Do you know what truly matters most to you? I’ve been posting about mid career crisis, and this is really an opportunity for you to reconnect to what you love about your life and your career.
If you haven’t given this considerable thought, consider retaining a professional coach to guide you through self-examination and reflection on what truly matters most to you.
Often at mid career, clinging to the status quo may, on the surface, appear to be a safer, more mature choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Redoubling your efforts to achieve happiness based on what drove you in the first half of life is foolish.
In the second half of life, facing our failures and losses facilitates course corrections. We are rewarded with deeper, more fulfilling life and career experiences. Avoiding life’s natural progressions prevents you from broadening consciousness and becoming your authentic self.
What Truly Matters?
Mid career is a time to examine regrets and accept mistakes. A coach can help you turn failures into meaningful learning opportunities. You won’t need to bury bad memories. Greater self-acceptance opens new avenues.
Unfortunately, most of us work so hard to obtain an identity that it becomes very hard to let it go. What worked earlier in your career is nearly always inadequate to meet the challenges of your mature years, as Marshall Goldsmith proved in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (Hachette Books, 2007).
Acknowledging what truly matters and admitting mid career dissatisfaction opens a window to exploring your options. Ask yourself:
- What steps must I take to transition to the next stage of my journey?
- Can I give myself permission to explore new paths?
- How does fear keep me in a reactive stance, constrained by outmoded routines?
- Am I content to live partially, or am I ready and willing to explore new ways of thinking and feeling?
- Can I gather the energy needed to realize my unlived potential?
- How can I take one small step?
The age-old Serenity Prayer comes to mind:
“Grant me the courage to change the things I can, to accept the things I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr
The key, of course, is to know the difference. What about you? I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
