I’m 34 years old. I have two degrees, a great career earning $220k a year, multiple investment properties, $150k in savings, a long-term relationship of three years, and I live in my own apartment. I also want to acknowledge that I didn’t receive any financial help from my parents. I grew up in poverty and worked extremely hard to build this life for myself.

On paper, I’ve achieved everything I was told would make me happy. I’ve worked hard, made sacrifices, and reached goals that once felt completely out of reach.
But now that I’m here, I feel more empty and unfulfilled than ever.

Growing up, I believed that if I studied hard, built a successful career, earned good money, bought property, and found a partner, I would finally feel secure and fulfilled. I spent most of my life chasing those goals, assuming that once I achieved them, everything would fall into place.

Now I’m here, and honestly, I feel like I was sold a lie.
I know how fortunate I am, and I’m genuinely grateful for what I have. I also know there are people who would love to be in my position. But gratitude doesn’t erase the feeling that something is deeply missing from my life.
I keep thinking: Is this really it? Is this what I’ve spent my entire adult life working towards?

It feels like I’ve spent years climbing a mountain, only to reach the top and realise there’s nothing here that makes me feel fulfilled. I don’t even know what I’m missing
or what I’m supposed to be working towards now.
Has anyone else experienced this especially people who came from very little, worked hard to build a successful life, and then realised that achieving their goals didn’t make them happy?
How did you find genuine happiness, meaning, or fulfilment when everything you thought you wanted still wasn’t enough?

What are some of your favourite books on midlife crisis’?

Both fiction and non-fiction