Published on August 4, 2010
You are one of the lucky few – working in your chosen field, doing the job you wanted. Your career is blossoming and you are happy, satisfied and challenged. But only till recently…..
After 12 years of 14-hour workdays, you realise that slowly a crippling uneasiness is creeping in. Unfortunately, your work has lost its spark and you feel bored, weary, stifled or even saturated in turns. You find yourself dragging your feet at work and increasingly start just putting in the hours. You are not happy anymore.
Well, all of us experience mild ups and downs in our career as the initial enthusiasm fades away and have to simply ride out the monotony. But, a protracted frustration that leaves you disengaged, discontent and downright miserable is another ballgame altogether.
Such a career plateau is termed as ‘mid-career crisis'. More common among high-achievers, this malady raises its ugly head due to a yawning gap between the career you want and the one you have. The ‘inflicted' are no longer sure they are in the right job; in fact they hate their job but don't know what to do about it!
The most common reason is that bright-eyed youngsters eagerly lap up buzzing jobs and scale dizzying heights in rapid succession. But as they reach mid-life (early 30's to late 40's) and grasp the need for meaning, they realise that something is sorely missing.
The culprit is that they failed to align their career goals with their life goals. And now all they want is to give it all up and retire! But alas, they are stuck for many more years.
To quote a top writer, “Mid-career crisis, like a mid-life crisis, doesn't necessarily have definite triggers. It can be a result of an individual's emotional needs, the environment he operates in or a combination of both.”
So, if you unfortunately happen to be experiencing a mid-career crisis, think: can you actually spend say, the next 15 years feeling disillusioned, cynical, irritable and depressed?
Create the life you want…..
Corrective action begins with proactively recognising that something is wrong. Instead of gloomily wallowing in your ‘misfortune', sit down and take stock of your life and analyse your career. Introspect carefully to identify what is important to you, what you really want and why it is missing. Think in terms of your abilities, interests, talents and potential and whether they actually match with your work.
Now you have to take the initiative to change what is needed. Make a plan to reignite your career passion, energy and enthusiasm. Try to think of new avenues to enhance your work and revitalise your career. You can discuss it with your boss/supervisor and propose concrete suggestions. Even they may offer some helpful options of their own. Making small changes like restructuring your work, flexitime, additional responsibilities, new work team, cross-functional experience or a lateral transfer can make a world of difference. Else, you can look to further your education or avail training programmes to upgrade your skills. Even mentoring a younger co-worker or taking up an outside hobby begets a change in your perspective about your own work. And very soon you will be raring to go all over again.
On the other hand, at times you may not find any new opportunities in your own organisation or the changes may not work for you because you have actually outgrown your job.
Or else, there is a yawning disconnect between what you want and what you have. The only solution then is to shift gears and leap into something entirely different. Changing direction with a new career can be the catalyst to a more fulfilling and happy life.
But, a mid-life career change is a very frightening prospect indeed. Do not think in terms of ‘too late' or ‘too old'. Instead, concentrate on identifying your true strengths and analyse your activities/interests outside of work. Build on them by grasping new possibilities and blow the mid-career blues away!
As it has been rightly said, “Instead of fitting your life in to your job, find ways to extend the longevity of your career by fitting your job into your life!”
Payal Chanania
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