There is a belief, that I have lived myself that this is the only way.

A different way is to say do a year on 9-5 and year off living off less money. Or work half the hours.

These alternatives aren’t push button they require a lot of negotiation and some work to set up for yourself.

It was soft core in the sense we were close to civilisation and no one was going to die.

The main takeaways is being prepared esp. how to source water (bring water, filters, spares, more spares, ways to start fire to boil water) and calling for help (no reason to not get a beacon). And how to treat snake bites (because they can kill) was drilled in.

Then occupy yourself with something you love, but not alcohol, tv, drugs, sloth etc. as this will probably lead to depression / addiction.

For HN stereotype that could be coding the side project which is always more fun than coding at work, even though it is still bashing keys and occasionally swearing at the monitor.

What are some examples of creature comforts here? And what does it mean to “swap” them for free time?

I understood the rest of your reply.