Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mid-Life Crisis at Age 30

Remember how our ancestors from long ago used to kick the bucket in their 40s and 50s and were too pre-occupied about their basic needs of food and shelter to spare the time to think about other things? Well now that most people in the modern times have a longer life expectancy due to fewer diseases (or so they claim), greater law & order and the advancement of science, we also seem to have more time to ponder about other things when we cross a certain stage in our lives. People have this notion that mid-life crisis occurs when you're halfway through your life. Since life expectancy is roughly 80yrs old, mid-life crisis occurs around 40, right? Wrong! I believe mid-life crisis is linked more to a person's financial stability and their career progression and how much of his/her life has been dedicated to his/her work. For example I've worked 7 years but my 7 yrs is easily equal to an average worker's 14 or 21years. Not in terms of hours spent but how much value I have contributed. A surgeon can save a life in a 4hr operation while a cinema attendant would have oversaw 2 movie showings. Not that a movie attendant is insignificant because everyone's role is interlinked. It is just a fact that different jobs create different types and degree of value. So even though I am only 29 this year, in terms of work years I'm easily 36 or 43yrs old. Which sounds about right for a mid-life crisis. I'm sure we have all heard of the typical successful businessmen in their 40s who start driving flashy cars, picking up expensive hobbies such as yachting, golfing, mistresses etc.

Of course I am nowhere near their level of prosperity so my mid-life crisis is definitely on a smaller-scale. I've been increasingly thinking of doing wildlife conservation work and work with strays and abandoned animals locally and overseas. Animals together with Mother Nature, are the true victims of mankind's modernization.
I've also had the unexplainable urge to learn new technical skills such as motor-riding, scuba-diving, power craft license, private pilot's license, sky-diving and more. I'm also more open to experiment with trends I previously did not consider. Such as pedicures, manicures, tattoo, wardrobe change, making new friends etc. At the end of the day, my guess is that everyone experiences this mid-life crisis. It's simply us being human and being curious, wondering how different our life would have been if we had made a different choice somewhere back then when we were young and not so stupid.

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