Many of us men, and ladies too, have reached 95% of our life goals by middle age. If the statistics are to be believed, we have married, had children, maintained steady employment and own a home. This is the American dream, or at least it was at one point. Politics aside, this still holds true for a vast majority of people. But what happens when we attain all of our hopes and dreams? Is it okay to rest upon our laurels and coast through the remainder of our lives? It's a very tough question to answer and up until a few years ago, I would have been complacent in just coasting my way through. But something happened to me, and I assume that it has happened to others as well. I call it a second wind, much like runners who find the extra strength to kick it up a notch. I am overall satisfied with my life but I feel that it has come to a standstill. If that makes sense. After being complacent and having two babies become grown-ish, I am looking for new challenges. I am no longer satisfied with my status in life. While I am better off than a lot of people, I still feel like I am at the bottom of the well looking up. So what motivates us? To have this second wind? For me there are numerous motivations. I want to regain the body of my youth so that I can be a man that my wife is proud to show off. I'll never be (whoever the hot celebrity is now) but I'd like to be physically fit enough to not be afraid to take my shirt off at the beach. In my defense, there are guys that would put a sumo wrestler to shame who walk around shirtless at the beach but I feel like I am more insecure than they are. This is what motivates me to exercise on a daily basis and sometimes eat healthy. A lot of times I fail the eating healthy test but I am slowly getting there. Creating more income is also a motivation. My wife and I rarely fail to pay our bills and afford groceries but I would like to have some nice things in life. I'd like a brand new Ford Bronco and possibly a small watercraft. I should probably learn how to swim first but baby steps for now. I'd like a nicer house with more space and maybe a pool. My wife is always raving about coworkers' houses and I'm sure that their husbands have much better jobs than myself. That is a huge motivator. I don't want to compare myself to other men but I would like to make my wife happier with our living arrangements. I feel bad that my wife also has to work side jobs (not that kind of side job you pervert!) to supplement our income. It really affects are time together as most nights we don't eat dinner as a family. I'm not sure how this will affect our kids but when we are together, we make sure to eat as a family. In today's society we are bombarded by images of wealth and beauty. Especially on social media. Instagram is the primary culprit. Women wearing barely there bikinis can make up to seven figures just by showing off their bodies. Now, I'm not a prude and I am definitely not going to criticize anyone on how they make their money. But it does set unrealistic expectations for young girls and even for men. Guys posting shiftless images, probably photoshopped, with perfect abs and muscles. Us men think that our wives would like us to look like that! Just once can we have a man with a huge beer belly and normal looks get the clicks?! And when we do see a hot young lady with a normal looking dude we think two things: he has money or he has a big penis. Or maybe even both. Now I'm rambling. Gotta focus and stay on track. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to be motivated by trying to look like a male model. If it gets us to eat right and exercise then that's a great thing. But remember, most of those models work out multiple hours per day, have no kids, don't have a 9-5 and shop at Whole Foods. Most of us shop at Aldi, have kids, and can only exercise at most an hour per day. If we have energy. What does motivate us? I hypothesize that it really can be anything. We start wanting more at middle age because time is running out in our lives. We start to think about the end. Which is probably why a lot of people turn to religion as they age. We are motivated to give our families' a good life, a life filled with fun and adventure. We are motivated by competing with other men to have the best job, the best house, the best family. We are motivated by staying attractive for our wives. Whatever motivates you, give it your all and never give up. Because when you do give up, you turn into George Costanza.
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