2 Simple Mindset Changes That Can Prevent a Midlife Crisis, According to a Harvard Researcher

2 Simple Mindset Changes That Can Prevent a Midlife Crisis, According to a Harvard Researcher

Although, as suggested in the title, this is ostensibly about “midlife”, the ideas are, in my opinion, relevant to a much wider audience.

So regardless of your age, or stage of life, give this article a read and take from it what you will.

via Inc.com by Jessica Stillman

A guy I know owned a chain of restaurants with a business partner. He no longer does. What happened? Covid was certainly a challenge and food service is always a tough business, but the main reason was that the partner had a textbook midlife crisis that ended up blowing up his life and his finances. He had to sell his stake in the venture and the business never fully recovered from the fallout. 

This is just one personal anecdote, but it’s certainly not an unfamiliar story. Midlife crises can spell the death of your marriage and your dignity, but they can also spell the end of a previously successful business. How do you prevent them? 

At first blush that sounds like both a complicated question and a personal one. But according to Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks, most midlife meltdowns can be prevented with just two simple mindset shifts. 

Midlife crises aren’t inevitable

Brooks is the author of a series of articles in The Atlantic called “How to Build Your Life,” which break down the academic research on positive psychology and thriving in your life and career into useful advice for a popular audience. In his latest, he tackles the phenomenon of the midlife crisis, tracing when the idea first came into popular consciousness and the evolving understanding of why one occurs and how often. 

All of this is fascinating if you’re looking for a deep dive into the subject, but the essential takeaway is that scientists once thought midlife crises were a normal part of the aging process. They’ve since changed their tune. “More recently,” Brooks writes, “many have found that a ‘crisis’ is not our unavoidable fate.”

To avoid crashing into regret and mortality and making ill-considered decisions when we hit midlife, Brooks insists you need to make these two small but profound changes to your mindset…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE