Am I Having a MidLife Crisis?

Look up the word midlife crisis and you will often see the following definition: A period of dramatic self-doubt during the middle years of life (typically aged 45 – 55) often brought on by some major upheaval such as divorce, bereavement, redundancy, etc.  

    The result may be a need to make core changes to daily life in areas such as marriage, career, appearance, etc. There might be a sense of discontent with your lifestyle or the people that have provided happiness for many years.  Perhaps you are feeling adventurous and wanting to do something completely different or have begun questioning the meaning of life.

 

Listen to the authorities and any changes you make during your midlife years will be the mindless destruction of a safety net you spent years constructing. 

Admonishments might include: Hate what you do? Learn to love it. Why would you throw away a decent salary, a pension and great benefits? Unhappy in your relationships? Suck it up. Where will you meet new people at your age?  Interested in contemplating the meaning of life or travelling a spiritual path?  Wake up. Juvenile navel gazing has no place in a grown adult. Get back to work!

I am not advocating turning your back on common sense. I was able to quit my job because I had alternative sources of income. I moved to my dream home in the country but not far enough that my children could not visit. I gave up a lifestyle that no longer brought me joy and in doing so sacrificed some things that did matter to me. But, in doing so, I gained a brand new adventure for the second half of my life.

If you take the time to know what it is you want and then work hard to make that happen then a midlife crisis does not have to be a cliché.  It can be a jumping off point to a radical new life.