8th December 2009
Midlife Crisis
I don't ever look back. I look forward.
Steffi Graf
All of us will have to pass through what is popularly called the midlife crisis. We all read, get a job, and involve ourselves in some avocation or other. We honestly try to acquire some skill and apply the same in our job and improve our career. We have our own goals and aspirations in life. We bench mark ourselves with respect to people whom we feel are our models. We realize some of our dreams and some remain as dreams to be realized.
Then comes a phase in our life when we start auditing our effectiveness. We ask ourselves a question: what have I done and am I happy? Have I done justice to myself and to others? Where am I and where are those who also started their life along with me? This state of our mind is called mid life crisis. Midlife crisis is a cry from the deep of our heart wanting to make a difference. Sometimes it is the critique inside us wanting to know if we have done what we are capable of doing.
We need to address these questions in a calm and composed manner. One way to deal with it is to do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) in the context of our age and the present situation. Sometimes, we are too busy to carry on our daily chores without thinking where we are and where we want to be. We need to re-profile ourselves. We need to think whether we are doing age appropriate activities. Even if our present level of activities and life style are remunerative, we need to re-position ourselves and choose to do something different. Perhaps we can start a new hobby or start a secondary career. We can learn a new skill. We can discuss our issue with people who have passed through this phase of life successfully.
This is called life counseling. To day set aside some time and think about this issue. You will rediscover yourself.
N C Sridharan
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