(1) Expect midlife career change to be easier than entering the world of employment for the first time.

Most likely you enjoy a financial cushion: savings, home equity, and a retirement fund. You also have demonstrated skills and experience. If you’re employed, your company probably offers resources for developing new skills and managing the transition.

(2) Expect midlife career change to be harder because you’ve invested in a career identity – way beyond skills and values. When you introduce yourself as, “Here’s what I do…” you are also saying, “Here’s who I am.”

(3) Expect to change your appearance as you change careers.

Sadly, many individuals and organizations really do judge a book by its cover. Clients who want to start a business often are surprised by the increased need to dress up for presentations. An Armani label on a suit? A good start. But are you wearing this year’s suit? Colors that your target market deems “appropriate?”

Many career changes have opted for lower income in exchange for the opportunity to stay home and work in sweats or shorts – and, for women, say good-by to high heels and pantyhose forever.

(4) Recognize that career change often requires a geographic move.

Let’s face it: Some places are just better for some careers. Your cost of living may be lower in a small city, but your opportunities to network will be limited. On the other hand, the lower cost of living may allow you to experiment with riskier ventures.

Often your own business doesn’t depend on geography. Examples include Internet businesses, mail order shipment, and free lance writing. But you may need to keep on top of mainstream trends and where you live can influence your credibility.

(5) Expect to change your roles in all aspects of your life.

Family and community will view you differently. You may have more or less time for your family (and they will view you differently). Board members based on the prestige of their day job. Some volunteer activities require you to be available on certain weekdays.

(6) Plan for a new social support system.

Lunch with coworkers. Drinks after work. Dinner with old friends on Friday night. You don’t realize how much you enjoyed this support until it’s gone.

Friendships change. When you leave a career, former colleagues can regard you with envy or suspicion. They won’t understand your new world and the new challenges you face.

(7) Forget the myth, “If you can’t be happy here, you won’t be happy anywhere.”

Many of my clients experienced career change following what seemed to be a midlife crisis. They were surprised to find their whole world looked different.

And that’s why I say, “Career breakdown can be the first step to your major career breakthrough.”

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., works with corporate executives, business-owners and professionals who want to transform career breakdowns to career breakthroughs.

Cathy has created the 21-Day Extreme Career Makeover and authored Making the Big Move: Transforming Relocation into a Creative Life Transition. http://www.cathygoodwin.com/

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Brehony undertakes to unravel this story through a Jungian lens, asking, and answering: What is a midlife crisis? Why does it occur? And especially, why do the symptoms often appear in the “prime” of life, at a time when we have finally achieved so many of the things we’ve worked so hard for?

A protege of Freud, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s thinking diverged towards a belief in a spiritual unfolding in human development. He saw midlife as a natural and necessary passage to becoming a whole human being. He described it as the emergence of our shadow, or our ‘unlived selves’, that are built into the structure of the personality and the Self.

Generally occurring between 35 and 50, and often experienced as a crisis, Jung cast the upheaval of midlife in a new light, suggesting that it need not be a crisis, as it offers a unique opportunity for growth. Indeed, if we understand its spiritual purpose and navigate it accordingly, then unparalleled psychological and spiritual transformation and fulfillment is possible.

For Jung, individuation is the heart and meaning of midlife transition, a process of letting go of who we are in order to become who we are supposed to be. It’s essentially an identity crisis of the ego. The carefully crafted public masks, or persona, we’ve spent a lifetime assembling, begin to crumble and are laid bare as our ’shadow’ – beliefs, preferences, behaviors, and so on repressed through social conditioning – seek release and authentic expression.

The poet Robert Bly who wrote The Little Book of the Human Shadow, notes that we spend half our lives putting parts of ourselves into the shadow and the other half trying to take them out again. Combine these unexpected ‘eruptions’ of unconscious parts of ourselves, with changing roles as children leave home, career pressures, the fact that our self-perception as well others’ perceptions of us change as we age, and a deeper awareness of mortality and death, and its no surprise that lives carefully built on hollow or false foundations begin to collapse and dramatically upset our balance of relationships, work and all areas of our lives!

When Awakening at Midlife was published just over a decade ago, it was the first to deconstruct Jung’s ideas about adult development as a time of spiritual growth and transformation. It’s still a valuable guide, as midlife still catches most of us by surprise, and is often misdiagnosed and misjudged. Therapists who fail to recognize its complexity may focus on random symptoms, treating midlife depression with Prozac for example, without understanding it as a necessary part of the journey to individual growth.

Instead, this book offers a holistic viewpoint of midlife as a search for wholeness, meaning and renewed purpose, with concrete suggestions to navigate the unfamiliar terrain, including exercises for self-reflection, building and drawing on support systems, and using creative expression, like drawing and journaling, to give heretofore unexpressed parts of yourself a voice.

Hearing these voices is a good first step. After that, of course, the question is, what choices will we make? The good news is that midlife requires only three things of us: integrity, trust, and courage. A bite-sized prescription of how to navigate the passage smoothly – perhaps even joyfully – might be: Act in alignment with your insights.

Kathleen Daniel, MS, L.Ac. writes about change and transition from the inside out, combining insights and experience from a life lived internationally, with a lifelong yoga practice and work as an acupuncturist, organizational consultant, educator, and life and personal leadership coach. She is an alumni of Johns Hopkins Women’s Leadership program, and the creator of the Wellness for Women and Pausing at Midlife retreats. Website: http://www.aheadofthecurveatmidlife.com

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While inward turmoil and self-examination may be marked by external manifestations such as increased physical and mental fatigue, some depression and social withdrawal or alternatively by a sometimes surprisingly “experimental” approach to life, there is much which suggests that suggests that mid-life change is a rational response to dissatisfaction and unmet needs by well-adjusted people.

Most people interested in career development no longer presume a straight-forward progression in one job through to retirement and this has led some career development theorists to suggested that it would be valuable take into account and include a stage which psychologists Murphy and Burck (1976) call Renewal, which is characterized by the re-evaluation of one’s self-concept and a re-adjustment or re-establishment of career goals at mid-life.

Their research by shows that mid-life career change can be associated with predictable life-span development changes and events. . Psychological changes such as decreased positive self-concept may stem from these social and work related changes. Many mid-life career changers express the feeling that they “drifted” into their first occupation or were pressured by family and that the occupation either never did, or as a result of personal changes, does not currently express their values and beliefs or offer a sufficient outlet or expression of their potential.

This transitional stage of Renewal is typically indicated by marker events which include the departure of children, career peak or plateau, outdating of professional skill sets, or new responsibility for aging parents as some expectable motivators. This de-stabilization of their life trajectory leads many men and women to “awaken” at mid-life, and feel a desire to engage in healthy “stock taking” which relates their real world achievements and expressed values to earlier goals.

They find themselves questioning the meaning of life and re-examining personal values and this greater attentiveness to inner concerns may inspire a desire to transfer energy towards a more satisfying investment of the time remaining in life. The positive personal demands of mid-life include a need to determine one’s own milestones, to become active again in controlling ones future, and the acceptance of, and adjustment to, growing limits and a decreasing energy level.

This re-evaluation of values and motives forges a new or revised self-concept which may produce a disparity between employment and personal aspirations which did not exist previously. This stock taking often inspires an age-appropriate reappraisal of career commitment and choice.

New career options are sought which can integrate of the complexities of one’s mature personality and which can provide a modification of life structure which takes into account the changed reality of life. While some people simply disinvestment from career in favor of relationships or outside interests and activities, others choose to re-invest in a career which reflects their deeply held values.

Research which examines similarities and differences between men and women suggests that women who have made early choices in favor of professional careers experience similar concerns as men at mid-life regarding a desire to reinvest their energy in intimate relationships. Conversely, women who had made early career choices based on the needs of intimate relationships voiced fears and desires related to undeveloped aspects of their selves.

The well-known psychological theorist, Carl Jung, once proposed that the successful resolution of a mid-life crisis turned an individual either towards “Spirituality” or towards “Vocation.” These two directions have much in common since both mature spirituality and Vocation offer opportunities to manifest deeply held convictions, values and even innate talents.

Most of what is written about the idea of Vocation in the sense of “a calling” to a career is written about religious Vocation, but I believe that what is written has some relevance to all powerfully felt attractions to careers especially at mid life. Luigi Rulla (1971), writing about religious vocation, argues that the salient difference between career and Vocation lies in the fact that career is the expression of self-concept-in situation, but that Vocation is the expression of the self-ideal.

He argues that Vocation has much more to do with expression of values than career does. It is perfectly possible to pursue a career which is well suited to your abilities and to the potential of the environment but which does not strongly emphasize personal values.

Vocational callings have the characteristic requirement that the personal values of the aspirant be coherent with those of the domain or the institution. Rulla proposes that the ability and skills which an individual brings to their vocation are “surface attributes” that can be modified to a significant degree as the aspirant strives to express deep values.

This idea provides a comforting antidote to the fear that it is “too late”, or that one is “too old” to learn or adjust. The need to make one’s life work congruent with important values seems to be, for some people, a powerful motivating force which may lead a vocational aspirant to make many personal sacrifices and over-ride normal considerations of stability, prestige, status and remuneration.

Central to the mid-life experience of Vocation is the fact that the individual proposes the change to themselves and brings to it an adult sensibility, confidence based in their real-world skills and accomplishments… and hopefully an emotional support network of friends and family.

There is often a spiritual or quasi-spiritual dedication to their task which feels fulfilling, revitalizing and empowering and inspires those around them. What might be considered the “blessing of mid-life crisis” is that the new, self-chosen career direction is felt, when all is said and done, to be the expression and mature blossoming of “Self.”

Susan Meindl, MA, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Montreal Canada. She has a special interest in Jungian ideas and practices a Jungian approach to psychodynamic psychotherapy http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/59983

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There will most probably come a time when several adults mull over some of the changes or adjustments in their lives (and most especially in their bodies) which would take a huge part in their future. As time goes by, the human body begins its physical deterioration and depreciation and we get sick every now and then if we don’t care about our health especially as we age.

Not to mention that we forget things easily unlike in our youth when our memory was still sharp. That’s why we need to take care of ourselves and also our aging parents.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the DSM-IV, accounts mid life crisis as a kind of adjustment disorder, in particular defining it as a “maladaptive response or reaction to an identifiable psychological stressor or stressors.”

It is also optimistically suggested that mid life crisis in fact exists only in our minds. In my own opinion, young adults undergo mid life crisis since they are apprehensive of the changes or adjustments they fear they would have to go through and make their lives different and they’re not accustomed to it.

Time and again, adults become jaded, dissatisfied and unhappy with some of their choices and decisions in the past, so they begin to question themselves. They also spend some time introspecting on the past and tend to wonder where their life is now headed.

Precisely, this is real and existing in most individuals, but fret not because it is not as terrifying or overwhelming as you think it is. Though it’s referred to as the mid life crisis, it’s not literally a “crisis” for each and every middle-aged person.

This condition can also be brought about by some financial concerns and issues; most people could no longer afford to pay for the same vacation activities or hobbies and maintain the same way of life they had prior to their retirement.

That’s why this has been a concern for most middle-aged people-thinking of how their spare time is going to be spent. Some other matters which especially takes place in the minds of the those experiencing mid life crisis are associated to their thinking of whether or not they have reached whatever they desire for in life, as they often feel there’s no sufficient time left for unfulfilled expectations and wishes.

But on the bright side, once men and women alike realize that they can’t go back in time, everything pretty much goes back to its normalcy. When adults experience mid life crisis, they must be prepared to accept the unavoidable changes and must learn how to be content and happy for the rest of their lives.

It’s indeed true that any physical activity of our choice could have a therapeutic effect in our overall wellness. If we are healthy and strong, any predicament that the mid life crisis may throw at us will just be another test to our human spirit.

The author of this article Amy Twain is a Self Improvement Coach who has been successfully coaching and guiding clients for many years. Amy just published a new home study course on how to boost your Self Esteem overnight. More info about this “Quick-Action Plan for A More Confident You” is available at http://www.FabulousSelfEsteem.com

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In looking at the multiple definitions of retire, it actually may be a good descriptor of this period. Most people think of retirement as a form of withdrawal. This can be not only a withdrawal from work, but of life as well.

Another definition of retire is ‘retreat’. Retreat is an interesting word because it has two dissimilar meanings. In addition to meaning ‘to recede or move back’, retreat also means ‘to go inward’ or ‘a place for spiritual growth’.

This new definition of retirement is a good descriptor of what psychologists mean when describing second growth. Second growth occurs after you have fulfilled the responsibilities of creating a home, raising a family and earning a living. It

Second growth is a time to shift your orientation from the external to the internal. It is the opportunity to explore who you truly are and express your identity through your activities. With second growth, you now have the opportunity to live life on your own terms and to express yourself fully.

Somewhere between the early 40’s until the mid sixties, most people confront a turning point or a defining moment in their lives. We used to refer to these as a mid life crisis. Something happens; an illness, job change, divorce or children leaving home where people begin to question the meaning of their lives.

The stereotype solution was to go out buy a new sports car or have an affair with someone half your age. That resulted in a continued state of unfulfillment.

Think about all of the externals you use to create your self-worth; homes, possessions, the promotion that gave you the corner office, having your children go to the best schools. There is nothing wrong with any of these things-really. We’re biologically programmed to want them.

We live in a society that has capitalized on that need through extended marketing. The satisfaction of externals is ultimately fleeting. None is permanent and when they change, often so does our sense of self.

The shift in focus from the outer to the inner doesn’t mean you don’t care about externals. It means the external no longer defines who you are. Initially, there is a sense of loss from the old identity. “Who I am if I’m not the breadwinner, lawyer, teacher, mother that defined me in the past?”

As you begin to let go of these old identities, what you will find is a new freedom to explore and become who you truly are and who you want to be without the shackles of the old roles.

Cathy Severson, MS helps you make the most of your retirement. Baby boomers understand this isn’t your parents’ retirement. Find out how to make the rest of your life the best of your life with the complimentary e-book 7 Ingredients for a Satisfying Retirement at http://tinyurl.com/8moymb

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As the baby-boom generation (those born between 1945 and 1965) has come of age, it’s as if, at best, having a midlife crisis has become fashionable. At worst, it’s an excuse for irresponsible and possibly destructive behavior.

Because baby boomers tend to reach success at an earlier age than their parents, midlife crisis can hit earlier as well.

Crisis and Opportunity

The Chinese symbol for crisis means both danger and opportunity. A midlife crisis represents both danger and opportunity for the people who experience one. Let’s take a look at both of these possibilities.

Danger

Remember the old sci-fi series Lost in Space? Whenever danger was approaching, the robot would wave his arms and shout, “Danger! Danger! Warning, Will Robinson!” From what I’ve seen happen to many people, that’s what needs to be shouted at people hitting a midlife crisis.

Here’s a list of some of the dangers:

If you try to resolve a midlife crisis with the traditional little red sports car and 22-year-old new partner, you may wind up in a small, one-bedroom apartment with huge alimony and child-support payments.

You may start to believe that everything you are feeling is real. It’s like the story about the Room of 10,000 Demons, first told to me by Bill 0′Hanlon, writer and hypnotherapist.

When you walk into the Room of 10,000 Demons, you will see all your worst fears and nightmares played out as if they were real. When you walk in, the door closes behind you, and there is no handle on the inside of the door. If you can make it to the other side, to the door leading out, you will reach nirvana.

Once inside, you get two important instructions. The first is that no matter what you see, hear or feel, it’s not real; it’s merely a product of your own mind. The second instruction is that no matter what you see, hear or feel, keep your feet moving. Eventually, you will make it to the other side.

And, as we can glean from this story, you may start to believe that you have to act on everything you feel.

Opportunity

The opportunities available in a midlife crisis can be very useful. A midlife crisis can be a time of evaluation and soul-searching and not necessarily a time of self-absorption.

In the movie Look Who’s Talking, one character tells a woman, whom he has gotten pregnant and is abandoning, that his therapist says he is going through a selfish phase. Now that’s self-absorption!

Puh-lease!

Not only is a period of evaluation and soul-searching a good thing – it can and should be done much more often than just at midlife.

Some useful questions

• Where did I expect to be by this time in my life?

• How is my life different from and how is it similar to my expectations?

• What promises to myself and others have I kept or broken?

• What do I need to do to keep the promises I made to myself and others?

• Where do I want to be one year from now? In five years? In 10 years? In 20-plus years? (This implies that there is a whole lot of life left.)

• What will I need to do to get there? Answer those questions honestly, and turn a midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

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Understanding the Power of Your Brain

All of our life operates under the law, it is done unto us as we believe. Your brain is a computer-like guidance mechanism and it guides you as you have been programmed. You can think of beliefs in degrees. What are some of the things you believe in? You might believe in yourself, in a Higher Power, in the rising and setting of the sun. Many people would agree with these beliefs, yet there are things we believe in that are actually stronger than any of these.

Our strongest beliefs are actually the things that we fear. I guarantee that if you were walking through the woods and met up with a bear, you would believe in that bear in a stronger sense than you have ever believed in a Higher Power or gravity or anything else. If you did believe that strongly, you would be getting answers to all your prayers. Most of us don’t pray with that much energy and emotion. Fear is the same thing as belief but – we put more energy and emotion into what we fear and so it becomes a stronger belief.

What Do You REALLY Believe?

Okay – So, You believe in a Higher Power, or in the rising and setting of the sun. That is believing. But REALLY believing is worrying –about anything. And then there is REALLY, REALLY believing. We really, really believe in the things we fear. Minto puts it this way:

“Realize that you use the same faculties of your brain-mind functioning to believe in God as you use to fear the dentist, except that when your believing reaches the degree of fear, you are putting more energy and more emotion into it so it becomes a stronger belief. If you can grasp the fact that worry and fear are the strongest forms of believing, and as you believe so shall it be done unto you, then you will understand how allowing your problems to be O.K. will solve 90% of your problems in life without even directing any attention to the problem.”

How does this work? We never worry when we believe something is O.K. If it’s O.K., we don’t worry about it or fear it. When we see midlife as a crisis rather than as an opportunity for transition, what we are doing is using the strongest form of belief – worry and fear! Of course, we don’t just do this about Midlife Crisis issues, but they are good ones to practice this with.

Ancient Teachings

There is an ancient teaching, ‘That which I feared the most came upon me.’ It’s telling us what we have all experienced ‘that which I really, really believed in happened to me.’ If you will allow your problems – such as aging and empty-nest and job change, to be O.K. just the way they are, then your subconscious mind will stop worrying about them or stop fearing them. This allows it to stop really, really believing in what you were calling a “problem”. Then the conscious desire or answer can actually become a reality. By eliminating worry and fear you actually open your mind to see answers – and of course, that means you stop seeing problems.

What we focus on increase. When your focus is on the problem, you will not see the answer. If your focus is on ‘crisis”, you will not see ‘transition’ and growth. Worry is the best way to keep things as they are – it develops a habit of having the very experience you are worrying about. You are actually creating a vibrational match to the problem. When you recognize that everything in life is O.K. you actually create a new brain pattern that releases the worry and when you release the worry, the problem is gone!

I know that this is a challenging message, but it can be life changing and life affirming. I would like to offer a support system that continually offers you affirming messages about Midlife (and other such things.) In fact, I’m all about creating a new Midlife paradigm. When you subscribe to my free Reinvent Midlife newsletter, you’ll receive instant access to a special report called, “7 Secrets for Reinventing Midlife from the Inside-Out”. Go now to http://www.reinventmidlife.com

From Dr. Toni LaMotta, The Midlife Mentor, Best-Selling Author of “What You REALLY Want, Wants You”, Inspirational Keynote Speaker

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Toni_LaMotta

As a matter of fact, it is completely normal for us to arrive in mid life not knowing who we are. The identity challenge we face at this time is every bit as testing as the one we all tend to remember, despite our best efforts to forget — adolescence.

Experimenting with a variety of identities back then was part of a rite of passage into adulthood and yet here we are again, just when we think we’ve got things pretty well sewn up, asking the same question. ‘Who am I?’ As an adolescent our response was along the lines of ‘I don’t know YET’, whereas a few decades later we are more likely to answer, ‘I don’t know ANYMORE’.

The pivotal question that took us most of our adolescence and beyond to answer, has huge implications again for us again in midlife and how we choose to answer it, will determine our quality of life as we move into second adulthood. So, if the question has particular significance for you or a loved one at this time, you might find it useful to consider the following suggestions.

Identify what you need to let go of

Midlife is a time when many of the roles that once defined us start to change. Some key relationships may need renegotiating at a time when our children need us less, our work no longer satisfies and the mirror tells us we are no longer a ‘young’ adult. Hanging on to once precious but now outmoded roles, only delays the discovery of our new identity — by letting go, we are free to explore our future options and prepare for the next new chapter.

Move out of denial

The symptoms of a ‘classic’ midlife crisis are often little more than diversionary tactics we use in an effort to deny, hide or suppress painful truths. We may not like the answers we find when we first ask the ‘who am I’ question and we often show our discomfort by ‘acting out of character’.

Forming a brand new honest relationship with ourselves, is a fundamental part of forging a new identity that allows us to be comfortable in our own skin. When we know and accept who we are at our core, our priorities become clearer and our decisions become easier.

Look within to find the answers

Although we may find parts of ourselves have been denied, neglected or submerged beneath the needs of others, midlife offers us an opportunity to reconnect with what is important to us now. To find our true selves, we need to explore fundamental questions about what really matters, what really makes us happy and what values must be honoured in our lives. The answers will be found through taking time for introspection and personal reflection.

Make authentic choices

Having spent a good part of our adult life making decisions based on the needs of our nearest and dearest, when it comes to making decisions about our own life, we often find the prospect overwhelming or we are paralyzed by fears of making the ‘wrong’ ones.

How different might we feel if we choose to do things that feel good for us, that fit with our values and ideas about how we want to spend our time and energy? How different might we feel if we made authentic choices about the things that need to change and the things we positively have to keep in our life?

Whether we like them or not, the answers we get to the ‘who am I’ question can provide the impetus for lasting change. In the quest to find out who we are, we initiate a process of change which can transform our lives in ways we had never even dreamed of. © Karen Knott 2008

Karen Knott is a life coach who works with midlife women who are eager to reconnect with their sense of purpose and enthusiasm and make lasting changes that have a positive impact on their lives. Register for her free e-Programme ‘Turning Midlife into the Time of Your Life’ at http://www.midlifematters.co.uk

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Signs of Crisis?

No one symptom or sign exists to absolutely define a midlife crisis. Instead the experience is a combination of feelings, events and body changes that indicate that something is wanting to change. The following is a list of potential symptoms.

• Looking into the mirror and wondering who that person is.
• Really want to quit your job, even though it’s A “GOOD” one.
• The things that used to make you happy now cause depression.
• Looking to change your religion or philosophy.
• Lack of concentration.
• Wanting to get into physical shape. (this can happen at any age!)
• Unexplained anger or annoyance.
• Wanting to experience new things – like a fast red sports cars, or bungee jumping
• A change in your musical tastes.
• Sudden interest in drawing, painting, playing an instrument, writing books or poetry.
• Getting lots less sleep.
• Preoccupation with death.
• Extreme changes in eating habits.
• Feeling financially trapped.
• Leaving relationships.
• Want to make a bigger difference in the world.
• A desire to teach others or become a healer.
• Desiring a simpler life.
• Continually looking back to one’s childhood.
• Constantly asking yourself: “Where am I going with my life?”

What to Do

These signs should not be seen as an indicator that you are in ‘crisis’ but are a great opportunity to see what can change.

Midlife can be an awesome time if you allow yourself to appreciate all that has been and use the opportunity to make new choices where old ones haven’t served. It doesn’t have to be a crisis — it’s a great opportunity to find new meaning.

And so, I would like to offer a support system to help you find new meaning in Midlife. In fact, I’m all about creating a new Midlife paradigm. I truly believe it can be one of the best times of our life.

When you subscribe to my free Reinvent Midlife newsletter, you’ll receive instant access to a special report called, “7 Secrets for Reinventing Midlife from the Inside-Out” and follow up messages that can keep you smiling. Go now to http://www.reinventmidlife.comYou’ll avert a ‘crisis’.

From Dr. Toni LaMotta, Midlife Reinvention Specialist, Award Winning Author, Inspirational Keynote Speaker

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Toni_LaMotta

Why? Because many years ago, I decided that I am here in life to be a life-long learner. I’ve seen too many people who stop learning and that’s when I see crisis happening.

Benefits of Life-Long Learning

There are so many benefits of being continually open to learn -

• A mind that is active is less inclined to memory loss or to diseases which slow down the memory process.

While studying adult learning, I came across lots of studies that proved that those who kept their minds active reaped many rewards. It’s a way of continually connecting with people who are different and who have different ideas and opinions. Sometimes people in midlife get stuck in a rut and surround themselves with people just like themselves.

If every organization you belong to has people who think just like you, re-think this! The Midlife Transition becomes more difficult when you can only see one perspective. Changing our thinking can be challenging unless we are continually practicing that by exposing ourselves to new people and new ideas. It’s not only helpful to keep learning, it’s also a lot of fun.

• Lifelong learning keeps you in touch with the world.

Now, I’m not someone who reads the newspaper or watches the news. I haven’t for quite some time now, because I don’t want to flood my mind with negative thoughts. But, books and movies and even some classes that I’ve taken have opened me to worlds beyond my own and keep me in touch with what is REALLY happening in the world, not just what the media wants to sensationalize.

Travel has also been a way of opening myself to other ideas and cultures. There are many organizations that specialize in tours that include learning. It’s also a way of having fun. (There’s a theme developing here!)

• Learning feels good. It’s FUN!

There, I said it. One of the reasons I believe that people stop learning, is that they equate learning with their schooling experiences. Many of us who are in midlife, went through a school system that was more rote memorization than discovery. Fortunately, things are changing. But, I find that many people in midlife have a sour taste in their mind and mouth about learning. It wasn’t something that gave them pleasure in the past.

I do content that when we use the Montessori approach as Midlife adults, (and by that I mean, learning things we are INTERESTED in,) we’ll find that nothing is difficult to learn when it is related to something we are passionate about – at any age.

• It’s a way to Accentuate the Positive

When you focus on learning something you love, when you let yourself spend time reading about new ideas and people,when you take time to develop a hobby, you take your mind off the things that once seemed like challenges or problems. What we focus on, increases. I like to focus on the things that bring more JOY rather than on the things that aren’t working.

Learning is a life-long endeavor. Midlife is a perfect time to finally study the things you always wanted to but never let yourself.

Do you know what those things are? Are you CLEAR on what you love and what you want out of the rest of your life? I would like to offer a support system to help you have more Fun in Midlife. In fact, I’m all about creating a new Midlife paradigm. When you subscribe to my free Reinvent Midlife newsletter, you’ll receive instant access to a special report called, “7 Secrets for Reinventing Midlife from the Inside-Out”. Get it now at http://www.reinventmidlife.com Become a life-long learner NOW.

Dr. Toni LaMotta, the Midlife Mentor, best-selling author of “What You REALLY Want, Wants You” and motivational keynote speaker who supports people and organizations in reinventing themselves in Midlife.

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