But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
- Ernest Hemingway
Our happiness at work usually declines at the mid-career mark, when we are halfway down the river.
This has more to do with our life conditions than work alone.
There comes a time (ah, another cliched opening line) when we find not being able to properly concentrate on work, our mind staring ahead at endless repetition of same work, at the inflexibility of our work conditions.
We no longer want to learn new stuff in our niche, and even we do it is difficult to concentrate on the same that will make our work better.
We forget if we ever had fun doing the job we once loved to do.
These are the mid career blues, my friend.
How do we bring the charm back to our working life?
- Often mid career blues are similar to job burnout /fatigue. Please read the guide (see table of content) for solutions that might do the magic for you. In summary, the solution are: side projects, more 'you' time, compartmentalization of life (i.e. no work at home), flexible work situation /flexible timings etc.
- When you are stuck in your career
Start by taking a good at yourself- here too, start by asking what is holding you back. Is it something or someone? Or, is it you who are holding yourself back?
- Some have found out that having less of 'news' consumption helps: Just read the analysis of important stuff during some downtime. Keeping away from TV news especially, from all that shouting and 'news presented like entertainment' takes its toll. Having less of news may also gives us lesser opportunities to think about how messed up the world is, and things never change. So, there you go.
- Take time away from the computer and the 'always on smartphone': Take some time out, to go over life and organize your life anew.
In other words, stop being busy and get some perspective on life as it is, friend.
- Get interested into a 'real world' problem and help bring solutions: Start teaching neighborhood kids to build a solar-powered school, for free.
- Tell your ego to take a much needed rest: Not everyone can be great. People depended upon you and you are there for them. You have a job, you are providing two meals for your family. Greatness is not in the numbers. It is in you doing the small things, every day.
At this stage of your career, you have already dealt with a lot of bad stuff and are still standing: You saw it all through, starting with first firing or layoff in your career.
Thank you for reading.
This guide is from The Success Manual, which contains 200+ guides to succeeding in business, career and personal life. Get the pdf ebook for $12 only.