Comment by alecco
3 days ago
All this middle age crisis stems from having fewer children and even fewer grandchildren.
How to find meaning as childless person: help your relatives (Gen Z and Alpha are in crisis right now), help your community, donate blood, help disabled people, volunteer as firefighter. But above all, focus on doing it to people who are themselves pro-social.
Avoid sociopaths and alert people being abused. Just telling them something along the lines of "be careful with that one" is often enough to break the spell.
I am not sure I agree with not having kids being the cause of mid-life crisis. But for balance, as the GP, I will say that I had two kids through the time that I adjusted my approach to life to this less goal oriented approach. They do provide direction to life, make many decisions easier (since I just choose what’ll be best for them) and provide constant distraction from consumption. They also provide an additional tension if you remain goal oriented though since now you have less time to sit and think about your goals and plans and that’s stressful too.
Isn't the stereotypical middle age crisis the suburban office worker husband with two kids who buys a sports car to feel young and free?
In that stereotypical mid-life crisis, the kids have grown up/going off to college
How do I find meaning as a child-ful person?
If you have time after work and family, those things apply just the same, of course.
The children tend to make it so that I don't.
4 replies →
Yeah, but what about your needs?