Confronting Midlife
The mass of people lead lives of quiet desperation.
-- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Do any of the following sound as familiar to you as they did for me?
Boredom or discontent with your life
Questioning the meaning of your life
Regret over past decisions
Feeling restless and wanting to do something completely different
Confusion over who you are and where your life is going
Chances are if any of the above sound familiar, and you are over the age of 35, you may be experiencing what psychologists gently refer to as a midlife transition a/k/a midlife crisis.
What is Midlife?
People are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.
--
Pope John XXIII
According to Psychology Today, a "midlife transition" is a natural stage that happens to many of us at some point (usually at age 40, give or take 20 years), and such a midlife crisis, can include: boredom, self questioning, daydreaming, irritability, unexpected anger, compulsive behavior and greatly decreased ambition.
Many of those at midlife are part of the "baby boom" generation. Sandwiched between the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation and the promise of Generation X, baby boomers were reared with a strong sense of entitlement and enormous expectations that the future would always be better. They were freed at an early age to focus on themselves - on individuality, personal fulfillment and instant gratification. Defined by unprecedented economic prosperity and rock n' roll, the "me" generation broke though previous taboos on divorce, sex and self fulfillment.
Today, those experiencing the transition are faced with a myriad of challenges. They are concerned about growing old in a society obsessed with youth and beauty, paying for their children's college and funding their retirements in a treacherous and unpredictable economic landscape and looking over their shoulder as a brighter technology driven new generation is rapidly closing ranks behind them. But more than anything they are tempering their need for instant gratification and looking inside for a value and meaning that has somehow eluded them during previously.
Your life is not a bell curve?
Many are tempted to treat their life as a bell curve in which the second half of their life is a time of descent and decline. However, midlife does not have to be the beginning of the end, but rather a new beginning and a new platform for growth and opportunity.
You Can Achieve Your Greatest Success at Midlife.
Can you guess the following people who achieved their greatest success at midlife?
A struggling milkshake salesman with a dream of revolutionizing the nation's fast food industry?
The Midlife Tune-Up
Life begins at forty
-
- Anonymous
Midlife does not have to be the dreaded, uneasy passage into the unproductive sunset of life. Approached with insight, zeal, and redirection--if necessary--a midlife tune-up can be the catalyst for a more meaningful, satisfying, and rewarding life. The MidlifeTune-Up: Six Simple Steps (book link) offers fundamental, reliable steps for enhancement in the central areas of life. This guidepost illuminates personal passion, purpose, power, planning, perspective, and perseverance. Building on these six empowering elements, the tune-up offers solid, concrete steps to design your own midlife direction in seven key areas: emotional, financial, career and relationship opportunities, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being