Midlife Crisis: Is it a problem?
Posted on January 28, 2020 by Georgie Coote, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
At midlife, perhaps in your late 30’s, 40’s or 50’s there is a voice inside of urging you to do something you have always wanted to do. Do you listen?
At a party recently a group of friends was talking about an acquaintance who was planning on climbing our local mountain, Mt Rainier. She’s turning fifty and wanted to mark this milestone in her life. The talk was of the training she was doing to prepare, taking time away from her family at weekends, and then someone asked, “Is she having a midlife crisis?” I thought quietly to myself, so what if she is? As long as she is hearing the call for change and following it, won’t she and all around her be happier?
In the earlier part of our lives, we feel pressured to have to conform to the social norms expected of us, behaving in a certain way, portraying a particular persona. We study, launch our careers, get married, and have a family while putting certain aspects of ourselves away so that we can better accomplish these early life goals. Perhaps you had a beloved sports car which had to be sold and replaced with a minivan, or an unexpected pregnancy happened before you had accomplished what you had planned, such as finishing at college or traveling.
Now at midlife, perhaps in your late 30’s, 40’s or 50’s there is a voice inside of urging you to do something you have always wanted to do. Do you listen to the voice and make plans to accomplish what you need to, or do you ignore it, saying it’s not the right time and suppress the urge? Perhaps your body starts having physical symptoms such as headaches or unexplained anxiety; your psyche is shouting louder, trying to make you listen.
So, is it a crisis? It can be, but is that a bad thing? Midlife is a time of change, but I like to think of it more as a time of transition. A knowing that what went before does not work for you anymore, but not knowing what is going to come. Does this mean you have to shed your previous life entirely and start a new? No, not necessarily, but identifying what needs to change and working towards that, leads to a feeling of wellbeing and fulfillment.
Wanting to make a change but don’t know where to start? Let’s chat and find out how I can help.
