend self-satisfaction act.
nope, not hole. Where you identity is tied to work, mine is tied to my family and friends. I will take my way over yours any day of the week. If you lose your job, you have lost your identity. I will always have mine
Work is just something to avoid for you, so you can't take pride in your work.
It is not to be avoided, it is just not to be over done. And I take great pride in my work, and even more pride in I can do my job in 8 hours or less a day and still excel at it.
Unlike your job that has no measures of success, my job relies on me providing our clients with sound advice, if I do not do that, I do not have a job. The better I do that, the more I am compensated. Thus I am very good at my job and have been rewarded nicely for being so.
The hole you fill with your job, I fill with my family and friends and out of work activates. While you see you day at the job as the height of your happiness, I find a day at the golf course to be far more enjoyable.
You do you, and I will do me. I am sure on your death bed you will be wishing you had put in just a few more hour of work....