So, You’re having a “Quarter-Life Crisis?” CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Gail Sheehy, in her much acclaimed book, Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life
Of course, each generation thinks they have invented this concept. And each generation doesn’t want to hear what I just said.
So, the new name for the 28-30 passage is “Quarter Life Crisis,” huh? Ok, that works.
I know, it’s very real. I remember mine all too well. It’s how I wound up in Hawaii. I pulled up roots, closed doors, sold everything, and moved to the islands… ON my 27th Birthday!!!
We ask a lot of questions at this juncture: Have I made the right life choices? Do I really care about the things I thought were so important? Who really are my friends? What should I do with my life right now? Did I go to the right college? Did I get the right degree? Why haven’t all those promises about that degree panned out? And what the hell am I doing with an $80,000 student loan at age 28?
At 28 we also start to figure out that some things aren’t all that important, some people really aren’t our friends, and all those ads on TV really are BS. We realize our parents were smarter all along than we thought. And we question every single commitment we made in the first decade after high school.
If this sounds like you, may I be the first to congratulate you! This is wonderful news! You are thinking for yourself. You’re using all those skills you’ve learned through trial and error to evaluate your priorities, your value systems, your ethics, and your Self. What a wonderful place you’re in! What a wonderful opportunity to define a more stable path for yourself! This is an opportunity to recommit to the game… or change it. Put down roots, or plant new ones. It’s time to claim your life to live it your way.
I won’t lie to you. It isn’t an easy path. The path to oneself never is. And you don’t get ‘grades’ for doing a good job of navigating this. You’re the only one who will know — and it will be a “knowing” — when you’ve arrived. At least for now.
There’s good news and other news on this passage you’re navigating. The good news is: you will make it through this crisis much more settled and much happier. The other news is: when you make it through this passage, there are more passages. Think Video Game. You go through this level, and more levels follow. But that’s what makes life fun!
Tell you what. I created some questions and charts for myself when I went through “level 28″ and used them again at “level 41.” You caught me at a good time. I just entered “level 56″ and I’ve been revisiting my system.
I’ll share some of it with you over the next week or so. How’s that? If you aren’t the one who is gong through a tough passage…but you know someone who is– send them this blog and we’ll get on track together.
Here’s to a successful passage,
Beth
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Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author. She has mentored hundreds of people through life-changing decisions and she can help you, too.
© 2007 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
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