The Quarterlife Crisis
Posted by Lola on June 27, 2007
Many of you may have already been through the Quarterlife Crisis… Maybe you’re going through it right now.
These characteristics of quarter-life crisis (taken from Wikipedia) may be familiar to you, or maybe you will recognize yourself amongst them:
- feeling “not good enough” because one can’t find a job that is at one’s academic/intellectual level
- frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
- confusion of identity
- insecurity regarding the near future
- insecurity regarding present accomplishments
- disappointment with one’s job
- nostalgia for university or college life
- boredom with social interactions
- financially-rooted stress
- a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you
“These emotions and insecurities are not uncommon at this age, nor at any age in adult life. In the context of the quarter-life crisis, however, they occur shortly after a young person – usually an educated professional, in this context – enters the “real world”.
After entering adult life and coming to terms with its responsibilities, some individuals find themselves experiencing career stagnation and/or extreme insecurity. This can be after securing a first job or straight out of college/university. The individual often realizes the real world is tougher, more competitive and less forgiving than they imagined. Furthermore, the qualifications they have spent so much time and money earning are not likely to prepare them for this disillusionment.”
As someone who has been through this Quarterlife Crisis, and is (hopefully) on the other side of it my next few posts I am going to present my experiences and views on what can be done to get through this time of life successfully. Watch this space.
Herman Najoli said
In some languages, crisis and opportunity share the same word, meaning that your crisis may be an opportunity for greatness to emerge. Brian Tracy says that we go through cycles in life – problem, problem, problem then crisis, problem, problem, problem then crisis. Crisis is a part of life but winners turn it into opportunity. When life gives them lemons they make lemonade. Last month I decided to really lay down the law in my life and outline what the second quarter of life will look like. Here are my thoughts on that: Herman’s Second Quarter of Life.