Three Signs You May be Experiencing a Mid-Career Crisis
How do you know if you are in a mid-career crisis, and what can you do about it?
Experts say that when you start to feel mid-career malaise, some ways you can address it are to double down on what you’re passionate about, seek more meaning in your job or through community engagement, learn new things and look for another opportunity.
That’s all great advice, but before you do anything, there’s an in-between step: Clarifying what’s going on inside your own head. Here are signals that you may be experiencing a mid-career crisis, why it’s a good idea to pay attention, and what you can do
You start regretting missed opportunities
Do you ever say, “I had no idea at the time what a great situation I had,” or “I wish I had . . . “
Regret about the past is natural. It also can help you course correct by allowing you to recognize and act upon opportunities now.
I regret, for example, not having done more to nurture internal company networks. I had fantastic working relationships, but it would have been so easy to strengthen those bonds by reaching out to learn about colleagues’ career paths and goals. In my current work, I frequently cross real or imagined lines between colleague and friend, but that was an option all along.
Can you slow down and appreciate the possibilities that are there for you now? What do you regret? And how do you turn your regret into a chance to reframe the opportunities in front of you now?
2. You feel like you’re a valuable tool . . . for other peoples’ goals
We’re taught that hard work is a virtue, and we feel as though we need to prove ourselves by demonstrating we can get it all done.
There’s nothing wrong with working towards shared objectives. But when that keeps us from knowing what we want for ourselves, we lose ownership of the outcome, not to mention joy.
There was a phase during my career when I was proud of taking on yet another big project to add to the ones I was already doing. I didn’t know how I was going to handle it all, but I knew my capacity somehow would expand. While the problem-solving was rewarding, was I achieving my own goals? Looking back, I see that sometimes I didn’t even know what my own goals were.
When you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel, pay attention. Maybe it’s time to stop trying to prove yourself. At a certain point, conscientiousness and productivity are not how we make a real difference. Instead, it’s about doing less, while standing for something and pursuing a goal that matters long-term.
3. You suddenly recognize that the time remaining to build your career is finite
When you start working, time stretches ahead in vague, unmeasurable ways. In your first job, whether you have 20 or 30 or 40 years to work doesn’t feel like it makes a big difference.
But when you’ve been at it for 15 or 20 years, it becomes more of a priority to make the next years count.
Here’s a question my brother once asked me about work: Is this the job you want to retire from? If the answer is no, that could be a wakeup call. Maybe it’s time to start looking for the job you do want to retire from.
Let’s celebrate not taking action right away when you start feeling drained by work. It’s natural to want to fix the problem by making a change and launching a job search. But without getting to the root of why something is off, any steps you take will lead you back to where you began.
Instead, use your mid-career crisis as a catalyst to listen to what’s going on in your brain. You could and should be setting yourself up for the most productive, satisfying stage of your career.