Tooq, I struggle mightily with this still - it's far from settled in my mind. The short version is I mucked around for a decade teaching and travelling, then came home, cleaned up, and went to law school. I did well and went into a business role - managed to spin my previous work with law such that I was in demand in both categories. Fast forward a decade and I realized that I was stuck in the corporate political rat race, focused far more on getting ahead than doing quality work I was proud of. Had a hard look around both my organization and industry and realized there was not a single job I really wanted if you took away the titles and money. Which lead to a lot of soul-searching about why I am here, why I am working, sacrifices made to get here, etc. But I have a family, so I can't just go cultivate a Jesus look on a beach in Thailand or anything.
My solution, which coincided with discovering MMM and some other things, was to drop out of business and go back into law. I'm with the same organization but as counsel rather than a business person. The pay scale for the level I was at in the company is actually higher for lawyers, but mostly because I'm almost topped out already vs the business track where there was theoretically no limit to where I could go. The project and people management is now gone, and I essentially manage my own workflow as a salaried professional. Very nice for a while, but the same fire which drove me to see a good chunk of the world and which then drove me to succeed professionally (by conventional measures) is there. The thought of sitting tapping out legal memos for the remainder of my career leaves me cold, but so does turning into someone I don't like much to be successful in business.
I don't know where things will lead. I may succumb to temptation to lead and run things if an offer comes in. I may suffer boredom but stay put for the sake of my family and 'stash. I'm actually hoping that letting some time pass will provide perspective on avenues I haven't fully considered. At the very least, if I get close to FI I might be in a position to make other choices, e.g. go teach, consult, etc.