The Quarter Life Crisis – How To Survive A Mid Life Crisis In Your 20s or early 30s
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
The Quarter Life Crisis – How To Survive A Mid Life Crisis In Your 20s or early 30s
Quarter Life Crisis
The other day I discovered what a quarter life crisis is.
I was talking to a friend of mine and she was explaining to me about a concept of a mid 20′s crisis. In her mind it was similar to a mid life crisis. However, unlike a mid life crisis, which typically occurs in your late 30s to early 50s, this crisis occurs much younger.
She described it as being stuck in a rut in the middle of two life extremes. The ending of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. There is also a dissatisfaction factor when the person compares themselves to others in their peer group who are seemingly further along in life.
Curious about this phenomena, I did some extensive research (that’s a fancy term that basically means, I did a Google search) and I discovered that what she was describing actually exists and is pretty common.
She was describing what is known as a quarter life crisis.
A quarter life crisis typically occurs somewhere between your mid twenties and early thirties. During this time, a person begins to experience feelings of doubt, insecurity and dissatisfaction with their lives.
These feelings occur specifically as a result of the challenges that occur as they make an adjustment from childhood to adulthood.
What Are Some of the Signs that you are Having a Quarter Life Crisis?
There are several signs that you might be experiencing a quarter life crisis. Here are some of them:
1. You feel like your life at this stage is NOTHING like what you imagined it to be.
For instance, you are 28 years old. You figured that by the time you were this age, you would be at least engaged, if not married. You would be well on your way progressing in your career. You would definitely have your own place. Instead, you have zero prospects for a serious relationship, you are working a dead end job that you are overqualified for degree wise and you are still living with mommy and daddy. This is definitely a big sign that you are experiencing a quarter life crisis.
2. You are constantly comparing yourself to your friends who are your age.
Your best friend just scored that serious promotion and you aren’t even at the entry level of your career? You meet up with a friend from college and she’s already married with kids and you are not? A friend from high school posts a picture of the house or car they just brought and you are still living with your parents taking public transportation. People who experience a quarter life crisis do this a lot.
3. You find yourself reminiscing about how great high school or college was.
You find yourself thinking about how cool you were in school, how simpler life was back then, how great you had it back then compared to how you are living right now and how much more progress you were making in your life back then compared to the lack thereof that you are making now. This is a classic play in the quarter life crisis playbook.
How to Survive and Thrive Out of The Quarter Life Crisis
So you read the signs and are definitely convinced that you are experiencing a quarter life crisis? The good news is that you are not alone. There are a lot of other people who are experiencing the same thing.
I was a late comer to the quarter life crisis game. In fact, I was probably the person that all my peers who went through their crisis early were comparing themselves too.
Got a job while in college. Got pay raises and promotions quickly. Got married young. Had the hot wife, money in the bank, homeowner in my mid twenties, vacations multiple times a year. Life was great!
Then this concept called “outsourcing” occurred, which caused me to have to take a serious look at the long term prospects of my career moving forward.
No problem. I’m a go getter. I will start my own business and make way more money than I was making on my job. I do that. Wife invests in real estate. We make a killing. Dreams are becoming a reality.
Then the real estate market crashes right when we are about to have our first child. Another child and a few years later, I find myself starting over completely, brand new career, two very young children, divorced and trying to find my way in the world while taking care of two kids at least 3 to 4 days a week.
Welcome to my quarter life crisis!
So yes, I know a little something about a quarter life crisis. The good news is that I’m getting back into my groove and things are headed in the right direction for me.
Your quarter life crisis may not have been as dramatic as mine. However, it all feels the same. It all feels horrible. Here are some tips that will help you to get past it.
1. Recognize that you have more time than you think to get it together.
I thought that my life was over after I got divorced and pretty much lost everything and had to rebuild from scratch. The reality is most of us aren’t anywhere near the halfway point of our life expectancy. We have plenty of time to get it together. Most millionaires don’t make their first million until after they are in their 40s. You have more time than you think you do to get it together.
2. Set a clearly defined vision for where you want to go and make a decision to make it a reality no matter whatever it takes.
This was big for me. If I didn’t have a clearly defined vision for what I wanted my life to look like I would have never made it through my quarter life crisis. My clearly defined vision gave me hope when I felt hopeless. It gave me something to shoot for. It gave me something to daydream about when the reality of my life wasn’t really all that appealing.
3. Take advantage of a strong support network.
We all have people that love us and care for us. Take advantage of this! Whether it’s parents, friends, family members, a significant other, these are the people that can help you navigate through your quarter life crisis. They can be an ear to listen to your troubles. They can be a counselor to advise you through the challenges. They can give you the swift kick in the pants that we all need sometimes. They are also the only people that don’t mind loans at 0% interest.
If you find yourself in a quarter life crisis, know that you aren’t alone. There are a lot of us who have been where you are. Be encouraged! You can and will make it and you will be better for the experience. I am definitely a living witness to this!
Here are some additional articles on this blog that might be helpful:
Quarter life crisis being caused by failure in the dating world?
- Ladies learn How to Get a Man to Ask You Out
- Men learn How to Ask a Woman Out and How to be More Attractive to Women
Quarter life crisis got you tired while chasing your goals?
Learn What to do When you Get Tired Running After Your Goals
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