Note from Art: My work brings me in contact with a great number of mid-career professionals beginning to ask hard questions about their professional lives. Consider these philosophical thoughts as encouragement on your journey to finding that lost spark of excitement and adventure in a constructive way.
One of the reasons that I love working with early career professionals is that many of them still believe that they are going to change the world in their own small or very large way. If only we could bottle some of these early dreams and tap into them later in life.
Too many of us lose that naïve and wonderful sense of idealism and adventure as the waves of life wash over us and erode the dreams that formed our youth. We become practical. Or, mostly, we make life choices that force us to become practical.
Often, by mid-life, we’ve allowed our jobs and our obligations to start defining us, and our sense of self slips away until we’re virtually indistinguishable from each other. Enter the mid-life crisis.
I vote that we change the name of this phase that stereotypically involves sports cars and ill-advised relationship shifts to something that better reflects what so many people want and need: a mid-life renewal.
The mid-life renewal can and should include a review of old dreams and new passions. While the old dreams may truly be out of context or out of touch with who you are today, they also might point you towards pursuits that align better with your priorities and values.
For many, this phase of life and career is characterized by a shift in emphasis away from success towards significance. The goal is no longer the money or the title, it’s an issue of impact…of making a difference or achieving things that are important to you and those around you. For some, it’s an issue of time.
If there’s a book in you, a song or symphony to be composed, a picture to be painted, professionals to be mentored and lives to positively impact, there’s no time like the present for starting on that process of mid or even late life renewal. The only thing holding you back is your own resistance.
And for those of youth, practicality is over-rated. Extend your dreams as long as possible and act on them or they may wash away.