Most of what I would change, cause a lack of satisfaction on my part, is losing some loved ones sooner than I would have liked. Other than that I can’t think of too much I would change or do differently.
Parts of it have been good. Most of it has been terrible. I have bounced back from suicidal, though, so “Less Than Satisfied” is probably the fairest assessment.
Extremely. Never wanted the whole wife+kids thing, and it hasn’t happened, so I have no complaints there. Everything else has turned out better than I could have hoped: the only thing really stopping me from retiring (at 39) is that I really like my job and the social interaction it entails. I do whatever I want in my spare time and have never really had to think about money. I have no medical conditions or other significant quality-of-life issues.
Less than but things could always be worse.
I’m 77, a divorced recovering drug addict, flat broke, living alone on social security, physically disabled with physical condition deteriorating. On the bright side, old age doesn’t last all that long or so I hope.
So far?
Fuck, it’s almost over. I never thought I’d be around this long.
I achieved my childhood dream of being a SFWA member (and I expect even more success in the future). I love my job and make enough money to pay my bills. I have a wonderful wife and a great daughter. I don’t think it could have gone much better.
There were bumps in the road, some serious, but the past 35 years have been very good.
I have a safe steady job and I wife I love. The great recession didn’t hit me terribly hard. So I know a lot of people have it much worse than I. Still, if I could go back and start again I would make different decisions in a lot of cases.
Not ecstatic, not homeless, just getting by.
I’m more than satisfied. My life was better in the past but after recovering from some terrible times I’m back on a path that will lead me if not to the heights before at least to a very comfortable life. It’s a little depressing to think I may have peaked in my early 30s but when I look back on where I was two years ago my life is amazingly better so it’s hard not to be very satisfied.
I, too, have experienced some serious “bumps in the road.” But my current life exceeds my wildest expectations. My wife and I actually say out loud a few times a week, “Can you believe how lucky we are?”
I could probably list 5 or 6 things that bother me about how things are going, but I’d rather focus on what’s going so well. As the saying goes, “If you’re lucky enough to live on the water, you’re lucky enough.”
I had a rotten childhood and doubted I would make it out of high school alive, so the fact I left that place 25+ years ago and haven’t looked back is a plus.
I’m mobile and in relatively good health despite suffering a catastrophic injury that will have life-long aftereffects.
I’ve been working for 20 years in a career I enjoy.
And above all that, I have a successful wife who loves me, along with two fantastic kids, and I love 'em all back to pieces.
So yeah, I’m more than happy.
In two months when the motorcycle is away for winter my answer will change tho’ 
More than satisfied.
Most importantly, am generally healthy, apart from some minor joint pains and lack of flexibility.
Pretty good job which is not too demanding.
At 48, I am old enough to know what I like, but still open to trying new things. And living near Washington DC, there is always a museum, concert, dance club, art gallery, ethinc festival etc… to spend my free time enjoying.
My career is great, I have all I need from a material perspective, and my family is mostly healthy. But my wife is unhappy at work and that is bleeding into her home life, and I can’t be truly happy if she isn’t.
Fortunately she gave her notice today, and she’s going to take a sabbatical of sorts.
“Less than”.
I went to school, and have had various jobs in electronics, but was laid off during the '09 crash and have not had a stable situation since. I have had part-time jobs, a couple of short stints of full-time work, and have also gone back to school. But I’m still struggling. I am looking for work, and finding that the tech world is not friendly to people over 50, even in Toronto, which is allegedly doing well for tech jobs.
I am in reasonably-good shape physically; fortunately, this runs in my family.
I am 54 and single, probably will be for the rest of my life, though I have had a few brief romantic relationships, none longer than four months, for which I am very grateful. But, there are some comics that perfectly sum up the kind of quiet mutually-supportive comfort that I would love to have in my life… and never have.
Deep down, I have always been… afraid… of people. Bullying and suboptimal schooling did that to me starting in kindergarten; I was lucky enough to have a good family life as refuge. But I have always been afraid of drama and argument. Through thirty years of various forms of counseling, I have gotten more comfortable with dealing with people, though I will never be a schmoozer, and my prosopagnosia means that recognizing people will always be iffy. And I recently came out as bi, which is slowly resolving the vast shame I have had about my physicality (the shame was another thing implanted by my schooling). So social things are getting better.
Barring winning the lottery, or getting some ridiculously-well-paying job or marrying someone well-off (both of which would be another form of winning the lottery), I don’t ever expect to own a house or a condo. Even owning a car again is questionable.
I would like to somehow make a living via drawing, writing, storytelling, or something like that, with travel on the side. I am reading a book called “The Power of Story”, all about rewriting the stories we tell ourselves to make a better future. I have been volunteering doing dishes at community meals and brunches, at my aunt’s church, and for PFLAG, and this too is getting me out into the community.
I am NEVER satisfied!!!
Just. My life isn’t terrible, but due to bad genetics and multiple traumas I think there is a ceiling on my quality of life that is lower than the median. I have some health problems that right now aren’t bad, but I’m worried they’ll be much worse in 5+ years.
I decided not to have kids because of the genetics issue and I don’t want the responsibility.
If I could do it all over again, I probably would. But I don’t know if it’d turn out much different. I"ve done a lot of work to get my life on the right track, some worked and some didn’t.
It is hard to discuss this because both on a personal and cultural level there is a sense of shame and failure in not having a high quality of life. But for various reasons (some under our control and some not) people do not have equality of outcome.
My quality of life isn’t bad, but there isn’t a lot of positive keeping me here and I know things can go to hell in a heartbeat.
I have two children who know I love them and tried hard to be their parent and who seem ready to face the world.
I am living an examined life to the extent I am capable and have come to understand how I want to engage the world better because of it.
I have come to recognize that those two things ground me. Everything else is gravy.
boy have you got that right!
You’ve got a long life ahead of you. Days will fly by and before you know it you are 50 years old! Remember when we were in school and how Christmas vacation took forever to get there and summer vacation took no time at all to September, life is even faster than summer vacation. The older you get the faster time flies
Take each day by itself or time will slip by
Oh and change your life today, dont wait. Make a plan, if that doesnt work make another and another until you’re more happy with life. Or at least content.
No its not too late. Seek out advice from successful people or read up on it. Do what you can now or…grow old and bitter (not that I am bitter but life sucks as you age, especially health wise…:eek::eek: