Dear Ted,

Thank you for being so open, honest and vulnerable. It takes a lot of courage to speak openly about your perspective of your own life and to admit that you would have preferred to have done things differently. Nonetheless, you have now made the decision to make new choices. Well done.
There is a fine and delicate balance between being a devoted parent and completely losing your own goals and objectives.
One of my friends and colleagues, child psychologist Dr. Vicki Panacionne, founder of the Better Parenting Institute warns mothers that if they put their children’s needs first at all times, then they are also teaching children that a woman’s needs is not important. Also, children can suffer from feelings of guilt if their parents give up all of their own dreams for the children. The point: let the children know what your plans are and why they are important.

I hope this helps.
All the best,
Patrick

The article you wrote on growing up and the snippets you shared on Carl Gustav Jung’s writings is totally a wake-up call for me. At my age of late 40’s I have spent all of my working years in a corporate setting despite the yearning for entrepreneurial endeavors. As a parent and a father to 5, now mostly in the college years and studying in private exclusive universities. I have continued to work and labor just to fund the school and education related fees and have given-up a lot of great things I would like to do for myself.

I have remained in my comfort zone for over 20 years now missing a lot of opportunities for growth, travel, investments, and even new friends because of fear for change, movement and doing what I really want so as not to rock the boat.

Right now, I still have 7 more years to see the last of the children complete college. Hope this shortens as the other sibs could already help out. I can’t wait for the time that I would hop on a plane again and see the country side or tour the region; I am so eager for the time that I would leave corporate and probably go into teaching or farming which I love most; also, I am so excited for the time that I can again watch theater or a symphony or broadway without fear of spending college money.

Thanks again for the realization. Probably there is a way to shorten the period and start growing up and forget all forms of laziness, fears and dependency on status quo. Maybe its about time to immediately get what I really want and enjoy.