Are you happy with how your life has turned out?

[lionmouse1]

Just thinking about this I'm mid 40s good job but should really be at a higher level. Ok house but nothing special husband is kind but tendency to be a bit grumpy and has lost his get up and go
Amazing dc but wish we had more.
A few nice friends but no one really close
Amazing parents but haven't seen them for so long
So all ok but feel I could have done better!

Most importantly we are all healthy and that's the man thing I know so very grateful for that

Yes, pretty happy. I'm fairly easy to please generally though! I tend to see the bright side in most situations and accept change readily. I've always considered myself a lucky person and have never had to deal with depression/anxiety or any significant ill health. I do enjoy the little things.
Nice home, happy kids, good husband. I'm not satisfied with my career at all so that's what I need to work on. I'm 40 too.

I’m 32. Have a few goals for the next few years which I need to tick off in order to feel like I’ve done things right (baby number 2, move to a bigger house, upgrade our car, promotion before I’m 40) but overall I’m happy with how things are going. I have friends whose lives don’t look how they’d like at this stage (career stalled/haven’t met a partner/haven’t got on the property ladder/haven’t had children despite trying) so I try and remember to be very grateful for what I have. To be honest it all hinges on my husband, if I hadn’t met him my life would look very different. I’m very lucky, he’s fantastic.

Yes.

I have a wonderful ds, a house in a lovely place, a job I enjoy and we are both fit and healthy.

My pension isn't the biggest but we won't starve. I'm lucky

God, no

No. On paper things look ok.
I’m not cut out to be a wife/mother. I am bored. I hate our weather and yearn not to be tied down and to live in a different country, I can’t due to visa requirements and age. I spend most of my time daydreaming about a different lifestyle. Only the thought of not being there for my children keeps me going when I think of this life stretching ahead for another forty years.

Generally happy, 33, good education, nice DH and 2 lovely boys.

Still not on the property ladder but that's on the cards for this year or next. Have a standard 'job' rather than a career, but I apply for stuff...I feel like we'll get there eventually. Would like one more DC but I had hyperemesis with DS2 so it's a 'maybe'. Not sure I can do it again!

We do have friends our age that already have DC + nice house + career, but then I remind myself that they had more middle class upbringings than DH and I, so have had things a bit easier.

I'm happy with how it's going, but wouldn't be content if my current situation was the final destination!

I'm v happy with my life. I'm 46, amazing DH who adores me, I have the dogs I have always wanted, a beautiful home in a beautiful location and an interesting and well paid job. I have good friends and great family, most importantly, I'm fit and heathy. I have the best in laws I could have asked for... my relationship with my parents is the only thing that I would change if I could, it's not great, we are v different people, but nothing is perfect so I'm grateful for all the great things I have

I was thinking recently about my teenage aspirations and how my life now stacks up and its actually pretty close. Sure, there are things that I haven't achieved - some I will in the future, some I never will, but in essence I'm living the life I always wanted to. I probably have low aspirations, but I'm happy.

If you'd asked me 6 years ago the answer would definitely have been no. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship and desperately unhappy. Plucked up the courage to leave and met a lovely new dp 5 years ago who couldn't be more different. Careerwise, somewhat disappointed and wish I'd had more confidence in my abilities, tried 'management' for a few years (NHS) but it really wasn't for me. Wish I'd moved sideways to a nurse specialist post as that's where my strengths lie.
House nice if a bit small but mortgage paid off and 2 mins from lovely countryside, local town centre however is an absolute dump, depressing beyond belief. Really hoping to move back over the pennines to york area once ds2 hopefully goes to uni.
Main regret is having very little family apart from ds's and dp, parents died a few years ago and I'm an only. Would love more friends (have 2 close ones) but difficult at my age (earlyish 50s).

I'm delighted with myself! We will probably never own a house but I enjoy being able to move and not having the burden of major repair and maintenance bills. I have a really interesting, meaningful job that I love and that I do well. My children are no trouble to me - haven't hit the teens yet so I'll not be too cocky about that ! My husband is the love of my life and is the heart of our home. Things are pretty good. I know they won't always be, and that it wouldn't take much to tip us into the shit, but I have no desire to waste any time or energy on lamenting what I've not got, when what I have got is so sweet.

Somewhat, I hate my job though and can't seem to get another with suitable hours. Im not quaified for anything useful. The house needs work but will get there.

Financially things have worked out better than I could have imagined, which has made everything else a bit easier.
Current home is cramped but we can afford to move, just putting it off due to uncertainty about school places.
Marriage and family are great, I'm happy with my DH and DCs. Love our London lifestyle (but it's better when things are open).
I've had quite a lot of poor health but still been able to do lots of things I enjoy.
No career at all although I have a bit of a hobby business which keeps me looking busy.
No real friends but to be honest I consider DH to be my best friend so we spend all our free time as a family.

This such an interesting question. I'm also mid 40s, senior at work (more senior than I ever planned to be), nice house, lovely husband, adored DC, healthy.

But I do often wonder why I'm not happier in myself.

I'm going to have some psychotherapy to try and work out what is going on.

I think that inner peace, some sort of contentment is what I need to aim for rather than more money, bigger house, more DC etc.

Yes, I'm 33, pregnant with my first child, I didn't think I'd ever be ready for children but I finally feel like I am. Been with my husband for 11 years and married for 2, I love him so much, he's the best person in the world. We're both well paid in jobs we really like. Don't really need to worry about money. Normally, in a pre-covid world we do a lot of travelling and socialising. We have good family support. We're both healthy and I am so grateful for our health.

I feel over the last couple years I've drifted away from a lot of friends, covid has only exasperated that. I still have a few very close friends that I will meet often once things get back to normal but I wish I had a bigger social circle. Of course it is impossible to meet people at the moment but I hope once I have this baby in October I'll be able to join some mother and baby groups and meet a couple new people.

I am happy. I'm alive. I have people I love and people love me. There are tough things and work to do, but I am contented and feel some happiness every day. I feel lucky.

Great answers ... it is an interesting question and I know some people feel that deep contentment and i am aspiring to that feeling. They say comparison is the thief of joy and I am guilty of comparing my life to others too much but of course I don't know what is going on in their heads even if on paper they look to have the perfect life ..

I'm about the same as you OP. Things are objectively fine but I'm not really happy and think I should have done better. But I try to be grateful for what I have. No career but i have a job that pays the bills. Husband - not exactly a great romance and never has been, but better than a lot of the dps I read about here on MN. House - own one but hate the area. Friends - only a few but that's the amount a lot of people have as they get older, so I don't stand out with that anymore. Dc - have some and happy with it.

Yes. Pretty much as planned which helps.
Maybe a big life decision to make next week. But I am a Christian, so whichever way things go next week and always, I pray to God and accept what happens to me and the family.

I am so so happy. Feel overwhelming contentment most days.

I’ve let myself down in terms of diet and exercise, but it rarely affects my happiness.

Late 40’s very happy with DH & my DS’s, but life hasn’t turned out quite as I expected, on a number of different levels, I never would have dreamed I would have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, you just never know what is around the corner.

I’m fairly happy with how my life is right now. I’ve certainly ticked all the boxes I had hoped to when I was younger - successful career, high earner, married to a good guy, travelled lots, have a lovely house and a daughter who is a dream come true after 6 years of trying and losses. On paper it all looks good.

On the flip side, my rubbish parents, DH’s family dramas and not living close enough to best friends to have them actively in my life definitely causes me sadness. It feels like I’m missing out on close family and friendships and life can be lonely. I also dream of moving somewhere more beautiful but I don’t know where! I had a late miscarriage last year, which was pretty heartbreaking. Wish sometimes that I didn’t have such a long, sad ttc history because it has definitely changed me into a more anxious person.

I'm another one who ought to be very fulfilled, but isn't. Early 50s. I've got a good, mission-driven career and have reached a senior level, a nice normal house in a desirable town, 2 lovely DC, married. Despite this I feel that I'm massively underachieving. I've reflected hard about why this might be. I think in part it's how I grew up - immensely lucky, expat parents, beautiful part of the world, parents had a big social circle, lots of social, cultural and outdoor activities. That set my benchmark. A normal life in the UK struggles to compare, and I mostly feel drab and uninspiring. Plus my DF likely was autistic, giving me a weird template for relationships, and DH and I are a practical, caring partnership but not a grand passion. Add in some ill-health (mine), a decade of unemployment (his), and I feel my life took a wrong turn about 20 years ago and I'm not fulfilling my potential. At the same time I feel there's nothing better available to me. You wouldn't know any of this from the outside!

I'm about the same as you OP. Things are objectively fine but I'm not really happy and think I should have done better. But I try to be grateful for what I have. No career but i have a job that pays the bills. Husband - not exactly a great romance and never has been, but better than a lot of the dps I read about here on MN. House - own one but hate the area. Friends - only a few but that's the amount a lot of people have as they get older, so I don't stand out with that anymore. Dc - have some and happy with it.

Are you me?

Yes, don't need to work, 2 beautiful dds.

Have a lovely group of friends, lovely DH

I do suffer from depression but I have a good support network.