older than you.

you don't mention kids, so you probably have a good amount of free time.

you have an odd hobby , here and there. Do more of that, find more hobbies. sounds like you have fun doing those.

The grind is tough, you have been doing it 20+ years probably and feel like you have another 10+ to go, working,etc. You don't have to love your job, but you shouldn't hate it, in the end, it pays the bills,etc.

I'd focus more on the hobbies and what you do in your "off" hours. do more stuff, stuff you like.

Me, I rotate between golf, biking, kayaking, fishing, travel to new/old places, travel to see friends,working on house stuff,etc. Keep busy.

Think, what do I want to do when I retire? you'll have a lot more time, what are you gonna fill it in with? that's kind of what I'm doing now in a semi-retirement. I can fill my days up, no problem with fun stuff to do, it's getting the time to do it.

What you're looking for is contentment, not happiness. You can be content 24/7 but you can't be happy 24/7 unless you're doing drugs or going on a sex binge (which will eventually end and you'll crash). How do you achieve it? It's the simplest and hardest thing at the same time. Do the things you TRULY want to and need to do. Be honest with yourself and pursue that with hard work and dedication.

Can you achieve food?

Happiness is not a state, it's a reward at the end of a process.

Miserable bastard on the other hand is a state. And a good one at that. You're not chasing a high. You are confident, overly even of your enviroment and role and all the drudgery it requires to be maintained.

Outsource the drudgery to the woman they love silly stuff as long as they feel like they are helping and start something hard, not risky, just hard. Do it, see it slowly happen. enjoy the satisfaction of seeing your vision be born into the world. It feels good, like a good well deserved drink or perfect steak when you are just hungry enough. That's happiness, that moment. Keep doing, keep working, keep enjoyin - and at the end of the year, you can say you had a happy year. - even if it was moments, rather than a continous state.

As you get older, fewer things are new to you. I'm somewhat living vicariously through my sons. Maybe in 10-15 years it will be my grand kids. That's the normal human existence. However, in clown world, women have taken that option away so many men never get that.

Something is missing in your life. You cite hobbies, LTRs, etc. but something is missing. What is it? status? family? children? only you know. But something is missing.

I'm a 43 year old looser. My LTR dumped me in the lockdowns, Dont have a house, I rent and live with my kid. Once in a while I fuck a girl. Last one was 19 year old, she made me regain faith in women. I bough a motorcycle and thats it, I dont need anything else. I earn much more money that what I spend. I cant say I'm miserable. I'm happy most of the time.

Try new things, I'm 26 and even I fall into this pattern of having a decent life but being kind of underwhelmed by things.

I could be doing all the things that I should be doing e.g. eating well, going to the gym, working hard in my job and my side businesses etc. but I can still not be happy because I'm well within my comfort zone.

You're 40 which is still young even to me but maybe you feel like you're too old to be doing new things. Get out of your comfort zone, take your ltr on a vacation, try some new hobbies, go out with friends or alone and experience new things.