15 Signs You Are Going Through a Quarter-Life Crisis & What To Do About It

Posted on September 02, 2014 by Sandra Kay Scheschuk , One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

We’ve all heard of a Mid-Life Crisis, but what about a Quarter-Life Crisis? It’s not a common term, but many 25-35 year olds go through it. People going through a quarter-life crisis spent their early 20’s after college focused on surviving and having fun. Now that they are getting older, they are feeling the itch to get their lives together. They may be unhappy with their career —it might pay the bills, but they are miserable. They may be in relationships that were comfortable and convenient, but are feeling unsure about whether they want to marry their significant other. They may have been simply dating for fun in their previous years or had a string of relationships that didn’t work out and are now trying to find “the one” whom they want to share their life with. All of these elements of uncertainty can be exacerbated when they see their friends getting married, or are happy and successful in their careers.

Here are the signs that you might be going through a quarter-life crisis:

1. You feel like you have been living your life on auto-pilot and feel you are suddenly waking up to the not so glamorous life you created
2. You feel trapped or stuck in your current situation
3. You feel like you don’t truly know who you are or what you want, but you know it’s not your current situation
4. You don’t trust yourself to make the decisions that are right for you
5. You often compare yourself to your more professionally or romantically successful peers which makes you feel even more depressed about your situation
6. You have a nagging feeling that there is much more to life than this
7. You feel panicked about where your future is headed – you thought you would have been so much farther along in your career, or with the right romantic partner by now
8. Although you may have compromised your passions for a career that is more stable, you don’t feel financially stable
9. You feel very unfulfilled in your job, but you stay to pay the bills and because you either don’t know what would make you feel fulfilled, or feel the financial sacrifice is too great to go after what you really love
10. You get in a bad mood Sunday evening, knowing you have to go back to work tomorrow
11. You have anxiety at the thought of going to another wedding single
12. You are tired of the go-nowhere dates that you have gone on lately
13. You feel drained of physical and mental energy, and may be experiencing other physical ailments due to stress and anxiety
14. Despite your hard work to achieve your ambitious career goals, things don’t seem to be going as planned
15. You long for your college days, when you had more fun, less responsibility, were surrounded by friends, and weren’t faced with such serious life altering decisions.

Did any of those resonate with your current situation? If so, here’s what you can do about it:

Realize that life is not a competition and success means something different for everyone. It is more important that you align your life with your own definition of success, as well as talents, purpose, desires, rather than someone else’s. You might achieve the dream career that you think everyone will admire and respect, but if in the end it makes you miserable, what is the point? Many of us have been so used to pleasing our parents or society as we grew up, that naturally, we chose a career that would also please them – only to find that we are very unhappy with the chosen path, because it doesn’t suit our unique talents, abilities, and desires.

Speaking of talents, and abilities, do some introspection on the gifts you were blessed with and meant to share with the world. If none come to mind, ask your friends and family what unique talents, abilities, or characteristic traits they see in you. Sometimes we can’t see our own unique gifts and abilities because they have been within us our whole lives, therefore, we don’t see them as unique or special.

Whether you are in a relationship or not, define your ideal life partner. Write down all the qualities that you desire in a romantic life partner. Compare this list with your current significant other or your future dates to see if they are the right person for you.

Start tuning into your gut/intuition. It has all the information you need to steer your life in the direction you were meant to go. You may have been ignoring what this inner GPS has to say, which is perhaps why you have ended up in your current unsatisfying situation. Now’s a good time to be still and pay attention to what it is communicating to you.

Hire a life coach! Life coaches have all the tools and experience that you need to achieve clarity, direction, and to move past the paralysis keeping you stuck in a life you don’t love.