Page 11 - January 23 2023

By Krys Pappius
Most of us acknowledge that midlife is a
time of change.
Typically, these changes can include any of the

following:

chosen careers lose their spark
parents become empty nesters
long term relationships come to an end
we start experiencing the loss of family and
friends. When we take responsibility for our life, and
we start acknowledging that time is finite, when we are willing to look within to
and it is starting to run out. understand what is important to us, clarifying
our purpose is a simple process.
Just one of these can leave a void in one’s life
and make the future appear daunting. Any You can thrive in midlife and
combination can feel overwhelming. beyond by creating a life for
yourself that honors your purpose.
Traditionally, society has given us a number of You can do this in 3 simple steps:
milestones to get past:
grow up 1. create a vision of your IDEAL life based on

go to school your purpose
get a job 2. identify and debunk all your beliefs that tell
find a partner you why you can’t have what you want
have a family 3. take massive action and make that ideal
celebrate turning 65 life your reality.
retire.
I first used this process to transform my own
However, we have no socially designated life and I have seen successful
milestones to aim for beyond that, nothing we transformations in my clients who follow this

can “officially” look forward to. process.
A midlife crisis occurs when we ask Midlife dissatisfaction is universal.
“what now?” and look “out there” for A midlife “crisis” is optional.
ways to fill the void. The crisis happens when you look outside of

When we do that, there will always be someone yourself for ways to rebound from what has

willing to sell us a prepackaged lifestyle that, been identified as a universal human
they claim, will bring joy back into our life. tendency to feel dissatisfied with life that
But none of those solutions is more than a shiny occurs anywhere between the ages of 45-
object, a temporary distraction. The void is never 65.
filled, we feel stuck, and we experience a crisis.
A better way to navigate through the midlife
In his book “The Happiness Curve – Why life gets blues is to take responsibility for your life, to
better after 50” Jonathan Rauch cites numerous look within to discover your purpose, and to
studies that show a universal tendency for create a life for yourself that honors that
humans to experience dissatisfaction in midlife, purpose.
regardless of our status, our level of success, or To shake things up and start living life YOUR
our material wealth. way.

He also indicates that a rebound after midlife is The greatest gift of midlife is that it’s a
associated with a new sense of purpose and time to create a life you REALLY love;
meaning.
you get to do life YOUR way.

Krys Papppius, Krys Pappius Coaching
http://www.kryspappius.com iNETrepreneur Magazine | Page 11
Email: kryspappius@gmail.com