Skip to main content
  1. Reflections & Insights/

Why Midlife Crisis?

·1 min

I am not sure if women experience midlife crisis but I know several men who have experienced or are still in the middle of a midlife crisis. I have a theory that every 20 years, men need a big change.

Usually, there is a big change in 20s, people are moving out of their parents’ homes, going to college or starting their careers.

And when people turn 60, they are getting ready to retire. Downsize their homes.

But at 40, there is no change. Usually, same career, if not same job. Kids and mortgage payments keep one from taking risks.

Perhaps that’s why we see so many men experience midlife crisis. Lucky ones just buy a sports car; unlucky ones may divorce, lose their family, or even worse.

I have started to think of 40 as being a second life. I didn’t get to choose my first life. I didn’t have a lot of freedom or resources. Some choices were made for me and I made a lot of mistakes.

But now I can take my current hand, and play it wiser.

Related

Don't buy the house

·5 mins
We just recently bought a beautiful single-family home. Before this, we lived in a townhouse. And before the townhouse, I had lived in apartments. Buying a townhouse was a big step, but buying a single-family home is a whole new beast. First, buying a house is probably a sound financial decision. There are plenty of articles and research that shows people who own homes are financially better off. But very few people talk about negatives of homeownership. And I think because of the lack of that information, a lot of people make incorrect decisions and end up regretting their home purchase. I did. I had huge buyer’s remorse the day we moved into our new home. I am still getting over it.

10 Years Goals

·2 mins
There is a saying that we overestimate how much we can do in days but underestimate how much we can achieve in years. Nothing makes a father as proud and happy as his children. My biggest guiding principle for my long term goals is to provide Ayden and Zayn with an environment where they can grow to be happy and successful. Also, it is important to realize that I cannot make anyone happy or successful. The only thing I can do is create an environment for them to grow in.

Digital Minimalism

·2 mins
Just the other day, I happened to skim a blog post, “My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span.” It struck a chord, and I realized that I’m in the same boat. It’s been ages since I’ve properly read a book. Even when I have audiobooks on, I’m doing something else and hardly ever genuinely enjoy them. I’ve got this habit too, of kicking off loads of projects and then ditching them once it’s time to roll up my sleeves and do the detailed work. Setting up a new project is a rush, but finishing something? That’s a snooze fest.