{"id":49551,"date":"2018-09-07T10:16:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T17:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=49551"},"modified":"2018-09-07T10:16:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T17:16:00","slug":"navigate-mid-career-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/navigate-mid-career-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do During a Mid-Career Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re at a point where the stress of your career is impacting your quality of life, you\u2019re not alone. 39% of adults in the U.S. experience stress in professional situations; 29% in balancing family and work.<\/a> Maybe it\u2019s the stress of having too many days that start with early morning conference calls with clients and end with working to meet late night deadlines. Perhaps you can\u2019t deal with the rage you feel when the client sacks your most brilliant ideas and asks you for a \u201cGot Milk?\u201d inspired headline instead. Or maybe you\u2019re like me, and you wake up in the middle of the night worrying that a robot is going to take your job in five years.<\/p>\n

Whatever got you to this mid-career crisis, now you feel irreparably fried and like it\u2019s time to get out of the industry. So, what do you do now?<\/p>\n

First, get your head in the right space.<\/h2>\n

Whether the solution is finding a new job or just making a small change, it\u2019s critical to get some mental space from your work issues before you make any life-changing decision. Then you\u2019ll know you\u2019re making thoughtful choices that are based in reason and not simply having a knee-jerk reaction that you may regret later.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s possible, take a few days off, or use your weekend to seriously recharge. Block out time for yourself just like you might block off time for projects. It also might help to seek out therapy. A therapist can teach you skills to better handle your challenges and reveal other opportunities for change. If you have health care coverage through your employer you probably have access to mental health benefits, or even an Employee Assistance Plan, which provides benefits like a certain number of visits to a mental health professional, financial planning advice, and similar services that can come in handy when you\u2019re trying to figure out the rest of your life.<\/p>\n

Then, do some soul-searching.<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re able to get time for yourself, start asking the hard questions. Swapping careers is a big jump, and for some, a big risk, so getting specific about your wants and needs in a new job needs to be a serious step. Some questions to ask could be:<\/p>\n

Do I still enjoy what I do?<\/em>
\nPerhaps switching to a different company or organization in your industry is what you need, instead of a significant career shift.<\/p>\n

Is it something, or someone, in my current work environment that\u2019s making me unhappy? <\/em>
\nIf you have that one co-worker you can\u2019t seem to shake, consider a different department or asking to be reassigned to a different account. If the entire work environment is getting you down, it might be time to find a new one.<\/p>\n

What am I great at and what tangible skills do I have?<\/em>
\nList your abilities out if you need to, so you can see where else they might translate.<\/p>\n

Where do I want to be in five years? 10 years?<\/em>
\nKeep asking yourself this until you have a clear picture of the type of person you want to be.<\/p>\n

Take an honest look at your answers. If you\u2019re at the point where the fear of the unknown feels less awful than the dread of another Monday, you\u2019re ready for a change.<\/p>\n

Now, make time to move forward.<\/h2>\n

If you know what you want to do next:<\/strong>
\nCongratulations! You\u2019re that much closer to transitioning to something new. Your next steps are to address the skills gap, in case your expertise won\u2019t transfer laterally.<\/p>\n

If you need to acquire new skills, there\u2019s no shortage of online learning options. If you can\u2019t swing new training or classes, start with MeetUps and networking events in the area you want to shift to with the goal of getting to know more about the types of people who\u2019ll be your future colleagues.<\/p>\n

If you have no idea of what you want to be when you grow up:<\/strong>
\nThere\u2019s no easy answer, but start by looking at your strengths and what you love. If there\u2019s still nothing that stands out to you, reverse engineer a career by looking at people whose lives you love and want for your own. (No, Beyonc\u00e9 doesn\u2019t count.)<\/p>\n

There is perhaps no more daunting feeling in the world than knowing you can\u2019t continue as you have been, yet also not knowing what you want to do. As you did when getting your head in the right space, take time and work through it with yourself and others. This is another part where a knee-jerk reaction will risk you being no better off than where you are now.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not quite ready to make the switch:<\/strong>
\nVolunteering for a cause can make you feel like you\u2019re doing something more meaningful or worthwhile than what you\u2019re currently doing at work. Volunteering can also help you build a new network, make new friends, and burnish your self-esteem \u2014 all of which can make you happier, in general, and make it easier to stick it out in your present circumstances until you\u2019re ready to take the plunge.<\/p>\n

Many of us also find extracurricular creative outlets to be essential. Discover the things you enjoy doing; they can give you a feeling of accomplishment that you just aren\u2019t finding at your job. And above all, remember that you deserve to be happy and it\u2019s never too late to make a change – mid-career crisis or not.<\/p>\n

\n

Lisa is a Creative Circle candidate and seasoned advertising copywriter who lives in Los Angeles. Her background includes both in-house and agency work on Fortune 500 and global accounts in the consumer and healthcare\/pharmaceutical fields. She excels at words, fashion, and cats. If you want to work with Lisa, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re at a point where the stress of your career is impacting your quality of life, you\u2019re not alone. 39% of adults in the U.S. experience stress in professional situations; 29% in balancing family and work. Maybe it\u2019s the stress of having too many days that start with early morning conference calls with clients […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat To Do During a Mid-Career Crisis | Creative Circle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re at a point where a mid-career crisis is impacting your quality of life, you\u2019re not alone. 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