We were told “you can be anything” and then…reality.

My dad instilled a strong work ethic but I was otherwise not well prepared for real life. Nothing was promised but I was told that there are opportunities everywhere. I could be anything if I worked really hard and kept at it. Some advice he gave was decent but never discussed in depth. No why's or how's and the importance was rarely if ever emphasized. Any other 'advice' he gave me often ranged from situational to impractical at best. When my dad finally told me about finding a job with a pension, they were already being phased out in most places. He told me to rub elbows with the bigwigs to advance up the ladder, such as learning to play golf for all those work outings (that never happened or that I wasn't invited to). I was also told *"Buy a house that is more expensive than you can comfortably afford. Your raises and bonuses will make it easier to live in it as time goes on"*. Not a peep about how to deal with employers that stiff you on said bonuses and raises. Nothing about unexpected layoffs & unemployment, or extensive savings for the rough times. No talk about how rising costs/interest will require your wage to increase at the same rate just for you to stay even. Nothing about 401k's, mortgages or interest rates, bills, budgeting, and the normal adult things we deal with. His advice revolved around the assumption that most things simply work out for the better and life's speedbumps were generally small. His advice was mostly about being persistent/resilient and how tough times can be resolved by brute forcing my way through. The setback nobody warned me about was how I got screwed over by the genetic lottery. I inherited around 90% of my mothers various mood disorders (poor mental health). I went undiagnosed for most of my life because I grew up in a household that didn't talk about our problems. Just put on your mask and fit in with everyone else, sweep your problems under the rug and move on. I once dated a girl who joked that she had so many 'issues' that she had a subscription. By comparison I have about 7 or 8 expensive lifetime subscriptions that I can't cancel. One of which is major ADHD which made school difficult, and college pretty much impossible (I made it through a year and half of community college). I am amazing in short bursts especially with work, but I get drained for a long time afterward. I have never been consistent no matter how hard I try. On my good days I seem like a miracle worker with tons of energy, creative ideas, and a work ethic that could put a plow horse to shame. Much of the time I appear lazy but all I am trying to do is recover that internal battery of mine.