Curiosity Didn't Kill The Cat. Crisis did.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the top reasons why people meet with me. While Imposter Syndrome ranked high, it most often applied to those relatively early on in their careers (under 45-ish). I want to take this time to focus on one of the primary questions that arise with those in the over 45 crowd:?

“Is this IT?”?

Many of us know about the often-mocked concept of Midlife Crisis. There have been many sitcoms with characters going through this kind of struggle where identity, purpose, and concerns about longevity are fueling an anxious kind of rapid revamp of their lives resulting in the purchase of outrageous sports cars and a fashion makeover. On the serious side of midlife angst, it is not uncommon for those of us who have kept our nose to the grindstone with career investment to come up for air around the midlife mark with a stage-appropriate self-evaluation that can often bring us to the question above. This in no way means that the years of career development, hard work, sacrifices, and rewards were for naught. On the contrary, in fact. ?

?Midlife only goes into a crisis condition if either this self-reflection opportunity is overlooked and/or choices made in a state of anxiety move us away from our best intentions or true purpose. Midlife is much like that launching period we go through from about 20-26 except we now have decades of experience, insights, and skill development as our foundation. What is similar about the two stages???

They are both stages that allow for the greatest expansion of self. Our decade in our 20’s is for launching into adulthood. From 40-60 yrs. we get to use the wisdom gained since then to help us with the second “launch” into self-actualization (or our truest potential or activated purpose).??

In my work with clients (who are most often high-achieving professionals), we turn the typical Midlife Crisis into Midlife Curiosity.

Ahhh, yes...the Growth Mindset thing.

In many religions and philosophical practices, all the things that we do, places that we go, and people whom we meet are part of our journey and not one is meant to be The Destination. Even when we have been in the same role professionally for decades, it is meant to be a part of our story and not the entirety of it.? When we engage in Midlife Curiosity, we get to reignite the passion for the work we do and the relationships that matter to us. We can tap into mental freedom as we align more with our best intentions and take healthy risks for personal and professional growth.??

While we simultaneously recognize and explore this developmental stage of self-reflection and personal expansion, I help clients understand and manage the biological brain-related reasons for "midlife crisis". We discuss hormone levels, nutritional psychology strategies, neurogenesis, and cortisol regulation in order to have healthy control over the things you can: how you care for your midlife brain and body. Just like when seeking help for depression or anxiety with medication, you can't expect to master life again without also making sure that you know how to master your brain & body.

Happy to share Brain & Body Optimization with your corporate teams via seminar, weekly blogs, and/or coaching programs. Email me with #linkedinnewsletter in the subject line for 10% off your booking.

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