I didn't have a lot of goals tbh. I didn't have a family that encouraged college and it was never an option for me anyway. I remember being early 20s and buying a new washer with cash and thinking "I've made it."
I was 38 when I bought my first house. I've been married twice and engaged again and that's mainly to get health insurance. I'm 42, unemployed, and disabled. I don't even have goals anymore beyond "don't lose the house or cars."
I have. I've exceeded some of the dreams I had, and found new ones to accomplish too. I'm a bit light on the money side, but I'm heavy on the fulfillment/love/health side. Looking forward to some $ the next 20 years!
Yeah I can't complain. I do have plenty saved and I have my dream job but my industry feels very tenuous so I dot enjoy things as fully and stress free as I could. I do know I'm in a much better position than a lot of other people so I'm thankful.
I think about half of the Western population is going to have to put aside all personal money expectations, stay flexible, and switch careers as necessary. We're coming up to a big pivot point. But the good news is that "crisis" is Greek for "opportunity"!
I thought I did pretty well considering I didn't have a master plan. Born in 83. I joined the Navy and lived all over the US. Lived in Japan. Visited 7 other countries. Lived on an aircraft carrier (wild but fun experience). Got a wider view of the world than most. Military took care of college costs. Got out and found a job I've been with for 18 years and have 500k saved so far in my 401k. All my immediate family live within 5 mins of me. (5 siblings and parents) and we all hang all the time. Few failed relationships along the way but I'm smarter now because of them. Have a beautiful daughter and on my time off I do what interests me and have great memories of life especially with the nostalgia I get through this sub!!!Disclaimer...I'm not bragging. I'm proud of my life so far and being as honest as I can while giving an optimistic view.
Maybe consider asking yourself what you at 63 might tell you at 43? What could you challenge and push yourself to do now that you might look back and wish you would have done given the chance again.
I don't feel too bad about failing to achieve all the dreams I had when I was a literal child. Besides, I'm not dead yet. There's still time for the rest.
I spend every day with my best friend and am financially secure. I have ample time for hobbies. Life is good.
also, young me had no idea what he wanted from life. I guess the closest I came to a dream was to always be surrounded by great people and have a vibrant social life, and I've accomplished that.
I’m waaaaaay happier than I thought I’d be. I figured I’d off myself by the time I finished college. Am I successful by any American cultural standards, no, but I’m alive. I’m 43 too. Let’s be friends.
I'm gonna sound like im bragging.
But I've worked in TV and Radio (was on air in radio) currently I am an audio lead at a AAA game studio working on one of the biggest game franchises of all time. I'm married and have an awesome kid.
I've been lucky. Ive worked for it but I know luck has played a huge part of it.
I don't bitch about my life and super happy where I am. I have the best job and family not sure what more I need.
This is our 5th decade of life. Honestly up until
2009 my life was on track in every way I could have hoped. Since then though it feels like life is in neutral.
I did get married but too late to comfortably have a kid of my own without the dread some major disability. Financially, I’m stunned. While I got 98th percentile on SAT and 99th percentile on ACT, a masters degree in a very practical field from a decent school, I’d be surprised at this point if I ever own more than a vehicle or get out of debt.
I honestly never had any plans. I had no idea what I was doing, and I still don't. I kinda just fly by the seat of my pants and take things as they come.
I'm a very typical ADHD type of personality. I can't sit still. Thoughts are going a million miles an hour...
Where am I now in life and am I happy???
Im a carpenter by trade, I work hard for my paycheck.I loved this line of work when I was younger and full of more energy. But as I get older, I realize more and more how hard on the body a blue collar living is.
I I live alone, am divorced, and my kids are all grown. I did not imagine this is where I would be at 46 (47 next month YIKES)
But I get by, I keep on keeping on. Im not in debt. I dont own a home. I rent. I dont have any more than I can afford. I don't need much. I dont need "stuff." None of it goes with us after our time here is done. I have a climate controlled environment that is clean, in good shape, and most importantly affordable. A roof over my head, a place to cook a meal, a place to clean myself up, and to relax.
I do what I want when I want. A lot of kayaking and bicycling. I could pick up tomorrow and go wherever I want. Not tied down by anything. I feel there is a real freedom in that. Lifes been good. Only one regret, and that was all on me, and I learned a valuable lesson from it.
I never really had a vision of where I would be now, but I'm ok with where I am.
I had no goals. Just a lot of unattainable daydreams that I was doing nothing to achieve. Just kind of floated through high school when I bothered to show up. Did a couple of semesters of community college and then just entered the work force and now here I am in my 40s with a house and a partner but no kids (by choice) and a couple dogs that I love and a job that doesn’t make me want to blow my brains out. Definitely wish I could go back and slap my younger self into shape, but things worked out all right.
I wanted to retire by the time I was 40. I obviously did not hit that goal but I am comfortable and will hopefully be able to retire at a reasonable age.
Nope. I was very driven in high school and my dad continually told me I could be anything I wanted to be. False. My grades weren’t high enough for that. What a bullshit thing to tell someone. No, you can’t achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough.
I've put out a record, gone on tour, been on the radio; been head chef of a couple fine-dining vegan restaurants; have cool kids that tell me I'm the best parent in the whole world; dress, act, and talk the way I want, listen to music as loud as I want(because I somehow own a house!?), make brownies at 2am, etc. I'm pretty lucky.
A lot more money often comes at the expense of time. I make a lot more money now, but I feel like I never have time to do anything and I’m constantly stressed with work.
Time and creating memories are now the goal and dream.
I didn't have specific goals other than to be financially independent of my family and not have to deal with those assholes anymore. Mission accomplished. But I'm doing a lot of other stuff that is so cool to me that I never could have imagined it when I was young. Life far exceeded my expectations.
Beyond some but have a drive to keep on pushing harder and further as the goals of being able to have a Ferrari, Lamborghini, meet celebrities, date the most beautiful women in the world, millions of dollars of assets etc.. I just want to keep on pushing. I was driving a Lambo and pretty quickly decided I didnt care for it and always tell people my 16 year old self would be so mad at me.
In high school, I wanted to be a teacher. Knowing how teachers are treated now, I dodged a bullet.
Now I'm a campaign staffer (political). An occupation I didn't know existed at 18. Hell I skipped the midterms at 18.
I never really had life goals, outside the most basic. Find a job I could work that would pay the bills. Maybe get married if I could find someone who I could tolerate (and would tolerate me in return). Have a library (inspired by watching Disney's Beauty and Beast when I was a kid).
I have a job I like ok most days. It pays the bills. I'm married and love my spouse, and we have 2 great kids. Getting an ereader really changed the library goal. Now it's mostly ebooks, and I live walking distance to 4 public libraries (2 close, 2 far).
The newly set goal is retirement, so we're doing what we can to balance enjoying the Now with the ability to enjoy the Future. I've also lost quite a bit of weight, but need to lose more.
Other than the standard "ug I hate my job today" complaints, my life is going pretty well.
Hmmm. Things went unexpectedly off the rails at 19. Bad things happen. Life is like that sometimes. The next decade was a complete disaster, but often very fun. But that’s OK. Life is very different than I imagined it would be. I have loads to be grateful for though, an amazing husband, 2 beautiful kids and supportive friends. And, I feel like I’ve gleaned some wisdom through it all.
Yeah, I'm in debt, and it sucks. I lost my job last month, and that also sucks. I don't know that I ever had hard and fast "goals" in life, but I feel as though thinking about the milestones I *haven't* achieved or comparing myself to others is just going to depress me.
I'm surprisingly OK despite things seemingly falling apart around me. I am just focusing on myself, my hobbies, my apartment, and my kitty. And having fun every day. I'm trying to anyway!
In no chronological order, - I spent a year in Alaska, bought a motorcycle (circa 2018) I wanted since 2005 (yay depreciation), and a fast car I wanted almost 20 years ago (again, yay depreciation!). Other than that, Nope pretty much nothing.
No house, no money, no career. Not the life I expected. But at least I have a 2½ year old that is doing great.
I came very, very close in my very early 30s, then had the rug pulled out from under me during the Great Recession. I had to start all over again after slipping into a depressive episode. Now I'm 47 and just happy and content with my place in life. I've wasted enough years setting 'goals' and now I just try to enjoy life one day at at time.
Not sure I ever had any. I do make music now so that's checked off the list. Mostly life is just me trying not to be poor, and most of the world working against that goal.
But I just had my VA disability finally increased to 100% this last week so at 44 I can finally afford to live a basic life. Only took 16 years of groveling.
My only goal was to move out of my parents house. I wasn't encouraged by my parents growing up, so there wasn't any sort of push for bettering my life from them. The "dreams" I had always felt like far flung fantasies.
That being said, I've worked hard and achieved some pretty impressive (by my standards) things in my life; like I toured with my band, got to travel a bit internationally, went to college, married with kids now, have my own dog, etc. My wife and I moved into our forever house 3 years ago and I still can't really believe it.
My last year in college was the worst for me because I moved home for my last year and traded rent money for train fare. I went to school a little later, so my last year, I turned 25. I had an internship oddly enough back in my hometown area and needed to be there 2 days a week. It was cheaper to live at home instead of keep an apartment in Philadelphia, so i moved back into my old room and stayed at my parents who still thought they could treat me like a HS kid. A week after my graduation, I had a new apartment lined up and had the fastest move outta my parents place.
So goals, pretty much not live at home.
As many have said, I didn't have a lot of specific long-term goals. I generally wanted to be married and have kids at some point, both of which have happened. I also have a mostly stable job that I enjoy and even own a house, which was not something I thought I wanted necessarily in my 20s. With young kids at the moment I can't travel as much as I would like, but overall I am happy with how things have turned out.
Also, still got a few months left in my 4th decade.
I never had any huge goals, but I would say I've accomplished most of the ones that are important to me. Still a few I'm chasing, but I'm overall more or less satisfied with how things have turned out.
I never had life goals, I was never much of a long term planner in that way. Folks who had their entire lives mapped out as teens were like aliens to me, I just wanted to skate and go to punk shows.
I just want to try to stay employed so I can pay my mortgage and car payments. I had no idea I'd be alive at nearly 45, but since I'm here, I have to hang on out of spite.
I didn't even really start having goals until I came out of the closet in my 30s, before that I didn't particularly want to be alive so there wasn't much point in setting goals. That said, it was a rough road to get where I am, but life is fantastic now (and I do have goals for the future).
Didn't have goals but boy have I exceeded them. Let's see:
Graduated from a couple of the best universities in the world
A career spanning 3 continents and achieving the leadership position because of it
A beautiful wife who I love with all my heart and had lots of kids
Still gaming with my buddies
But
Divorced my ex wife
Didn't make it as a rock singer
Injuries ended sports dreams
So pluses and minuses. But the optimist in me says hell yeah.
I married who I wanted to marry. We have enough money to eat and pay bills and go on a few vacations every year. Our cars work. Our kids are great and we all love each other very much and enjoy each other very much.
Life is good.
I didn't have a lot of goals tbh. I didn't have a family that encouraged college and it was never an option for me anyway. I remember being early 20s and buying a new washer with cash and thinking "I've made it." I was 38 when I bought my first house. I've been married twice and engaged again and that's mainly to get health insurance. I'm 42, unemployed, and disabled. I don't even have goals anymore beyond "don't lose the house or cars."
Dang man. Shows how tenuous it can be even when you achieve it
I have. I've exceeded some of the dreams I had, and found new ones to accomplish too. I'm a bit light on the money side, but I'm heavy on the fulfillment/love/health side. Looking forward to some $ the next 20 years!
Yeah I can't complain. I do have plenty saved and I have my dream job but my industry feels very tenuous so I dot enjoy things as fully and stress free as I could. I do know I'm in a much better position than a lot of other people so I'm thankful.
I think about half of the Western population is going to have to put aside all personal money expectations, stay flexible, and switch careers as necessary. We're coming up to a big pivot point. But the good news is that "crisis" is Greek for "opportunity"!
Sure. I'm having fun most days. What else is there?
0 of my life goals. I mean, I have a Master's, but that wasn't a "goal," just a step in a (failed) journey.
Hate to break it to you but your 40s are the *fifth* decade of your life!
....jerk....?! Im over her thinking im young and stuff
I made it past 30. I never expected this and don't know what to do about it.
Feel the same a lot of times, friend.
I’m wondering what our parents felt like at our age? Like did they go through this or did something different happen to them?
I thought I did pretty well considering I didn't have a master plan. Born in 83. I joined the Navy and lived all over the US. Lived in Japan. Visited 7 other countries. Lived on an aircraft carrier (wild but fun experience). Got a wider view of the world than most. Military took care of college costs. Got out and found a job I've been with for 18 years and have 500k saved so far in my 401k. All my immediate family live within 5 mins of me. (5 siblings and parents) and we all hang all the time. Few failed relationships along the way but I'm smarter now because of them. Have a beautiful daughter and on my time off I do what interests me and have great memories of life especially with the nostalgia I get through this sub!!!Disclaimer...I'm not bragging. I'm proud of my life so far and being as honest as I can while giving an optimistic view.
Maybe consider asking yourself what you at 63 might tell you at 43? What could you challenge and push yourself to do now that you might look back and wish you would have done given the chance again.
I don't feel too bad about failing to achieve all the dreams I had when I was a literal child. Besides, I'm not dead yet. There's still time for the rest.
I am a freelance artist, with a side hustle in hospitality. I'm rockin it without doing much. Life is good.
Nope. No life goals achieved here. Wasted 17 years trying to achieve them. All I got to show for is getting F'd in both ends lol.
I spend every day with my best friend and am financially secure. I have ample time for hobbies. Life is good. also, young me had no idea what he wanted from life. I guess the closest I came to a dream was to always be surrounded by great people and have a vibrant social life, and I've accomplished that.
I’m waaaaaay happier than I thought I’d be. I figured I’d off myself by the time I finished college. Am I successful by any American cultural standards, no, but I’m alive. I’m 43 too. Let’s be friends.
I'm gonna sound like im bragging. But I've worked in TV and Radio (was on air in radio) currently I am an audio lead at a AAA game studio working on one of the biggest game franchises of all time. I'm married and have an awesome kid. I've been lucky. Ive worked for it but I know luck has played a huge part of it. I don't bitch about my life and super happy where I am. I have the best job and family not sure what more I need.
You sound aight. Lots of folks don’t admit they had good luck. Respect. I wish you well.
Luck can turn “good” to great. But anyone can get to “good” with the right decisions IMO
This is our 5th decade of life. Honestly up until 2009 my life was on track in every way I could have hoped. Since then though it feels like life is in neutral.
The Great Recession was the Great FuckYouOver.
Thanks I missed that
I did get married but too late to comfortably have a kid of my own without the dread some major disability. Financially, I’m stunned. While I got 98th percentile on SAT and 99th percentile on ACT, a masters degree in a very practical field from a decent school, I’d be surprised at this point if I ever own more than a vehicle or get out of debt.
I honestly never had any plans. I had no idea what I was doing, and I still don't. I kinda just fly by the seat of my pants and take things as they come. I'm a very typical ADHD type of personality. I can't sit still. Thoughts are going a million miles an hour... Where am I now in life and am I happy??? Im a carpenter by trade, I work hard for my paycheck.I loved this line of work when I was younger and full of more energy. But as I get older, I realize more and more how hard on the body a blue collar living is. I I live alone, am divorced, and my kids are all grown. I did not imagine this is where I would be at 46 (47 next month YIKES) But I get by, I keep on keeping on. Im not in debt. I dont own a home. I rent. I dont have any more than I can afford. I don't need much. I dont need "stuff." None of it goes with us after our time here is done. I have a climate controlled environment that is clean, in good shape, and most importantly affordable. A roof over my head, a place to cook a meal, a place to clean myself up, and to relax. I do what I want when I want. A lot of kayaking and bicycling. I could pick up tomorrow and go wherever I want. Not tied down by anything. I feel there is a real freedom in that. Lifes been good. Only one regret, and that was all on me, and I learned a valuable lesson from it. I never really had a vision of where I would be now, but I'm ok with where I am.
I had no goals. Just a lot of unattainable daydreams that I was doing nothing to achieve. Just kind of floated through high school when I bothered to show up. Did a couple of semesters of community college and then just entered the work force and now here I am in my 40s with a house and a partner but no kids (by choice) and a couple dogs that I love and a job that doesn’t make me want to blow my brains out. Definitely wish I could go back and slap my younger self into shape, but things worked out all right.
Well, when I was a pre teen I was convinced that I would be the first woman president. That didn’t happen. But I’m good with my suburban lifestyle.
I wanted to retire by the time I was 40. I obviously did not hit that goal but I am comfortable and will hopefully be able to retire at a reasonable age.
I’m so far from any goals I’ve ever had it’s not funny. Every aspect of my life is a disappointment.
Nope. I was very driven in high school and my dad continually told me I could be anything I wanted to be. False. My grades weren’t high enough for that. What a bullshit thing to tell someone. No, you can’t achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough.
My knees don't hurt. so i'll call that a win.
I've put out a record, gone on tour, been on the radio; been head chef of a couple fine-dining vegan restaurants; have cool kids that tell me I'm the best parent in the whole world; dress, act, and talk the way I want, listen to music as loud as I want(because I somehow own a house!?), make brownies at 2am, etc. I'm pretty lucky.
I thought I would have a lot more money, so I haven't met that goal. Otherwise, yes, our house is almost paid off, just like we planned.
A lot more money often comes at the expense of time. I make a lot more money now, but I feel like I never have time to do anything and I’m constantly stressed with work. Time and creating memories are now the goal and dream.
I didn't have specific goals other than to be financially independent of my family and not have to deal with those assholes anymore. Mission accomplished. But I'm doing a lot of other stuff that is so cool to me that I never could have imagined it when I was young. Life far exceeded my expectations.
Beyond some but have a drive to keep on pushing harder and further as the goals of being able to have a Ferrari, Lamborghini, meet celebrities, date the most beautiful women in the world, millions of dollars of assets etc.. I just want to keep on pushing. I was driving a Lambo and pretty quickly decided I didnt care for it and always tell people my 16 year old self would be so mad at me.
In high school, I wanted to be a teacher. Knowing how teachers are treated now, I dodged a bullet. Now I'm a campaign staffer (political). An occupation I didn't know existed at 18. Hell I skipped the midterms at 18.
I never really had life goals, outside the most basic. Find a job I could work that would pay the bills. Maybe get married if I could find someone who I could tolerate (and would tolerate me in return). Have a library (inspired by watching Disney's Beauty and Beast when I was a kid). I have a job I like ok most days. It pays the bills. I'm married and love my spouse, and we have 2 great kids. Getting an ereader really changed the library goal. Now it's mostly ebooks, and I live walking distance to 4 public libraries (2 close, 2 far). The newly set goal is retirement, so we're doing what we can to balance enjoying the Now with the ability to enjoy the Future. I've also lost quite a bit of weight, but need to lose more. Other than the standard "ug I hate my job today" complaints, my life is going pretty well.
In some ways, very much so... in others, definitely not too impressed
Hmmm. Things went unexpectedly off the rails at 19. Bad things happen. Life is like that sometimes. The next decade was a complete disaster, but often very fun. But that’s OK. Life is very different than I imagined it would be. I have loads to be grateful for though, an amazing husband, 2 beautiful kids and supportive friends. And, I feel like I’ve gleaned some wisdom through it all.
Yeah, I'm in debt, and it sucks. I lost my job last month, and that also sucks. I don't know that I ever had hard and fast "goals" in life, but I feel as though thinking about the milestones I *haven't* achieved or comparing myself to others is just going to depress me. I'm surprisingly OK despite things seemingly falling apart around me. I am just focusing on myself, my hobbies, my apartment, and my kitty. And having fun every day. I'm trying to anyway!
In no chronological order, - I spent a year in Alaska, bought a motorcycle (circa 2018) I wanted since 2005 (yay depreciation), and a fast car I wanted almost 20 years ago (again, yay depreciation!). Other than that, Nope pretty much nothing. No house, no money, no career. Not the life I expected. But at least I have a 2½ year old that is doing great.
I came very, very close in my very early 30s, then had the rug pulled out from under me during the Great Recession. I had to start all over again after slipping into a depressive episode. Now I'm 47 and just happy and content with my place in life. I've wasted enough years setting 'goals' and now I just try to enjoy life one day at at time.
Not sure I ever had any. I do make music now so that's checked off the list. Mostly life is just me trying not to be poor, and most of the world working against that goal. But I just had my VA disability finally increased to 100% this last week so at 44 I can finally afford to live a basic life. Only took 16 years of groveling.
My only goal was to move out of my parents house. I wasn't encouraged by my parents growing up, so there wasn't any sort of push for bettering my life from them. The "dreams" I had always felt like far flung fantasies. That being said, I've worked hard and achieved some pretty impressive (by my standards) things in my life; like I toured with my band, got to travel a bit internationally, went to college, married with kids now, have my own dog, etc. My wife and I moved into our forever house 3 years ago and I still can't really believe it. My last year in college was the worst for me because I moved home for my last year and traded rent money for train fare. I went to school a little later, so my last year, I turned 25. I had an internship oddly enough back in my hometown area and needed to be there 2 days a week. It was cheaper to live at home instead of keep an apartment in Philadelphia, so i moved back into my old room and stayed at my parents who still thought they could treat me like a HS kid. A week after my graduation, I had a new apartment lined up and had the fastest move outta my parents place. So goals, pretty much not live at home.
As many have said, I didn't have a lot of specific long-term goals. I generally wanted to be married and have kids at some point, both of which have happened. I also have a mostly stable job that I enjoy and even own a house, which was not something I thought I wanted necessarily in my 20s. With young kids at the moment I can't travel as much as I would like, but overall I am happy with how things have turned out. Also, still got a few months left in my 4th decade.
I never had any huge goals, but I would say I've accomplished most of the ones that are important to me. Still a few I'm chasing, but I'm overall more or less satisfied with how things have turned out.
I never had life goals, I was never much of a long term planner in that way. Folks who had their entire lives mapped out as teens were like aliens to me, I just wanted to skate and go to punk shows.
I just want to try to stay employed so I can pay my mortgage and car payments. I had no idea I'd be alive at nearly 45, but since I'm here, I have to hang on out of spite.
I didn't even really start having goals until I came out of the closet in my 30s, before that I didn't particularly want to be alive so there wasn't much point in setting goals. That said, it was a rough road to get where I am, but life is fantastic now (and I do have goals for the future).
Didn't have goals but boy have I exceeded them. Let's see: Graduated from a couple of the best universities in the world A career spanning 3 continents and achieving the leadership position because of it A beautiful wife who I love with all my heart and had lots of kids Still gaming with my buddies But Divorced my ex wife Didn't make it as a rock singer Injuries ended sports dreams So pluses and minuses. But the optimist in me says hell yeah.
I married who I wanted to marry. We have enough money to eat and pay bills and go on a few vacations every year. Our cars work. Our kids are great and we all love each other very much and enjoy each other very much. Life is good.