starting over, i need a change, mid-life crisis, help!

[ScoJo15]

Has anyone ever just wanted to start things over, or am I the only one who feels this way??? Maybe it's a mid-life crisis??? Let me explain:

I've come to the conclusion that I no longer want what I have and need a change in life. I'm not talking about my wife or daughter, but about the things that I've accumulated and my daily routine. Over the years, I've built up a nice DVD collection and huge CD collection. I belong to Netflix and would watch a movie once or twice a week. I enjoyed PC, PS2 and XBOX games and would play them sparingly. After the wife and kid go to bed at night, I'd unwind with a movie or TV show and hit the sack around 11 or 12.

I'm now completely tired of this routine and have begun selling off my dvd & cd collections on ebay. I'm ending my Netflix subscription, due to the fact that I am just not interested in seeing most of the movies that are out right now. I'm getting tired of sitting in traffic for an hour each way each day and getting tired of the endless stream of PC users having the same troubles with their PC's and needing it fixed yesterday (which is what my work day has now become). I'm tired of the nightly eat, homework, shower, bed routine (again, I'm not tired of helping my DD with her homework, or reading books to her...just tired of the monotony).

Sometimes I wish that I could just start over and have a different career with different hobbies and different interests....but I want the same house & same family.

I need a change!!!

Anyone else with me or am I just going through some kind of phase???

 

[chrissyk]

I totally hear you! I have never been a "stuff" person, but lately I've gotten into the phase of selling our extraneous stuff on Ebay or just donating it. We also recently got rid of CDs, DVDs, etc. Now I'm working on clothing and some other stuff. We've also donated and tossed a ton of stuff that we just don't need. I can't stand clutter, period.

As for the day-to-day routine, have you considered a radical change like teaching? I don't know what your undergrad is in, but it sounds like you have an IT background. Your state probably has an accelerated certification program that you could enter to become a math or science teacher. I left engineering to become a high school math teacher via an accelerated certification program. I know that I could make a LOT more as an engineer, but I want to do something more meaningful with my life (no offense to any other engineer! I mean meaningful to me!). I think that it's normal to get burned out on the grind, commute, etc. and to want a different quality-of-life. That's not a midlife crisis...that's concious/thoughtful living IMHO.

 

[questioner]

I went through a complete change in my life a few years ago. It is very nice:

New Career
New Hobbies
New Home
New Friends
New Car

But, you know what, everything seemed the same as soon as I adjusted to the new grind.

Maybe the PeaceCore?

 

[minkydog]

Yup, sounds like mid-life crisis to me. Don't do anything stupid. But a red convertible would be nice Of course, you could always volunteer to serve Thanksgiving at a homeless shelter. That may be the kind of real life you're looking for

Cathy--having a crisis of some kind or 'nother myself

 

[Tiggeroo]

well i bought a mustang gt and colored my hair red. Scary stuff.

 

[ItsonlyExperiment626]

I wanted a change in my life which was to stop being a doormat to my DH. He's resisting the change so there has been a lot of fighting going on here

 

[motherhen17404]

well i bought a mustang gt and colored my hair red. Scary stuff.

LOL, I did this too!!!

DH and I had our mid-life crisis together. We decided that there were things that we missed out on when we were teenagers. Both of us had to be "adults" when we were teens due to family problems. So we decided that teens go out on the weekends, why can't we? Now we go out dancing every Friday night and we have a blast. Just spending more time with each other has helped us.

 

[clarabelle]

DH and I took up biking. We hang out with other bike geeks now and look at cycling magazines and follow Lance Armstrong in the news. We also lost weight and are in much better shape. It has been a postitive change for us.

Maybe something like that would help? Biking/ hiking/ canoeing/ martial arts?

Also for the commute -I love books on tape. Libraries often have them. As well as www.recordedbooks.com. You rent them and send them back in a pre paid box.
My entire family listens to them in the car.

 

[LoveWDW]

People change jobs and professions all the time. Why don't you go to an employment office and see what is available or if they have tests to find out what kind of job you'd like. You could try it part time or temp for a while and still hang on to your present job for security until you decide.

 

[Disney Doll]

You know, I feel the same way about all the "stuff". I have a lot of collectible type stuff which I acquired when I was younger, which is now just more junk to dust. I look around my house and feel like I just want to get rid of all the stuff and have it very simply decorated. The stuff feels like it's weighing me down.

Also not loving the job scene. Have been a nurse for 22 years...it's a long time, and when I first started I had visions of saving the world. Well, have slowly found out that the world really doesn't want to be saved....it just wants to continue smoking, drinking, drugging, and now the old beaten on body doesn't work and it's my fault. Have been getting into some computer stuff lately which is interesting, but I'd really love to work from home, be my own boss, and be able to earn a decent living. Not too many jobs let you do that though, right?

Thankfully, DH & my doggie are great!!!!!

Must be a mid-life thing, as I am 43.

 

[RobinMarie]

boy it sure sounds like you could benefit from yoga practice. Consider it!

 

[sunkissed212]

I needed a change recently too - it's just a quarter life crisis for me...just turned 27.

I was single, after 2 long term relationships and a failed engagement, and I was simply unhappy...with work, dating, life, etc.

I quit my job...and got a better one. Bought a new car....and got myself a tattoo. Now, some may say that those things are impulsive but they weren't at all. I had wanted (and needed for sanity sake) to quit my job for quite some time and find a real "career" which I did. Subsequently, decided that that Jeep Liberty I'd been drooling over for 2+ years was now financially possible, and that tattoo idea that I had thrown around since High School was something that no one but myself now was stopping me from getting. So, I went to the tattoo parlour and got it...all by myself on a friday night!

Since then, I've met the love of my life ... made many new friends, discovered loves that I had forgotten I had (travelling and music mostly)...and seem to look at life in a different way. No one can tell me what "I" can or can't do. I live for me and do things to make myself happy. Yes, I have a boyfriend...and he loves me to pieces and vice versa...we respect each other and that's why I feel like I don't have to answer to anyone

I think people go through these crises at many different times in their lives....5 years ago, I thought at 27 I'd be married...maybe a child, and doing yard work on the weekend. Instead, at 27, I'm in a super great relationship, travelling on weekends, working at a great job, and having more fun than I thought possible. Not sure how long it will last....but i'm living one day at a time!

 

[Lyn5]

I am going through this also. I have started doing the things I enjoy more, like baking, and have been giving away and/or donating things from my home. I also try to buy/accumulate less things. I find that with less material stuff my house is easier to clean and I have more time to enjoy my family. A few months ago I hated my job and almost left....but I changed my perspective on it and realized how many positive things are at the job...so a change is view can also make the world of difference.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Honey, is that you??

 

[Micca]

Cash it all out and start collecting Disney pins

 

[Cindyluwho]

OMG You're right where I was about 5 years ago! I guess we all go through it - both males and females.

I found a new hobby, actually an old one from my childhood. Raising chickens! In the city! My daughter joined 4H and it's something we can do together.

Next, I bought a convertible! Need I say more?

Then I joined a group that brings children over from the Chernobyl area for 6 weeks every summer.

I'm so happy now! My life is full, my job seems so much better!

 

[ScoJo15]

After thinking about it further, I think the posts about needing a meaning to what I am doing hit the nail on the head.

In the meantime, I have planned a weekend in the mountains from nov. 18-20 to get away, spend some quality time with the family and re-assess the entire situation...

 

[BkrsLoveDis!]

I have never been a "stuff" person, but lately I've gotten into the phase of selling our extraneous stuff on Ebay or just donating it.I can't stand clutter, period.

As for the day-to-day routine, have you considered a radical change like teaching? I left engineering to become a high school math teacher via an accelerated certification program. I know that I could make a LOT more as an engineer, but I want to do something more meaningful with my life (no offense to any other engineer! I mean meaningful to me!).

OMG - you just described my life right now - have finally had it with the clutter - ebaying, garage selling and donating away stuff like crazy and will be certified to teach elementary school by next Spring!!!

And I'm so excited about the change - yikes - am I at mid-life already?!?!

Cyn