Is It Really a Crisis?

Webster’s definition of a crisis is as follows:

a: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome
b: a situation that has reached a critical phase

Today I listened to a Ted Talk given by a 26 year old female. She started her talk by saying she was just on the other side of her “quarter life crisis.” That got me to thinking. First, I had never heard the term “quarter life crisis” and, secondly it made me wonder how young we will go to label a given period of life as a life crisis period?

If we look at the more common phrase, midlife crisis, many of us might think of a man getting a sports car and a new trophy wife. Or a woman divorcing her husband and living a much more youthful lifestyle. But really why do we have to label major life change after 40 as a midlife crisis? The thought behind this used to be we were running out of time and we had to do something life changing before we died. That actually sounds a bit fatalistic.

What if we looked at life a different way. What if we chose to replace the term midlife crisis with midlife opportunity. Or if you must, quarter life opportunity. You see, when you reach your forties, hopefully you have gained wisdom along the way. And yes, you probably are somewhat on the backside slide of life but what makes that a crisis? You have more experience, more insight, often more money and if you planned well, more time to enjoy life. So if you want to make a major change in your life, this is an excellent opportunity to go for it.

Of course I am not saying throw the spouse out and start over but for some people this is a great time for a wake up call to discover your passion! Do more of what makes you happy. This is a great time to look at your life and take inventory. What are you contributing to the world? What are you contributing to your loved ones? What can you be doing better and what brings you joy?

Clearly I have passed my midlife crisis years. I am definitely on the downward slope now. But is this a crisis? Not at all. Each day is a blessing and each day brings new opportunities. I would love to see more people look at life changes in the positive. Even the difficult changes have a rainbow inside of them. The question is, will you see the rainbow? And when, and if you do, I hope you aim for the pot of gold. Goodbye midlife crisis, hello midlife opportunity!