Life can be difficult sometimes. It can be even more difficult when you don’t even understand why it is difficult. There can be an invisible wall that we can each reach some point or another. The wall does not tell you that it is coming, it just hits you in the face randomly. I hit a wall after I got promoted to my final rank is the Marine Corps (E-9). I had spent 20 years trying to achieve this goal and when I finally did, I had a short (1 month) mid-life crisis. I wondered what my next step was and what was going to challenge me going forward. After wallowing in myself for a month, I decided to just start doing something. Since that time my wife and I have started a business (renting rooms), traveled to Turkey to visit family, took on a job as an after-hours instructor, bought another house, and started a blog and Facebook group. Honestly, I have never been busier in my life. I am loving every minute of it.
I have seen many friends and family hit a wall. They are almost like zombies. They have jobs, careers, and maybe family however they are just going through the motions of life. If you ask them what they are looking forward to in life, they probably wouldn’t have an answer for you. The good part is that is extremely easy to get out of this funk. All you have to do is try. Life is meant to be shared with others and all these methods require people to help reconnect to society. With that, let’s get into it.
Invest in friends and family- On our daily grinds, sometimes we forget that family and friends exist. We may wish them a happy birthday on Facebook but when is the last time that we had an honest conversation with them? By making a concerted effort to reconnect with family and friends we will reawaken the more social side of our personalities. Family and friends will always create new ideas for us to try and events to attend. This is the best way to expand our social circle and create exciting adventures that we will look forward to.
Start a hobby business- We all have hobbies that we enjoy. The reason why we should convert them into small business because that will increase the social aspect of our hobbies. If I like to bake cakes and I start a small cake business, then I will be meeting and interacting with many more people as my business grows. Creating a business also allows us to work with other professionals such as web designers, interior designers, and influencers. The business can also help our families generate income, which is always a good thing. Finally, a business can be a good way to build interaction with our spouse, kids, and other friends and family. The expression, “Keep it in the family” comes to mind.
Read/Learn/Do- This would be the hardest of the bunch. We all are born with family and naturally learn different hobbies. However, have we ever tried to learn something from the bottom? I am currently learning as much as I can about investing in the stock market and it comes with some lumps. By reading books, watching videos, and taking online classes, we can try to learn a new skill, craft, or hobby. As we do this, we will be interacting with a whole new set of people. It can be very challenging and also very rewarding. It takes a brave person to step into a world that they do not know or understand. It can be very fulfilling to learn a craft or trade and will make for a great story around the dinner table.
The most important advice I can give is “to try”. When we are tired of binge-watching Netfilx shows or watching every sports event on TV, it may be time to reach out and contact someone or do something different. “Variety is the spice of life.” Do not fall into the life trap. It is very dangerous and the longer that you are in it, the harder it may be to get out. Do not fall into the darkness. Walk towards the light. Your family and friends want you to be happy, healthy and involved.
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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