Money!
Turning 40 freaked me out a bit, but it hasn’t been that bad, outside of the whole “collapsing society” thing that’s been going on the last several years. I have a wonderful wife and kid, chickens, a dog, a cat with a heart full of disdain, and two dorky cars. I have good neighbors, a decent job, I honestly feel kinda guilty for how well I’ve been doing since I turned 40.
Depends on the person, but in my case:
- Financial stability
- Fewer worries
- I’ve learned to relax and not take things too seriously. Especially when it comes to myself.
- I finally know what I’m gonna do “when I grow up”
- Time and resources to spend on my hobbies
I finally know what I’m gonna do “when I grow up”
how? I know after 40 I just resigned myself I will not be something else when I would grew up (mechanic, doctor, lawyer, whatever) and that I’ll be a software developer for the rest of my life :-/
Luck, basically. I landed a career that I actually enjoy, it pays decently, and I’m given a lot of freedom and flexibility. I tried having a “normal job”, but in my mid 30s I concluded that normal jobs are for normal people, so I reached out to some former coworkers and got back into offshore seismic survey. I have since landed a supporting role where most of it is done from home.
I still enjoy being a software developer, I also WFH since COVID which is incredible
There is some truth to this… I’ve moved on from the ideas that I might be highly influential or consequential. Now I just focus on trying to be a good person, do good deeds that keep me happy, tell nazis to DIAF, etc. No fame to be had for me. Other than a few immediate family members, I’ll be forgotten to time when I die.
It’s mostly acceptance that you are already grown up, and a career change involves financially weighing the benefits of the new career vs the lost income to train for it. Add to it the fact that the working runway gets shorter and shorter which reduces the financial payoff, and you’re not changing careers after your 40s unless it’s for love/enjoyment.
I think we were sold a lot of Hollywood bullshit about living for your job and working all evening or dream jobs that involved taking our laptops to Starbucks to plan parties for the rich and famous. But at the end of the day, a job is a job - nobody would pay you to do it if it was that fun. And so my choice is to make as much as I can to allow me to enjoy my leisure time, which means staying in my current career where I have already climbed the ladder.
Hard emphasis on “Depends on the person.” I have a friend in their early 40s who currently can’t meet anything on this list due to financial hardships and unstable living conditions.
I also have two elderly friends who are unhoused due to all the shelters being booked as a result of the heat.
Fuck Amerikkka by the way.
I can +1 this. I’m that guy. Especially #1,2 &4…
If my landlord dies (she’s in her 70s and not doing well) I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do. I have an absurdly low rent for the area I’m in (1,400/month +utilities for a shit garage “apartment” is considered cheap here…) and if I have to move it will be out of the state and I have to leave my job… Being an uneducated piece of shit my job prospects, especially in this economy, are pretty much nil.
My sister in-law is from that country you simp for, and an entire section of her family has been living on the street for decades. So, fuck the world, pal.
Financial stability… Seems I’m doing something wrong
Fewer worries? I didn’t gave a shit in my 20th, since my burnout I’m a complete wreck
I think, everyone has something different at that age
I do start to notice, what’s actually important to me, but being a nerve wreck, I don’t have the base to really go for the things, I care about
It’s easier to stop caring and engaging with aspects of culture that you find distasteful.
You know more, but you’re also aware of how much you don’t know.
The biggest advantage I can think of is that you are not dead yet.
Nah… That’s a con, not a pro.
So you think it’s better to be dead than older? Interesting perspective there.
Have you seen the world? Shit sucks. I don’t wanna be here anymore.
Well, I guess that’s something you need to work on.
Mods, this guy just told me to kill myself! /s
If you want to take it that way I can’t change how you feel. I really was talking about the fact that maybe you need to work on finding reasons to want to stick around.
Not giving a shit about so much stuff.
It’s almost over.
only 40 years until retirement (/s)
You’ve got a lot of good stories to tell.
For me is confidence, self awareness and focus. And money too. If I could only heal like when I was in my 20s…
Emotional regulation. Better pay, if you have been able to work consistently. Kids older, easier to deal with. Happier, and can make better decisions because we are not so hotheaded.
I agree, I really cringe at emotional social choices I made 20 years ago.
However, I think the better pay is because I have 17 years experience in my field. If I started today, I wouldn’t earn the same because I wouldn’t yet be performing at my current capacity. It’s easier because we went through the suck already.
People think you know more than you do.
Being immune to the vagaries of pop culture and being pleasantly baffled when celebs make the news and you have no fucking idea who they are.
It’s also kind of wild because a lot of the really, really famous young people look entirely the opposite of the super-good-looking A-listers of the past. Guess its great that the younger generation seem less superficial than we were, but my programming struggles to process it when I see some pasty, odd looking dweeb and find out they’re outstreamng the Beatles or whatever.
You don’t have to wait as long to die.
You no longer fear death, you yearn for it
