Im sure many people can relate. Plodding your way through life. Working your arse off to get ahead. No real time for hobbies or fun stuff and stressed to the max. That was me at 39 going on 40. I truly was working myself into an early grave.
Then something happened.
A gal pal and I decided we would go to Fiji for my 40th. We wanted to go to Beachcomber island and party like 20 year olds. We spent 3 days on Beachcomber doing just that and had a blast. Then we spent 7 nights in 5 star luxury at the Denerau Hilton. It says it all that our bar bill for 3 days on Beachcomber was the same as 7 days at the Hilton.
Beachcomber was the first time I had truly relaxed in forever, and I was out snorkelling every day and loved the ocean and all its little critters. Always have loved being in the water – must be the Pisces in me.
While back on Denerau, we attended a presentation on a time share apartment – just so we could get a free day out on the Captain Cook Tall Ship cruise, and on board was a dive team who offered introductory dives. It was only $100 and I could do it in my boardies and top so what the heck I did it. 
Loved it. Love love love love loved it!
But Houston, we have a problem. Its that I have an arse the size of Texas and there was no way, back in cold NZ waters I was going to be seen dead in a wetsuit! (Im over that ridiculous train of thought now obviously) When was I ever going to get to do this awesome scuba thing again?
Well, after about 2-3 years, my mind was finally in that ‘get healthy’ mode, I trained hard, lost 24 kgs and my reward was to learn to dive. So at 43 I was an open water diver! In a wetsuit – still looked shite but I didnt care (and you know what I also realised at this point? It didnt matter.)
That was when life really began. No longer was I working hard and stressing out to get things done, staying up all night to meet deadlines just to pay off the mortgage a bit quicker. I was still doing that at times…but to get money to pay for the next dive trip! I realised it wasnt that I didnt really “have time” for a hobby/fun stuff before, it was that I had nothing that I enjoyed so much I MADE the time for it.
Im now 49, and have been an Open Water Instructor for about three years. Two years ago I quit my life in NZ and moved to tropical North Queensland where I work as little as possible and dive as much as possible – easy since I now work for a dive company! Quite a difference to my wasted youth working ridiculous hours as an accountant. Ive kept some of my favourite clients in NZ to work with remotely (they were all ok with my move since I didnt live nearby to them anyway), but generally live a relaxed, stress free life, just the occasional deadline to deal with
I work just enough to pay the bills and go on regular dive trips. No more, no less. I potter in home renovation which is something I love doing. I am thankful to those ‘wasted years’ though – I may have missed out on many travel and scuba experiences that would have been awesome if I was younger, but that hard work has put me in a good position today so I can now travel and dive so much more than many others get the chance to do.
This. This is living.
awesome insight into how to live life. i’m 40 and my “life change” is starting a family. i worked hard for 20 years and did the career thing, now it’s about getting messy with diapers. but first have to get preggo! so i’m starting the 30 day challenge on the IVF journey.
I wish you all the best success on that journey Lucy. I have a few friends who have been through it a few times and it can be very tough, but oh so rewarding all going well.