Aging

This is a post I did July 30/08 on aging. I've decided to repost it because I've just come back from vacation and have had lots of spare time to reflect. I wish I could somehow get that feeling of being on vacation everyday …

(July 30/08)

It’s funny how many guys hit their 40’s and then the mid-life crisis sets in. As I approach my 40’s – I’m 38 – I am beginning to understand how these feelings start.

I guess the first question is, why does the mid-life crisis come about?

I would suspect many guys take a hard look at their lives and question the choices they made: Am I in the right profession? Did I marry the right person? How do I compare to everyone else at my age?

Or the big question … is there something I missed?

Along the way, we often have to take jobs that we might not especially like in order to pay our bills. This can lead to sacrificing many of our dreams because we just don’t have time to pursue them.

As the years pass, we can become complacent and comfortable and soon forget about our childhood aspirations.

There are many times I’ve been at work (accounting), and dreamt of being somewhere else, but at this point in time, I’m not in any position to retire.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t know of many people who dreamt of being an accountant when they were a child.

When the mid forties hit, some of the dreams may become awakened because most of us are more financially settled, have paid off many of our debts from our 20’s and 30’s, and have much more spare time.

With this spare time and more money, the unavoidable questions begin …

Is there any way to avoid ‘the crisis’?

I think the answer to that has to do with the way you live your life – are you working for money or following your true passion?

If you’re working for money, there’s a good chance that you may miss out on some things because you may be too busy working – unless you’re one of the lucky ones who makes tons of money while following their passion.

With money comes a lot of the trappings of success like fancy cars, houses and clothing – at the end of the day, these things take valuable time away from us which can be used to gain new experiences

I sort of have a different philosophy – I want to do everything I can until I get too old to do it!

While money is important to some degree, I no longer want to work at things that I don’t really like in order to make lots of money …

I think I’d prefer to be rich in experiences, rather than just be rich.

Here are also a few other tips to avoiding that mid-life crisis (and for a happy life in general):
- be thankful for everyone and everything in our lives.
- stop comparing ourselves to everyone.
- more isn’t always better.
- do it now! Don’t wait until it’s too late.

I’m not saying rich wouldn’t be good, I’m just saying that I don’t want to miss out on anything.

So, I am saying ‘No’ to the mid-life crisis. I’m going to pursue my dreams and interests, even if they seem a bit silly (albeit with a well thought out plan)

I’ll let you know in 10 years, if I was successful or not.

UPDATE

Well, I'm now 7 months older since doing this post and getting close to 39 … then 40!

Still working for money, unfortunately – got a few small bills to pay off.

I've also noticed a few extra grey hairs here and there. It's funny about aging – it doesn't happen gradually. It seems to come in spurts. One day, I'm fine and then I wake up and suddenly I've aged. Weird.

Can't believe how much I've aged since last year – took a look at a photo and was surprised.

Oh well.

If you like this post, then subscribe for free email updates HERE or click on the bright orange logo on the TOP RIGHT section of my blog. You can also sign up for updates via RSS FEED. What is RSS?

It’s funny how many guys hit their 40’s and then the mid-life crisis sets in. As I approach my 40’s – I’m 38 – I am beginning to understand how these feelings start.

I guess the first question is, why does the mid-life crisis come about?