4 ms·

part of the problem is by the time you're 50, you've had 30 years of adult life to accumulate bad decisions. a lot of people are saddled with obligations they

part of the problem is by the time you're 50, you've had 30 years of adult life to accumulate bad decisions. a lot of people are saddled with obligations they never actually wanted. :(

beat 10y ago
Yeah, this. :( My ability to stop working for The Man and start my own company has been severely hampered by the need to pay my mortgage and kids in college and stuff.
- Unbeliever69 10y ago
  Trust me when I say that this is all fear. Multiple times I have uprooted family despite all discomfort, odds, safety nets, etc. to pursue a passion. First it was moving out of state to attend graduate school. Second, it was leaving a 6 figure career to pursue my dream. Downsizing was necessary. I had to question my values about money, things, accumulation, happiness. NEVER sell yourself short. If you are passionate you will find a way. Check out these guys. They have a great book and a movie. http://www.theminimalists.com/ http://www.theminimalists.com/
  - preordained 10y ago
    It's risk/reward. For lots of people, uprooting, changing their job/family circumstance at X time is too much risk--and a lot of people are probably right in that regard. There is no assurance that your bold venture will succeed, despite your planning, ambition, etc. And if it was all but certain, it wouldn't be very bold, it'd just be common sense.
  - beat 10y ago
    Depends on your family. I kinda want to stay married, which limits my forward acceleration. It's a matter of finding the right compromise point. Didn't say it was going to be easy!
  - anigbrowl 10y ago
    You have had a very supportive family, as well as rich opportunities. Congratulations.
blubb-fish 10y ago
Life as an adult is fundamentally and naturally about responsebilites and obligations - and most men no longer are able to cope with those because they bought into the illusion of life long youth - aka Peter Pan syndrome.
- beachstartup 10y ago
  no, i think you have it backwards. the men who are 50 something right now dove headlong into family+salary+mortgage at an early age, possibly against their true desires, and many of them are feeling the negative effects of that. peter pan syndrome means you never actually did anything with your life (positive or negative), not that you've been beaten down by it. how can you be beaten down by nothing?
  - blubb-fish 10y ago
    whether you feel good or bad about your life depends 90% on personal and subjective perception. And this perception is almost 100% determined by the surrounding society. The other 10% are health facts. Take a man who is somewhat wealthy in India and place him into San Francisco while conserving the living conditions - he will feel poor and inferior. Or one of those guys who feel betrayed by the US government and hence voted for Trump - their living standard is most likely superior to that of a (very happy) king in ancient Egypt. Today's 50 y/o men are influenced by what media communicates - and that is essentially a message conveying a hedonistic and materialistic lifestyle. Those guys feel bad b/c they don't look as ripped as some Hollywood actor, their spouse not as hot as some chick on a magazine, they can't buy that car b/c their children are expensive etc. Mature men and women consume less - and our society is built on consumption.
  - JKCalhoun 10y ago
    I'm 52 — dove into family+salary+mortgage around the age of 30. I have no regrets at all. Kids are awesome, a wife is awesome, home equity is awesome.
    - beachstartup 10y ago
brudgers 10y ago
And 50 years to accumulate bad luck...though, being alive at 50 is mostly a matter of good luck and reasonably sound decisions.

part of the problem is by the time you're 50, you've had 30 years of adult life to accumulate bad decisions. a lot of people are saddled with obligations they never actually wanted. :(

beat 10y ago

Yeah, this. :( My ability to stop working for The Man and start my own company has been severely hampered by the need to pay my mortgage and kids in college and stuff.

Unbeliever69 10y ago
Trust me when I say that this is all fear. Multiple times I have uprooted family despite all discomfort, odds, safety nets, etc. to pursue a passion. First it was moving out of state to attend graduate school. Second, it was leaving a 6 figure career to pursue my dream. Downsizing was necessary. I had to question my values about money, things, accumulation, happiness. NEVER sell yourself short. If you are passionate you will find a way. Check out these guys. They have a great book and a movie. http://www.theminimalists.com/ http://www.theminimalists.com/
- preordained 10y ago
  It's risk/reward. For lots of people, uprooting, changing their job/family circumstance at X time is too much risk--and a lot of people are probably right in that regard. There is no assurance that your bold venture will succeed, despite your planning, ambition, etc. And if it was all but certain, it wouldn't be very bold, it'd just be common sense.
- beat 10y ago
  Depends on your family. I kinda want to stay married, which limits my forward acceleration. It's a matter of finding the right compromise point. Didn't say it was going to be easy!
- anigbrowl 10y ago
  You have had a very supportive family, as well as rich opportunities. Congratulations.

blubb-fish 10y ago

Life as an adult is fundamentally and naturally about responsebilites and obligations - and most men no longer are able to cope with those because they bought into the illusion of life long youth - aka Peter Pan syndrome.

beachstartup 10y ago
no, i think you have it backwards. the men who are 50 something right now dove headlong into family+salary+mortgage at an early age, possibly against their true desires, and many of them are feeling the negative effects of that. peter pan syndrome means you never actually did anything with your life (positive or negative), not that you've been beaten down by it. how can you be beaten down by nothing?
- blubb-fish 10y ago
  whether you feel good or bad about your life depends 90% on personal and subjective perception. And this perception is almost 100% determined by the surrounding society. The other 10% are health facts. Take a man who is somewhat wealthy in India and place him into San Francisco while conserving the living conditions - he will feel poor and inferior. Or one of those guys who feel betrayed by the US government and hence voted for Trump - their living standard is most likely superior to that of a (very happy) king in ancient Egypt. Today's 50 y/o men are influenced by what media communicates - and that is essentially a message conveying a hedonistic and materialistic lifestyle. Those guys feel bad b/c they don't look as ripped as some Hollywood actor, their spouse not as hot as some chick on a magazine, they can't buy that car b/c their children are expensive etc. Mature men and women consume less - and our society is built on consumption.
- JKCalhoun 10y ago
  I'm 52 — dove into family+salary+mortgage around the age of 30. I have no regrets at all. Kids are awesome, a wife is awesome, home equity is awesome.
  - beachstartup 10y ago

brudgers 10y ago

And 50 years to accumulate bad luck...though, being alive at 50 is mostly a matter of good luck and reasonably sound decisions.