A couple of times - and probably will do so again some day. :) That's life - you never know what might happen. Just putting pen to paper here I realized I could probably write a book on the subject! {grin}

Back in 2003, when my marriage failed, I lost everything. My home, all my money in the divorce settlement, and I was sleeping in the car along with the only possessions I had in the world. That was pretty much rock bottom for me. I felt like a complete failure.

So after a few months of feeling like death warmed up I figured I had nothing to lose and so took my credit card and booked a ten day diving holiday to Thailand with a mate. I was sitting on an empty, white, sandy beach on Koh Lanta and I had this realization that all the things I thought would make me happy, like a big house, fancy job title, lots of money in the bank, lots of stuff, and a nice car HAD NEVER MADE ME HAPPY! But, sitting there on that little beach, throwing pebbles into the ocean, looking at a clear blue sky and crystal clear water I realized I was happy. I felt like I'd been duped, conned, sold a lie. When I returned to the harsh grey reality of life in the UK, and 4.00am commutes I knew I had to change things and start living by a different set of priorities.

These days I'm a lot happier, although there have of course been "moments". I focus on owning very few possessions, working as little as possible, and prioritizing health, fitness, my current relationship (10 years and going strong), travel, and my family, and it has worked out very well.

I guess my advice would be, things are probably not as bad as you think they are. The mind can really drag you down and play tricks on you, and the things you thought were so important turn out not to be, and the things you didn't consider important, like freedom and the ability to travel light through life and love, turn out to be a big deal.

A few resources I picked up along the way that really helped me.

1) What should I do with my life? - Po Bronson
2) Your money or your life - Joe Dominguez
3) Is the American Dream Killing You? - Paul Stiles
4) Working ourselves to death - Diane Fassel
5) Any book on CBT.

Particularly number 2) had a huge impact - I still do the steps.Do the steps and it will work. Don't do the steps and it won't. Number 4) was the first book I read that alerted me to the fact I might not have my priorities quite right!! Number 5 - absolutely key to understanding how the mind works. This helped me a lot in various ways.

I can honestly same I'm not "successful" by how people in the West would measure success, but I AM happy. Life's too short to strive for anything other than a feeling of contentment and happiness. Don't listen to people who tell you otherwise - they are probably miserable anyway. {grin}

I have missed a lot out here - there are a lot of nuances to things you pick up from experience. One day I might write something more. Enough for now though.

A parting thought - the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you want different results do something different - set different priorities.

Good luck to you and I hope all goes well with what you do next.