The 30s Crisis: Redefining Professional Success Chapter 1

Ever since I graduated from university, I’ve been working non-stop and have been very fortunate to achieve several goals. However, a few years ago, what I call "the 30s crisis" began, and to this day, it remains one of the most complex existential challenges I’ve faced. The pandemic led me to question many things—not about my life’s purpose (because I believe that evolves) but about my professional purpose.

I am passionate about what I do, but I started asking myself if this was the only thing I was good at or if I should try something new. We often hear that "leaving your comfort zone" is essential and that we should be ambitious and seek "more." But what if this desire for change is really just a lack of appreciation for what we already have? I realized that much of my insecurity lay in not knowing if I was on the right path, even though I was receiving positive feedback at work.

The social and corporate pressure of "what’s your next step?", "how are you going to grow?" and "when will you become a manager or director?" is constant. Seeing others advance, I started to feel stuck, even though I really wasn’t. This greatly contributed to my professional crisis.

I’ve been reflecting on this for a while, and I want to share my story for those who might be going through something similar. I started working very young, selling sandwiches at university. I worked in a hotel, was a waitress, then managed a bar, did market research, sold clothes during vacation seasons, and after university, I became a recruiter focused on sourcing and market research. I achieved the "dream" of working for multinational companies in an international setting.

However, the pandemic led me to discover a passion I hadn’t pursued due to insecurity: being a DJ. For some, it may be a hobby, but for me, it’s something serious that I deeply respect. This led me to question my professional purpose even more. Today, I’m still confused: I’ve thought about taking a sabbatical, doing a master’s degree, moving to a different country, finding a remote or in-person job… and I still don’t have clear answers. The anxiety of not knowing the next step and feeling lost is common, but also difficult to manage.

I had dreamed of a "break" in my career, but several external factors frustrated that plan. Now, recovering from that "failure" has been a huge challenge. Sometimes, I hear others say, "This too shall pass," and although I know they’re right, I’m still in this moment of confusion, with many goals in sight but no clear direction.

Some studies say that, on average, people in the UK start hating their jobs around ages 30-35. So, does this mean we need a radical change at that age? Should we seek something to revive the energy and passion we had ten years ago? These are questions I ask myself daily and still can’t fully answer.

In this process, I’ve learned that failure isn’t as negative as we were taught. We were told we should strive for success and that the more successful we were, the happier we would be. But what really matters is our mental health, our peace, and the courage to try new things, even if we sometimes fail.

I still don’t know what my next step will be, but I keep searching for myself and finding value in each small achievement of my day-to-day life. Today, my priority is to live in the present, something I had forgotten in the constant search for a "perfect" future.

My invitation is to embrace our crises, at any stage of life. I call this my "30s crisis" because I’m 32 years old and it’s what I’m experiencing, but age is just a number, and our goals and paths shouldn’t be defined by social pressures or by others' expectations.

LinkedIn is a great tool, but it can also be a place where we only show our successes and how we’re "moving up," while behind the scenes, there are many people like me, lost in their careers or trying to meet everyone’s expectations.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to share more soon.