I used to go to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I spent 52 years focused on "earning my living" through working. When I was young I even had a week job, and evening job and a weekend job.
My time was devoted to buying clothes to impress people at work, getting my hair done for work, getting sleep so I would be fresh for work, doing cultural things so that I had something to discuss at work - polishing my ego so that it stood up there with the competition.
All of that gave me confidence, an organised approach to things, and some artistic/ creative things that I loved. I enjoyed work but there was too much time spent sitting in that chair just because I was paid to do so.
I think that I was lucky, nothing in my early life made it inevitable that I would find interesting work that fit with me or that gave me a secure home to live in.
Now since a few months, I don't work... and there has been a period of difficult adjustment to that.
I've let go of continually comparing myself with others and competing with them.