I quit my job a few months ago and the main reason was to have more time to travel the world for pleasure. (I was an IT/ERP Manager, now run my own business as an independent IT consultant).

I am not sure if it was middle age crisis (I am less than 2 years short of 40), but I thought it ridiculous to do the same thing every day, commute, sit in the office, commute, eat, sleep, commute, sit in the office...etc)

Sure, I could go on holidays, but I hated this feeling of having just come back from a 3 weeks break in Hawaii (Maui--my favorite destination!) and realizing I had to wait another 6 months for the next trip...).

So I took the plunge into self-employment. It's scary, but it was worth it. Now I can travel for a few months each year in total