A mid-life crisis is a transition of identity caused by a growing recognition of the limited time one has, and the evaluation of one’s achievements.

The individual has spent a large portion of his life doing a certain job, embarking on a certain career or engaging in a certain academic field. After some introspection and reflection, finds that the work he has engaged in for so long does not provide him with joy, in the deepest sense of the word, and energise his being. On further contemplation, he finds that he has dedicated such a large portion of his life to these actions, and that life is so short, that he is positively saddened by the prospect of having wasted his time. Even worse, a successful shift in career or field of work seems highly impossible.

When dealing with what one might believe is a mid-life crisis, it is important to understand the distinction between a crisis and a stressor. Stressors are common, and are events, occurrences or actions that can weigh down one’s experience in a certain area. For instance, having a particularly large workload on one day, or a few days of unproductive business, or the presence of several deadlines, can all be stressors, and can temporarily affect how one views his or her job, because they can be unpleasant and demotivating at times. However, these are minor blimps in the larger picture, and the individual is satisfied with his or her chosen field of work, as a whole.

A crisis, on the other hand, is when the individual is fundamentally unhappy and dissatisfied with the nature of the work he is doing, and the field he is involved in. He wants a paradigm shift in his life and career, and wants to shift his space of work and focus.

The gradient one follows, with regard to professional growth and satisfaction, is like the letter ‘U’. After a certain period of success and hard work, one’s satisfaction and productivity can gradually dip, because they find that their current lifestyle and work does not provide them with the right space and satisfaction they find themselves yearning for, despite it seeming successful. This is the bottom of the ‘U’, and this is the period when one feels like one is experiencing a mid-life crisis.

This moment is vital to an individual’s growth. This is where the individual must invest in some serious reflection and introspection, guided professionally, in order to evaluate his growth, and project an ideal space for himself. This would involve evaluating certain strategies, behaviours and routes that have been taken thus far, and recalibrating oneself to choose a route that will enable one to achieve the desired space. A good resource that will help make this clearer, is the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith.

Thus, in order to truly understand and resolve a mid-life crisis, the following questions must be asked and answered –

• How do we know what is of value, and to whom?
• What are the standards by which one chooses a career?
• How can one successfully shift professional spaces?

Executive coaching is immensely valuable in helping the individual answer these questions. Reach out to us at Influx Consulting www.influxhr.com, to answer these questions, and liven your professional life.

About Me

JALAJA HARIPRASAD, Coaching CXOs and Senior leaders in organisations. Check me on my website www.influxhr.com and turn on my Testimonial page.

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