Midlife Is Not A Crisis

The Midlife Crisis.  It's one of the things that often comes to mind when people think about this stage of life. It's a time full of changes and challenges which can leave us feeling off-kilter, disoriented, and uncertaint about what we're doing and where we're going.

As we begin seeing more and more of the physical signs of aging, we may start recognizing and assessing our own mortality. This feeling that time is somehow running out may cause us to begin thinking about how our life has played out so far and what we want to accomplish with whatever time we have left.  This can lead us to realize that we have goals that we never achieved or abandoned along the way. We might feel a sense of dissatisfaction with what we have achieved. We may be realizing that jobs and relationships we've had no longer serve us. 

Our children are either on the cusp of becoming independent or are already grown. We're finding ourselves with empty nests for the first time in 18 years or more.

Other people may have expectations of what we should be doing or how we should behave (or dress, or do our hair or makeup) because we have reached a certain age. And these ideas might not fit with how we feel on the inside or what makes us feel confident and the most like our true self.

Midlife is only a crisis if we focus on the endings portion. As Semisonic told us way back in 1998 - "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Midlife isn't the end! You're not too old. And it's not too late.  

You still have an opportunity to rediscover that dream or goal you once had and look into chasing it. Or make some new ones! 

Having grown children means not having to focus our time and energy on their needs. This gives you more time to concentrate on what you want to do. This is YOUR time! 

You are under no obligation to do what other people expect!  Now is the time to live life as your authentic self. Especially if you haven't been doing it up to this point.  Wear the dress. Or the shorts. Or that bathing suit. Grow out your beautiful silver hair - or not!  Put on the red lipstick. Or don't wear any makeup. 

Figure out what brings you joy and do more of those things!

This chapter of life can feel like a collection of endings. But it can also be a time of new beginnings and opportunities.