Quarter-Life Crisis
I was hurtling toward Earth at near terminal velocity, and already I had the sneaking suspicion that my life was about to get much, much worse.
This is a true story, by the way!
In my teens, I compiled my bucket list:
✅ Live in Australia
✅ Bungee jump
✅ Sky dive
Just a few years later, I completed my bucket list, and this was a huge, huge mistake.
Naively, I thought my life would be complete if I did these three things. During my junior year in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester in Australia, where I very quickly crossed the other two items off my bucket list. That was a HUGE problem because at 20, I sure didn’t feel like my life was complete!
I didn’t know what was wrong, but something sure was. I was having a quarter-life crisis.
Why does everyone talk about midlife crises? It is just one of at least 3 or 4 possible crises we might all face.
In our 20’s:
We miss the always-there friends we had in high school and college.
Some people find out that the major they picked isn’t the life they want.
The activities from academic days end, and suddenly there’s less to do and more time for boredom.
We might be experiencing the school-of-hard-knocks learning of their organization’s culture and how to fit in.
Mid-life:
We experience the uber-busy sandwich years.
Many people start to wonder, is this it? Should I move, switch careers, or open a business?
But at the same time, these are prime earning years, so upsetting the apple cart can have real consequences.
Our 50’s & 60’s:
Some of us have more time on our hands again, and we are figuring out how to use it.
Many deal with identity issues. Who am I if I’m not a worker, an employee, a manager, or a professional?
There might be financial issues when people want to retire or are forced to retire, but the nest egg is not quite large enough to retire just yet.
If you are a long-time reader, you might know where I’m going with this. Want to add more value? Determine if you are helping members with each of their quarter-life crises, and if your organization has a gap, fill it.
Let’s head back to that airport tarmac in Cannes, Australia, over 30 years ago. I just completed a tandem 10,000-ft skydive, and I was elated for a bit, then really worried because I felt that, at the time, I had completed everything on my tiny list; everything I had been looking forward to.
Very quickly, I added a whole bunch of new things to my bucket list. Even now I’m adding to that mental list, so there’s no way I can ever complete my bucket list again. I’m done with that quarter-year crisis and ready for the next one! 😉
