To ask for inspiring stories from people who’ve changed their lives?

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Late 40s and I feel like for the past few years, every day is the same old routine.

Been working in the same industry forever. I’m no good at it, and am exhausted by the huge anxiety I get when face to face with clients, expected to be an “expert” in what I do etc.

Don’t earn as much as I could and money is definitely not everything but I envy my peers who go on lots of lovely trips/holidays/treat their families/buy lovely clothes all the time. We have one holiday a year we cat barely afford.

My kids are brilliant but my marriage feels more like a co-parenting situation.

I cringe to say it but I dream of being an actor - although I have absolutely zero experience. It’s something I wish I’d pursued at school. To wake up every day to do a job I love, relishing the challenges because I felt I could rise to them and getting a sense of achievement would be amazing. And to earn decent money for it, a bonus. Right now, I feel I hide in my work.

So please inspire me with tales of taking the plunge to make a huge change.

And please, just kindness on this thread - I want to be uplifted!

Other inspiring books about changing your life (not necessarily careerwise) Devorgilla Days by Katherine Hart and Bella Figura by Kamin Mohammadi.

Simulated patients don't do actual examinations like that! They are there for the human interaction side.

I trained as a nurse in my 30s. I was previously an accountant, and just found it soul destroying and pointless.
3 months before starting my nurse training I split up from exH and became a single mum to 3 children under 7. It was a crazy time, but nursing got me through it, I absolutely loved it all, uni, placement, all the patients and staff. It changed my life.

My husband was a project manager till covid, now a blacksmith. He did this in his 40s and now loves his job.

Life is too short to be bored or miserable, at home or at work.

My sister was an actress, did get a run in a West End play but couldn’t stand the job insecurity overall.
She went back to studying law, and now is starting a pupilage to become a barrister at 40!

She moved back in with my mum and did temp admin to support herself through this period. It’s been exceptionally hard and she had many, many times of self doubt. But I’m incredibly proud of her and inspired by her.

Yes, they’re testing medical student behaviour, greetings, skills in taking medical history, listening skills, responsiveness under pressure etc etc. Some of them are really impressive. My friend who recruited them regularly said that her mind was blown by a very experienced actor playing a patient whose severe pain wasn’t being relieved and who was getting frustrated and angry — that she was so convincing my friend was getting stressed. Very useful, obviously for the student to be able to see his/her own handling of the patient, learn from errors, replay it etc.

I'm checking back on this thread because I was hoping for more inspiring stories about finding a passion! I don't want to change work but I would really like something that I found interesting enough to kind of keep me going

You know, like the way some artist are always working on a painting. I talk to a lady who has a planned series for five years. I think it must be so lovely to have something that you feel so strongly about. That you get up in the morning and think "I can't wait to do this".

Well, I'm a novelist and I do genuinely feel like this about my work -- but it's all I've ever wanted to do, so there was no 'road to Damascus moment' where I changed my life to do it. But yes, it is profoundly addictive and very sustaining, and makes me live more attentively, as everything is material from a cloud formation to overhearing a conversation on a bus. I'm just about to hand off on a novel to my agent, and, while she will have notes, so it's not gone by any means, and then there will be an editor with his/her own take on it, but it's really tough when a whole world you've invented goes away and you're no longer thinking 'Oh, that's exactly how character X would say that!'

Then obviously, you start all over again with a new one.

@DeeplyUnlikely that's really interesting because I think that people are kind of born with a vocation or a passion

I don't think it's something you can look around and search for later in life. I mean you might find some things that are a great interest to you, but there's a difference between that and being really passionate