Not worried about getting older but...

... am worried about the limited time I have left on this earth. 37 years, been lurking on this forum since I was probably 17. These past several months made me realize how little enjoyment I get out of life, simply because I work nearly everyday am so busy that all my free time is given to this. Money isn't great, not enough to allow me to frequent vacations. The job itself is horrendous, mostly due to poor and dispicable management, the company works backwards without a care for their employees. and i guess you all can agree that people just plain suck. I look around and see people in their 70s still working... still struggling. makes me sad. Theres more than a few people retiring now though, but after spending practically your whole life working for this company, how much time on earth do you still have? What was the point of making money, saving for retirement when you can't enjoy your life, given how you have to constantly break your back/mind just to earn a paycheck that goes mostly towards bills and your mortgage? and so i come to the dilemma of quitting my job of roughly 9 years. on the one hand, i'd be broke... on the other, i'd have bountiful free time to enjoy the little things of life before i pass. I can't be too broke actually... i can always find a job doing retail if it comes to that. and although I make more than retail at my current job, im still living paycheck to paycheck anyway, so it doesnt actually matter, the struggles would be the same. I will attempt to work from home despite a huuuuge paycut, but I will have infinitely more free time - to me that is more valuable than a bigger salary. What is more valuable to you? Time or Money? would love to hear different opinions on the matter, shoot the breeze a bit.

It is not so much the time you have, it's more about what you do with it. If you are not enjoying life now, having more time would not increase your joy. Happiness comes from doing something you want and enjoy doing, not from just having more time.

Decide what would make you happy. I found happiness and enjoyment in life through helping others. It is so satisfying to get their emails of thanks. Once you decide what you enjoy doing then do it. Wish you all the very best. Love.

I am so sorry that you are struggling right now. I too tend to struggle with "finding the time" to do things that I enjoy or find fulfilling etc. As a stubborn workaholic and "put others first" person... I am slow but surely learning how to make the time for things that I want to do... it is all so easy to say.... well once I get x project done or get y done or deal with z.... then I will allow myself the time.... for me this has been some sort of twisted obligation/responsibility/guilt thing (I think - if that makes sense)..so instead I am trying to at least start to figure out what I would like to do one thing at at time and then work on "making the time" for it. An uphill battle but have managed to "find time" for swimming nearly every morning....

Hope that you are feeling a bit better and wishing you a good day.

I try to tell youngsters that we work to live, not the other way around. In other words, I am trying to say that fulfillment comes from outside of work with people and hobbies. Sometimes it can be fulfilling at work but I am unacquainted with that experience. In my case, it's just a paycheck. I work 9 hour days and have to "work" to find time for hobbies, learning, appointments etc. I am lucky that this job affords me time off for travel every now and then and I recognize that not everyone is in the same boat. But it pays the bills.

I once took a job with less pay and responsibility and more time off. The time off got eliminated when a new accounting person didn't know my arrangement and put me back to the standard time off. I had less responsibility yet the people sucked. The end all was that the cut in pay affected future earnings which, as I approach retirement, is important in calculating my SS. Eventually I found this job which is easier, pays well, and occasionally enough time off to enjoy life outside work. The work is sometimes easy but in other ways very challenging. I am hoping I can stay at this job until retirement (4 years from now).

There are jobs like mine in every industry, but you got to find them and you can't count on them to provide challenging work, great people, and a sense of purpose. In either case, as I said, find enjoyment out of work. yes we have to work to pay bills but it isn't the end all.

Enough rant.

Thank you all for all your wonderful responses and opinions. Well said Lekatt. I think you hit the nail on the head, it is that simple. Thank you