Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
news.mit.edu
Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
1–10 of 192 posts
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#2(2017)
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#3I wonder if the "midlife" part of midlife crisis does some harm. Other then me not being in my midlife (well i hope lol, don't think i want to die at 60) a lot of those issue resonate. Shrinking of possibilities, empty feeling as i pursue things. Ive felt this way on and off since my 20s and have talked with friends about similar feelings.
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#4I wonder if the "midlife" part of midlife crisis does some harm. Other then me not being in my midlife (well i hope lol, don't think i want to die at 60) a lot of those issue resonate. Shrinking of possibilities, empty feeling as i pursue things. Ive felt this way on and off since my 20s and have talked with friends about similar feelings.
At 35 I started calling myself “middle aged” and my coworkers around the same age looked at me like I was insane and then a rather uncomfortable discussion ensued about age and average lifespan in the US. Nobody in their 30s wants to think that they are in fact “middle aged” and it might be the time to have a “midlife crisis”.
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#5I'll tell you what would solve mine. About $2m.
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#6I wonder if the "midlife" part of midlife crisis does some harm. Other then me not being in my midlife (well i hope lol, don't think i want to die at 60) a lot of those issue resonate. Shrinking of possibilities, empty feeling as i pursue things. Ive felt this way on and off since my 20s and have talked with friends about similar feelings.
Yeah, this hits home. I'm only 28 but can feel my life becoming more and more predictable and stagnate. At the same time, I'm too afraid and money-conscious to make any bold changes (e.g., quit my job, start a business, go back to school, live in a van for a year, do something weird with my life). This is an incredible source of anxiety and depression.
I've started therapy and have made some progress. If I can become less anxious about money, I think I'll be able to find sustainable happiness. But I know this will be a lifetime struggle.
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#7Philosophy would be a great name for a boat
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#8I'll tell you what would solve mine. About $2m.
You're weird if the possession of any amount of money actually solves a problem. I bring this up because I got advice long ago that if you think you need more money to be happy:
1. What you really want is what you can do with that money.
2. There's usually an alternative way to get nearly equal enjoyment for far less money.
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#9I'll tell you what would solve mine. About $2m.
Pretty sure once you hit 2m it will then be 10m :)
Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
#10Seems like a good way to avert a midlife crisis is to explicitly make helping others a non-trivial part of one's life. Focusing on effectiveness on helping others is probably an important component as well.
I recommend looking into Effective Altruism - "a philosophy and community focused on maximising the good you can do through your career, projects, and donations"
https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
In my case I've joined Giving What We Can ten years ago - giving at least 10% of my income to cost-effective charities. No matter how badly my day goes, I can always reflect on how nice it is that through my donations thousands of individuals have benefited greatly.