And I'm not old. But I am working a very demanding 9 hour a day job for a pain in the ass boss (I know I'm not alone in feeling this way) and I just collapse at the end of each day. I have always been a news junkie but i just can't follow the news at all the same way, technology has made following world affairs and national events a minute to minute thing - even with sports it's the same way. Everything is constantly changing and moving with lightning speed. Personally, it seems every evening it seems we have something to do or some chore to take care of. There's constantly some activity we need to do, whether it's financial, doing yard work, buying groceries, deciding on furniture, family planning, dealing with some crisis with an animal or a family member.
I'm a young adult, does it get any better, do things slow down just a tad, because I need a break big time, not just a one week vacation, but just a few weeks to do absolutely nothing.
Anyone ever feel that way?
It's good to reset. I've been unhappy with work living with high anxiety from it since the new year and finally had enough.
I'm retired now but prior to that I never minded working long hard days when it was doing something I had a passion for, in a situation that I enjoyed. I could easily work 12 hour days if I was doing what I enjoyed. The times I found myself in a situation where I wasn't happy I made changes.
IMO you have to weigh the benefits of where you currently are with your long term goals and happiness.
You have to force yourself to have work life balance and dont worry about whether they fire you for taking care of yourself. Find a hobby that you love and do it. You need time for yourself and even if that means an hour or two away from the family on saturday and sunday.
I am going fishing every chance that I get. It really is a stress reliever and helps me to unwind. I toss the phone in one of the hatches in my kayak and forget about it. Find something similar for yourself. It works...
If no but plan to have kids..... It gets worse
I left my old job after spending far too long there. I hated it but I felt like it was my only option at the time. I decided to quit, take a month or so to just figure things out and wound up taking a bit of a risk and a step back salary-wise to do something I was more interested in since the ceiling was much higher and there was more room for growth.
I'm really glad I did. I still work crazy hours. I'm on this site so much because I'm literally on my MacBook ALL day and need to take small breaks every so often. I work nights, I work weekends. I give myself one night a week to get out and do something with friends but that's really all the time I can spare.
I still feel burned out sometimes - I have weeks where my e-mail just won't stop. If I walk away for an hour, I come back to 20 new things I need to take care of.
I get it, though - we live in a world now where everything is just non-stop. There's barely ever any downtime. Even when I take breaks or days away from work, I know there's just more piling up for me that I'll need to address when I get back.
It's tough. Everything is so expensive. A lot of us have to work like crazy to get by.
Don't ever feel bad about taking a few weeks or even a couple of months to just literally do nothing and re-set. Life is short and you only have so much time. Some people get completely consumed by their work that years go by and they realize that they did so little for themselves and everything for everyone else and they always regret it.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. The sooner you find something you love to do, simplify your life so you can focus on that thing and you will be so much more happy.
I transitioned from a career in banking, with many wonderful assignments and responsibilities, to become a high school math teacher. I simplified everything in my life and now have the time to really enjoy many fewer things.
Hang in there, and spend time reflecting on what you truly enjoy doing. Once you figure that out you will be ready to begin the process of building a beautiful life for yourself.
My boss has the IQ of a house plant. He's been around forever. How he still has job is a testament to what's wrong in the world. Our product is the stock price. Scary and sad. We all have difficult days. Just find things outside of work that fulfill you until you find that job that Makes you feel bettter. You are certainly not alone.
but.... Who says they have to be passionate about what they do, it doesn't have to define you. I just gotta show up and feed my family and get my kids thru college. Family is the most important thing to me right now and this current setup is working for me and my family. So I'm gonna just continue to go thru the motions and do what I can to enjoy my life
Assuming you have marketable skills, this is a market in which you should expect to have leverage. Pay, quality of life, etc should be a bit easier to come by when you choose to re-enter the workforce.
Anyway, we took the leap and moved from NJ to the Pacific northwest and it's the best decision we ever made. So much found time and money. I feel like I've been on vacation for a year, and I have a two year old son that doesn't sleep well yet still has more energy than a nuclear plant.
I can't say this strongly enough if you're thinking of having kids... Your families can be a giant pain in the ass even if they are well meaning.
Oh, ignore the news. Ignore the goofy world that we live in and stick to following stuff that you enjoy. Or hell, you know what they say, right? If you can’t beat them, join them.
If no but plan to have kids..... It gets worse
Lol!
himself.
There are alot of jobs out there now and not enough people to fill them. 600 baby boomers retire from workforce every week now and its leaving a big gap in workforce as economy grows.
Find out what you want out of life while finding that perfect balance of selflessness and selfishness. if you're burnt out you're too much of something you shouldn't be doing. If you must do these things find an end game. Find a way to make life easier and better. Simple as that.
And if you don't have kids you're definitely wasting too much energy.
Then other times, everything is going so smooth in my life and I am just miserable for no reason.
The good thing is you seem to have a reason for your stress (your job and your boss). I hate to state the obvious but, stress can be physically draining.
There are some days - when I come home I have to take a NAP - Despite doing nothing physically taxing all day.
About 2 weeks ago, there was an article about folks who exercise, meditate, eat well, and get a good night's sleep
(same life style type that has been reported about for almost decades now) tend to be happier than those who do not.
Do you think you can be clinically depressed ... even slightly?
Also, they are all in competition for ratings - so everything seems like it is drama filled (needlessly) or that particular network's political slant.
I try to stick to the local news and the national news from 1 of the 4 major networks .... and that is it.
Good luck - things will change. You will make them change! You will do it consciously (immediate action based on a plan) or sub-consciously (your emotions will affect your behavior slightly).
You'll be alright.
Best of luck. This too shall pass.
Then, I realized I could make small changes to my attitude that may correct things. Be more positive at home and work and positive things will happen. I was right... My wife and I learned how to work as a team. My hard work and attitude were recognized enough at work that I've had several promotions since, and now I'm at the same level as my old, pain in the ass boss. We sold our starter home and bought a new home in a much better town, that we love. We also had a second kid. Life went from being a complete drag to a fun adventure in a blink of an eye.
My suggestion would be to always take a positive attitude and not to sweat the small things.. It will get better as long as you can adjust yourself. I'd also recommend pulling yourself away from technology, as others have mentioned. I can feel when my mind is running on empty. That's when I shut everything down and do something relaxing.
When I was younger I went through a similar rough patch. I just wanted to run to the hills and become a hermit. It just seemed like everything was piling up on me and no matter how hard I tried to dig out from underneath I couldn't get to the top.
But when I thought about it good and hard I realized that's what life is all about. Because after all what's the alternative. So, you have to accept the challenge and even in the most difficult of situations you figure things out and get through it. It makes you a stronger person. Someone your family can count on. Someone who when the chips are down finds a way to enjoy that aspect of life too. The daily challenges. It won't all be peaches and cream and you have to reconcile that. Life throws you plenty of rotten apples. Now the question is how do you deal with them.
Don't give up and don't give in and enjoy life no matter the circumstance because everyday is a challenge and know that tomorrow is not guaranteed. But listen, when you come out the other end you'll see things much clearer. Trust me.
sports starting 3 hours earlier for you, Monday night football ending at 8:30pm.
In the winter no snow just looking up through palm trees at snow covered mountains.
Legal marijuana
asians in yoga pants everywhere
super friendly people
give it a try what the hell
Job change ought to at least get some consideration if it's draining you to the degree it seems it is. Having enough time to enjoy things, and to relearn how to do that, is key.
I have a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings I supervise and I feel for them everyday. The demands they are faced with are much different than I had at that age. The need for double incomes, kids and activities, technology, social media, this ugly world, gangs, drugs, etc...... it never ends. We need to relearn its ok to say NO once in awhile or just cant do it. The overall respect for one another as well as self accountability continues to deteriorate. Its pretty sad.
So what I do today like many of you have mentioned is make it a point to step back every know and then and just take deep breaths and enjoy family, friends and the good things in life. Escape for a few hours in a hobby. Try to live each day like it may be your last, though that is challenging some days, I know.
I agree +10000
These talking heads now take sides, and promote one side or the other. No one just tells you the facts. Everything is twisted to sounds like the other side is "evil" and trying to destroy us. Its shameful what the media does now. I stopped watching it daily and am much happier. I also realized that 100% of my daily interactions with people are positive and have no bearing or relation to what CNN is yelling at me.
Other than that, Prozac or Valium should work.
I usually turn my phone off at the end of the work days and sometimes I shut it off over the weekends.
Make a mental picture of the way you would like things to be and work towards that goal.
I started my own business in 2003 - I usually work in basketball at lunchtime 1-2 times a week. I was going to go over the fence if I continued to work for someone.
i'm 30 and have everything i want: a job with lots of money, control, and upside, a beautiful and sweet girlfriend, a nice apartment to myself in manhattan.... but somehow i just cant find the time to relax.
If you're older and have a wife and kids, no shit it's called a midlife crisis. I never had one, but some of my friends do and they all result in different things, divorce, drugs, career change, relocation, gambling/debt, some people just move past it with no damage.
My advice is to get a hobby, something you enjoy and make time for yourself, get a gun and join a rod and gun club, or just join one and take up fishing, take up gardening, cycling, other sports league, exercising, etc. something you like and can do without your family.
Once you get something like this you will look forward to it.
Reported
You don't want to be like one of those morons on Kimmel's Lie-Witness News who can't name the Attorney General or locate North Korea on a map. That's pathetic.
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I'm one of those people who will always hate work, and that's while working for a killer company that treats us so well. Work blows. I second those who said pick up a new, challenging hobby. Once you start to get good you'll feel a sense of accomplishment.
New instrument, learn to cook or draw or play pool. Or there's always the reliable standby of getting in ripped good shape. You'll look & feel better and turn female heads which is always rewarding. The best is when they immediately subconsciously start fixing their hair right as they pass you. As Dave Chappelle once said..."gotchya bitch!"
Good luck OP. It's a relatable problem.
It felt like the weight of an elephant was taken off my back.
Single? Quit you job and if you have any construction skills, go to whee there is a government job and get hired on buy on of the multi-national companies.
It's an adventure and opens up the whole world if you continue your education.
When I retired from the FD, I also was a certified as a Safety Engineer thru the Society of Safety Engineers. I was offered stupid money to take 3 month contracts. Never did it because I set myself and my family up. Except for a few small companies I have for tax purposes, I will not work again
A lot of work and education to set up what I have while I did what I loved,FD.
Moral of the story? Life s shorter than you can believe. Go for it.
No regrets. Good luck.
He was 100% right.
It's easy to get lost in the weeds. Focus on the important.
The news is horrid. Don't want to turn the thread into why you shouldn't watch the news but taking a break from following it isn't silly at all. Doesn't mean you can learn things from other avenues but a nice clean break from following politics will probably do many people a lot of good.
Agree 100% and I am not an atheist. Joseph Campbell is the go to course for myth and mythology.
The news is horrid. Don't want to turn the thread into why you shouldn't watch the news but taking a break from following it isn't silly at all. Doesn't mean you can learn things from other avenues but a nice clean break from following politics will probably do many people a lot of good.
I mean I guess you can make an argument that if being informed is bumming one out, it makes sense to embrace "ignorance is bliss".
When ignorance is unaccompanied by self-righteousness, it's fairly harmless.
Speaking frankly, I'd be embarrassed to not know basic facts about global affairs, but I understand that's not a universal sentiment. News junky-ism does tend to make one more cynical. but again there are many dry and unhysterical sources out there (PBS NewsHour, e.g.)