Comment Dude! Change Your Perspective... (Score 1) 1027
I would agree with others who have said this: sit down with your wife and look at your finances. Consider how to live as frugally as possible to save money to either go back to school to train for another profession or to invest to start another career, or just to save yourself in the recession. OR look to hobbies or outside activities for your joy.
That said, consider changing your perspective. There is a great Jewish joke about a man who complained to his rabbi that his home was too crowded and noisy. The rabbi told him to move his goats INSIDE his house... It is a long joke. Look it up. In the end, when the rabbi told him to take the goats back outside (along with all the OTHER animals he'd taken inside), the man realized how nice and quiet it was in his home!
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Here's something to ponder... It ~could~ be your life in the future (or something like it could happen to you). I sincerely hope not...
I had a job which I loved. I worked in it for about 15 years and found it was starting to become boring as you described. I changed to part-time (2/3) and joined a company doing something else which I loved to do as a hobby. It was great for several years, except I became a workaholic and neglected my family. Not so good...
And then what? My health went to hell. I became disabled. (NOTE: 1/3 people become disabled at least temporarily in their lives.) I lost my job and subsequently lost my marriage. Now I live alone - without a workplace to socialize with people with similar interests and intellectual development. (I've found that just socializing at work was something I look back on fondly. I think many folks underestimate how much it means to them to have colleagues or friends at work...)
So, what next? I worked as a consultant, got a Masters degree in a field that interested me (and then found out my disability limited me too much to really work in the field). Then my kids went off to college and our contact diminished as it should when they leave the nest...
And now? I see a shrink to adjust my antidepressants, which aren't working well enough (obviously). I read a lot. I try to socialize as much as I can. I'm considering volunteering to mentor high school (or younger students) in science (which is greatly needed), and am considering writing an article or book which I wished someone else had written on a topic which interests me greatly.
I am in constant pain. I start every day I gritting my teeth, waiting for the pain to subside so I can do the simplest things, like a load of laundry or shopping for food. (I bet you take those for granted, don't you?) I pace myself, usually doing only one thing each day to minimize the pain... Sounds pathetic, doesn't it?
YET! I enjoy a beautiful sunset, pleasant music, intellectually challenging things I read and other moments in the day. They are only moments, but these are the things that keep me alive. Without those moments I would be dead.
Think about it! What if you lost your vision, the ability to read the code you work with or the code you write. What if you had a brain injury which made it difficult for you to express yourself (such as ideas which you currently put into code). Aren't you glad you HAVE a wife and kids? Aren't you glad you have two legs to walk on or run with your kids?
Take some time to think about how many things you are grateful for!
Good luck and hang in there!
That said, consider changing your perspective. There is a great Jewish joke about a man who complained to his rabbi that his home was too crowded and noisy. The rabbi told him to move his goats INSIDE his house... It is a long joke. Look it up. In the end, when the rabbi told him to take the goats back outside (along with all the OTHER animals he'd taken inside), the man realized how nice and quiet it was in his home!
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Here's something to ponder... It ~could~ be your life in the future (or something like it could happen to you). I sincerely hope not...
I had a job which I loved. I worked in it for about 15 years and found it was starting to become boring as you described. I changed to part-time (2/3) and joined a company doing something else which I loved to do as a hobby. It was great for several years, except I became a workaholic and neglected my family. Not so good...
And then what? My health went to hell. I became disabled. (NOTE: 1/3 people become disabled at least temporarily in their lives.) I lost my job and subsequently lost my marriage. Now I live alone - without a workplace to socialize with people with similar interests and intellectual development. (I've found that just socializing at work was something I look back on fondly. I think many folks underestimate how much it means to them to have colleagues or friends at work...)
So, what next? I worked as a consultant, got a Masters degree in a field that interested me (and then found out my disability limited me too much to really work in the field). Then my kids went off to college and our contact diminished as it should when they leave the nest...
And now? I see a shrink to adjust my antidepressants, which aren't working well enough (obviously). I read a lot. I try to socialize as much as I can. I'm considering volunteering to mentor high school (or younger students) in science (which is greatly needed), and am considering writing an article or book which I wished someone else had written on a topic which interests me greatly.
I am in constant pain. I start every day I gritting my teeth, waiting for the pain to subside so I can do the simplest things, like a load of laundry or shopping for food. (I bet you take those for granted, don't you?) I pace myself, usually doing only one thing each day to minimize the pain... Sounds pathetic, doesn't it?
YET! I enjoy a beautiful sunset, pleasant music, intellectually challenging things I read and other moments in the day. They are only moments, but these are the things that keep me alive. Without those moments I would be dead.
Think about it! What if you lost your vision, the ability to read the code you work with or the code you write. What if you had a brain injury which made it difficult for you to express yourself (such as ideas which you currently put into code). Aren't you glad you HAVE a wife and kids? Aren't you glad you have two legs to walk on or run with your kids?
Take some time to think about how many things you are grateful for!
Good luck and hang in there!
