You got married because you just thought that’s what people did. You wanted to have a standard life — a white picket fence around a home in the suburbs, two kids, two cars, a dog, etc. At least, that’s what you thought you wanted.
As it turned out, you were unhappy in that life. You never ended up having children, and you just felt trapped into what everyone had always told you that you should want — rather than what you actually wanted. Now you have asked your spouse for a divorce, and it feels like you wasted so much time. It’s stressful.
Don’t let it be this way. This could actually be a chance to live the life you want. Experts note that it’s helpful not to “take life too seriously” after a divorce and to focus on the positives. This doesn’t have to feel like a negative event just because it means that you’re not going to have the life that society told you that you should have.
Maybe you have other goals. You want to travel the world. You want to write a book. You wish you had learned how to paint or to play the piano. You want to invest time and energy in the things that you love, not working 80 hours a week to pay for a home in the suburbs and a luxury sedan to drive to work. Divorce could be the catalyst to get you to cast off some of these ideas and create the life you’ve dreamed of.
As you move through divorce and think about your future, consider all applicable legal options. It’s important to make sure that you fully understand your rights throughout the divorce process for the best results.