Quarter life crisis...

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NickM

Veteran
Just do what I do and don't bother setting goals for yourself. It's much more interesting just ambling through life rudderless seeing what happens. At least, it's always worked reasonably well for me.
A stance with which I am largely in agreement. My only goal is to reduce my outgoings to the extent that I don't need to get out of bed in the morning unless I feel like it. I'm making fairly good progress.

Something tells me that when I no longer have to get out of bed, I'll feel much more inclined to do it.

By the way, RT, are you still walking? MsM and I tackled the northern half of Glyndwr's Way between Xmas and New Year, and it was stunning (when we could see it through the fog). It's not far from you...
 

XmisterIS

Purveyor of fine nonsense
lady_rider, you are but a mere whipper-snapper! 30? Pah! We (and that is the royal "we") are 34. Just you wait until you get to my age! Then you'll know what life's all about! There's nothing more for me to learn, I know it all now. I sell my services as a Personal Guru.
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
I have gone through life without any real idea what I want to do. I just make it up as I go along.
 
No one in the office knew, I didn't know until that afternoon when I typed up my notice unsure if I was going to hand it in. I just did it and walked away.

I typed my resignation out on a Sunday afternoon then carried it around during the week waiting for the best moment to hand it in, which as it turned out was the Thursday morning. I knew I was going the moment I put it in my workbag. Took less than a day for the news to spread through the whole establishment. The comment that stuck with me most was a colleague who stared at me incredulously and said: "But you're good at it!".

I enjoyed your account and how things worked out for you, by the way.
 
In my teens I was an ambitious person with lots going for me and it was all swept away by a disability which only left me one option, to stay in education. I'm now an academic with a good career, but I am always thinking 'what if' and have a growing list of 'fantasy exit strategies' but have no funds to get out. But that may change one day.

Regarding ambitions, plans for the future etc I tend not to have any, but instead take every opportunity which comes along, as you don't know where it will lead you. I also make sure that I have a really full life outside of work so I have something to look forward to at the end of the working day. The way I see it, you can do something which is really absorbing, so you get satisfaction through work, or you can do something which enables you to do the things you want to outside of it.

From what you are saying lady_rider the problem seems to stem from this 'ambition' you had rather than anything else. Can you reflect on what you achieved - other than the substance of the thing itself - and whether there is anything you'd like to take forward from it, things you've learned about yourself, things you found interesting within the achievement of the ambition that might spark an interest? Maybe some odd random things which you ignored at the time but could get you into new ways of thinking about your future? Could voluntary or community work help your focus? Also, thinking of things that you didn't like about it, or the other jobs you've done, is equally revealing.

Good luck anyway.
 
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