If you talk about getting out of the rat race, you mean leaving a job or way of life in which people compete aggressively with each other to be successful.
I had to get out of the rat race and take a look at the real world again.
rat race in British English
noun
a continual routine of hectic competitive activity
working in the City is a real rat race
rat race in American English
US
Slang
a mad scramble or intense competitive struggle, as in the business world