To ask what % of your life is survival vs enjoyment?

[Commonsensitivity]

Mine is 80% survival 20% enjoyment. This doesn't seem balanced to me. But is it modern life now? Is it being a working mum? Would like to hear your percentages to see if I am out of line.

I don’t think it’s just one or the other. I think a lot of my life is contentment rather than enjoyment, although I do enjoy parts of life. I’d say 60% contentment, 30% enjoyment, 10% survival.

After a really awful year a while ago I released that I could go one way or the other. I had some pretty intense therapy and decided that I needed to survive. I didn’t want to let the bad thing win.

Then I realised that I was lucky to have survived and was determined to make the most of life. I owed it to those around me as well as myself.

Now I make a conscious effort to try to enjoy life, look at problems from a different perspective. I enjoy the little things. I also made some big changes (moving house and a new job). Nothing changes unless I make it change.

BTW I am very stubborn.

mainly enjoyment at the moment. but it has been the other way round. but I do sometimes wonder why we humans think life should be anything other than survival really. we are just animals on this planet like any other. there's no particular reason to think that life SHOULD be fun or easy I dont think.

Work is survival. I enjoy all the time I'm not at work!

Currently it feels like 100% survival.

Lots of family illnesses and issues with teenagers.

Hopefully it will get better soon!

99% enjoyment.
Ironing is the 1%

I'd say 20% survival, 80% enjoyment.

I have a home I love, a husband of almost 20 years who I adore (just us, no kids!), a job that's more like a hobby, food in my fridge and a decent amount of disposable income each month. I realise this makes me very, very fortunate and, for that, I am truly grateful every day.

I should add, though, that none of this has been handed to me on a plate. Quite the opposite in fact. I was raised by a single father on a low income.

40 survival 60 enjoyment but my enjoyment criteria is just not feeling overwhelmed or harassed and actually feeling at ease rather than actively happy so maybe that’s skewed. I spend more time than I’d like swimming against the tide. Survival has been more dominant in previous years and I take solace from that.

Tough one. My life is almost 100% childcare at the moment, with baby waking all evening and two other kids. So it is mostly survival but mixed in there is enjoyment as I do enjoy my kids.
I was quite a miserable person when I had lots of enjoyment time, so I've recently started reminding myself that if I wasn't trudging my way through all the drudgery, I'd probably be miserable anyway, but without the very occasional heart singing moments that come with kids.

80% enjoyment because I enjoy my work and have largely taken myself out of the rat race.

I think also that it’s tough for most of us when kids are young. 💐 to anyone struggling.

Probably 80% enjoyment but I am a SAHM and have a chilled life with lots of hobbies. About to go into full survival mode as having lots of health issues and about to start a 6 month extension 🙃 but I do have a happy disposition and cope OK generally.

I’d say 80/20 survival/enjoyment for me. Although that 20% is basically: when work isn’t being crap, when the kids are being lovely, or a glass of wine and/or a takeaway on the sofa with DH of a Saturday night. Two kids aged 1 and 2.5, working 4 days a week, spend a lot of time skivvying, skint as anything thanks to childcare and CoL. But: good relationship, generally happy and healthy family, good friends, job I mostly enjoy and gives me the flexibility I need now even if it doesn’t truly stretch me.

I’m optimistic that life will edge closer to 70/30 once kids are older, childcare isn’t such a financial burden and I can move into a job with a bit of ambition - probably at some stage in the next 3-4yrs. Though knowing my luck I’ll then have a juggle with one of the areas that’s currently going right! The hamster wheel continues…

Ha! This is an excellent point and one I would do well to remember. I also felt like my life was a drudge when I was a young single carefree career girl in her early 20s so frankly blaming external stimuli for my misery is a cop out 😂

Looking at these responses makes me more convinced than ever that how much you enjoy your life comes down to mindset and the temperament you're born with!

I tend to have a lot of existential angst but am also pretty content with the things and people in my life.

It's 40/60 survival/enjoyment for me at the moment but I am working/studying 6 days a week and it's been a very intense 7 months. Hopefully should ease up soon!

💐

Another 95% survival. DH in hospital and no idea when he might be home. The 5% is walking the dogs and chatting to my sister and friends. Definitely unbalanced but that's the way it is.

Mine was close to yours and one day dh came home from work after doing a work life balance thingy and we did one of those tests where you mark everything out of 10. My hobbies were at 1, eating was 2, pampering at the time was 0, kids was quite high which I was relieved with, work satisfaction good, money average and so I sat down with a book and listened to a song I used to love. Then I started pampering myself, and also making sure when I stayed up late it was for a reason and then that I went to bed earlier some nights. Oh and I initiated sex … ;) Still have the shitty days I want to quit work or where I wish me and dh didn’t have to juggle but things have definitely improved. Oh and there’s a princessing thread on here that made me dye my hair, use a body scrub and start running again!

Ps hugs to everyone whose survival is high at the moment x

Oh I don't really see any part of my life as survival. I'm a working mum and I love my job. Sometimes being a mum to a toddler while pregnant can be tiring but I definitely couldn't class it as just surviving.

70:30 towards survival. Now my children are older I get more time to myself but low wages mean I don't get lots of fun day to day.

The variation is really interesting. Those with a high 80% plus enjoyment can you tell me what a typical day looks like for you? Perhaps we who are struggling can get inspo!

Looking at these responses makes me more convinced than ever that how much you enjoy your life comes down to mindset and the temperament you're born with

I don't think so because environment, wealth and levels of support are different for different people.

I was one of the happy clappy sorts. I’m happily married to a good, kind man, which feels even more special I expect having grown up in a highly abusive childhood home and then having been in an abusive relationship in my late teens/early twenties. I have a fantastic toddler son, one we took a long time ttc so I still feel so lucky just to have him. We live in a nice little home in a gorgeous area, and we do what we love (agriculture).
A typical day right now, my husband will be at work before I get up generally, I get up with DS at 7:30ish, take the dogs for a very quick run, have breakfast, then go to something (swimming, toddler group, something like that), home for naptime. Generally I get in the office for that time, get some paperwork done, and clean. Afternoon is outside on the farm, DS on the loose (safely!) while I get jobs done, in for tea and bed. Evening mostly on my own until about 9/10 when DH comes in. Out with the dogs again, then bed.
It’s not an exciting life exactly, the house needs work doing really, we could do with a bit more in the bank for sure and I’d definitely rather DH was around more but I am so happy and I think he is too.

What a sad thread

My life is 97% enjoyment and 3% survival. I really have nothing to complain about