2020 was a rough year for most people. Isolation, the uncertainty of the pandemic, being over-worked. It gave birth to the much publicised, Great Resignation/Realisation. However, deciding to leave a job/industry couldn’t have just been a spur of the moment decision for all those people. From my own experience, a life crisis (of sorts) had been brewing for some time beforehand.
You’ve probably heard of the term ‘mid-life crisis’. You may have even assumed that it only happens to other people or that you have to be above a certain age for it to happen to you. This year, I’ve come across the term ‘quarter-life crisis’, which can strike around the age of 25.
For some, a life crisis may strike like clockwork. But it can also occur at almost any age. In fact, psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi, notes that the mid-life crisis is affecting people at a younger and younger age.
Why do life crises occur?
To get the ball rolling, I’ll quote from Saliha Afridi’s TED talk – “When we’re born, we’re given a metaphorical map … by people like family, society and this map charts out the path we have to follow and if we follow this path, it is promised, we will get to a place marked with an X and there will be the treasure. Treasure being a sense of fulfilment, a sense of contentment.”
However, life is not that simple. Plans don’t always work out. Even if they do, is where you end up and what you have ever enough?
Another gem that I took away from Afridi’s talk was, “The second half of adulthood is really about taking the inner journey towards your authentic self.” Removing any connotation about age, the “Journey towards your authentic self” is the bit that really sings out to me. A life crisis can therefore be seen as a natural and necessary part of being human.
My own experience
I spent most of my twenties doing a PhD. Coming out of the PhD, I wanted to work in either research or academia. However, there was one big problem – I couldn’t get a job. So I focused my efforts on landing any job. After more than seven months of consistent job hunting, I was offered a job in customer service.
Almost as soon as I started working in customer service, I was looking for a way out. In the years that followed, I spent many weekends browsing job vacancies in other industries and preparing applications.
But at the end of 2020, after 5.5 years in customer service, I hit my lowest point. Although I was in a secure job, I felt trapped. I feared I would be stuck in entry-level customer service jobs for the rest of my working life. The situation was made worse by a case of burnout.
I needed a break from the Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 treadmill. The company I was with didn’t offer employees sabbaticals or career breaks, so I made the decision to quit my job, leaving in mid-2021.
What followed was a brief return to study and some down time. All in all, it was a 6-month career break. Towards the end of my break I was able to line up a new employment opportunity. Interestingly, it was in customer service once again, but this time there were two important differences. 1. It was only a short-term, 6-month contract 2. The job was with a publishing company (the industry I was interested in).
A life crisis can be a painful and emotional period in one’s life. You may also find that you just want to shut yourself away from others (or the world). You need this time on your own to discover what is important to you and to gain clarity on the new path that lies ahead for you. A life crisis can be the catalyst for a new beginning.
If you are interested in exploring this topic further, I would encourage you to start by watching the following two talks:
Careers, Personal Development and More 