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anurag, anurag anand, author, career, India, Inspiration, Leadership, life, magazine, skills, success, work-life integration
Mid-life crisis is a term that many of us are familiar with but aren’t able to comprehend entirely. Experts will tell you that this crisis is a state of confusion about the manner one has been or is leading life, and the direction life appears to be heading in. This crisis is a mental reaction to changes and transformations around us that we are unable to readily embrace.
A similar confusion with respect to work and career is a common phenomenon among working professionals. ‘What am I doing here?’, ‘Is this what I had set out to do?’, ‘Is it time I took a sabbatical to alter the course of my career?’, ‘Am I adding any substantial value through my work or am I just another cog in the wheel?’ These, and other such existential questions may or may not be an offshoot of a mid-life crisis, but we face them on an ever frequent basis in our work lives. We are either grappling with these questions ourselves or we find a colleague or a co-worker struggling to answer them.
The reasons behind someone slipping into this phase of confusion and purposelessness could be many, from important events or changes on the personal front to a relative lull or a high-pressure period at work, and from prolonged bouts of illness to souring of one’s relationship with a colleague. Reasons notwithstanding, such phases of delirium are associated with dipping motivation, morale and productivity, and pushes those in their midst into a space that is unhealthy and depressing. Is there anything that can be done to avoid falling into this trap, or at least taking the edge off its sting?
The answer lies in doing three simple things. One, making self-improvement your purpose. Get yourself nominated to a training program, enroll for an online certification course, do anything that will add value to you as a professional. By doing so, you will not only shift your focus to something productive, but the resultant sense of accomplishment will help you weather this phase with relative ease.
The second thing to do is to engage your superiors and mentors in conversations around your work and career. You might not get complete clarity over a single discussion, but this will certainly shift the focus towards something that matters for you in the long run. And such conversations are likely to reinforce the worth of what you are currently doing for you.
Lastly, make extra efforts to have fun at the workplace. Socialize with your colleagues, plan a weekend outing, play a prank, do anything that brings you joy and happiness.
Happiness is contagious, and it has a cascading effect on all other aspects of our lives. It is on occasions when we find ourselves struggling to make time for things we enjoy doing that we should push ourselves to engage in them the most. It is only by doing so that we will succeed in breaking the shackles of monotony and getting our mojo back.
First published in Suburb Life Magazine!