I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
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Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#2Me too. I got mentally ill in 2001 and got burned out. I found out the hard way when you are the best most efficient worker they assign you tasks that other people can't or won't do. The stress builds up from the extra work and burnout happens.
I am 53, I should be a manager or CEO by now, but I am disabled and out of work instead. Learning all over at home with new technologies and languages like Python and Dart/Flutter.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#3I think that pretty much everyone feels this when they reach a certain age and it doesn't really matter what you've accomplished. I think humans just have an innate desire to have more.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#4So either the author has a midlife crisis or they genuinely hate where they are in life. TBH, since they have no family/commitment and sound like they dislike where they got in life - I'd say discard the image of yourself and start doing radical things moving forward, sounds like a no lose situation to me, worst case scenario you die doing something risky - but that always sounded better to me than surviving in a hole.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#5It’s maybe not uncommon to have dissonance between enjoying an accomplishment versus enjoying or finding meaning doing the tasks that lead to the result/accomplishment. This is one very scatterbrained outlier of that dissonance.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#6Poor bastard.
I think a lot of older people really don't understand this, but our generation (late millennials, or at least middle-class late millennials) were genuinely fed the lie our whole life that we were special and could do anything.
At some point, you have to admit to yourself that you're just an ordinary human being and Elon Musk has something special that you don't have.
Only when you're in this mindset can you reason about your own limits, what you can achieve and discover that you're actually a pretty decent dishwasher technician.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#7So either the author has a midlife crisis or they genuinely hate where they are in life. TBH, since they have no family/commitment and sound like they dislike where they got in life - I'd say discard the image of yourself and start doing radical things moving forward, sounds like a no lose situation to me, worst case scenario you die doing something risky - but that always sounded better to me than surviving in a hol…
Just to note, this piece is in the humor section. Like most humor, it’s likely a constructed story based on real events or feelings. And also like most humor, it’s relatable. I think your advice to move forward is still relevant though.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#8Poor bastard. I think a lot of older people really don't understand this, but our generation (late millennials, or at least middle-class late millennials) were genuinely fed the lie our whole life that we were special and could do anything. At some point, you have to admit to yourself that you're just an ordinary human being and Elon Musk has something special that you don't have. Only when you're in this mindset can…
Elon Musk was born privileged and is probably wrong about a whole bunch of things.
I don't think it's an appropriate or useful point of comaprison.
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#9Personally, I’ve done some of my best work in my 40’s and 50’s. And so different to anything I was capable of doing in my 20’s and 30’s.
The funniest thing is that I chose not only my university degree but also my optional modules based on a career choice that I moved on from well before I was 30. I don’t generally do regrets, but older me would tell younger me to relax a bit. There’s plenty of time and lots of things to try. Be prepared to be surprised!
Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)
#10Me too. I got mentally ill in 2001 and got burned out. I found out the hard way when you are the best most efficient worker they assign you tasks that other people can't or won't do. The stress builds up from the extra work and burnout happens. I am 53, I should be a manager or CEO by now, but I am disabled and out of work instead. Learning all over at home with new technologies and languages like Python and Dart/Flu…
> I am 53, I should be a manager or CEO by now
Some people your age are managers or CEOs but most people are not, and there's nothing wrong with that. If that is your goal, keep pushing towards it in spite of your issues, but you should also consider focusing less on career and more on just enjoying life.