Re: Scared to death – literally

[Anonymous]

Wanting to achieve something successful in your life can be a very frustrating desire. My husband has it, and he gets very down about it, has tried so many things (and he is good at a lot of things) but he wants to be “known” for something, to be “great” at something, and when he doesn’t achieve it, he gets depressed. It’s an awful cycle and frustrating for me to watch. It costs us a lot in expenses because he has to have all the “right” tools before he will start anything.

I’m 56, have had over 26 jobs in my life, never able to settle down until I met my husband, unable to sustain achievements even if I get there (I succcessfully obtained a professional accounting designation but only worked about 9 years in the field, too stressful and couldn’t hold all of the information in my head, I probably have a math dysfunction too). I spent thousands of dollars in my late 40s trying different training programs and careers (accounting designations don’t come cheap), finally my husband said “you are not allowed to be anything more than a warm body in a classroom – no more studies!”

I’m learning to simplify my life. Getting up in the morning, limiting my exposure to the media that says we have to be prettier, dress snappier, work harder and faster and achieve more than anyone else, etc, just doing what i can to keep it together and have a more balanced life, that’s what’s important to me now. And health and my relationship with my husband.

I’ve changed my perspective – I no longer want to run with the rate race or climb the corporate ladder.

I don’t know if that’s helpful, for me, I set my sights lower and eventually found something I could do on my own.

REPORT ABUSE