Understanding A Midlife Crisis

As we age our mind expands, experience is gained, and we learn things through mistakes and attempts. Life is a beautiful playground in which we are free to do anything we please, to an extent. Rules and regulations exist to try and prevent complete chaos from existing in a truly free world. For the average person, their goal is to grow up, perhaps achieve a dominant physical appearance, acquire copious amounts of currency, and travel the world. After all, who wouldn't want to see what the world can offer them? It makes sense that everyone has their own goals and their own way to achieve happiness. No one is the same and no one should be the same because being unique is interesting. Now, imagine not being able to reach those goals or become a certain physical appearance. Why might this occur?

A midlife crisis consists of a human reaching an age in which they no longer feel like they can do it all. Adults long to be children again and children long to be adults. It's an interesting thought, but one that people realize every day. I for one, am an achiever. I constantly need to be doing something and leaving my mark on this world before I perish. People experience a midlife crisis because of a lack of time. We understand that we can't live forever so it is safe to say our time is limited. Setting religion aside, it is safe to say we don't know exactly when we are going to die and how we are going to die. This is slightly controversial because we can accelerate our death and potentially cause it, sometimes on purpose. With age comes pain, a lesser ability to act like a child, and a social judgement in which you are told you need to "grow up and act like an adult". This is interesting because our world revolves around the leadership, decisions, and actions adults make. However, adults were children once too, they had dreams, goals, and overall a general idea of what they like and what they would like to do.

It is possible and realistic to realize that dreams can be hard to reach. It is not impossible to become that famous singer or an astronaut, but it is unlikely. This can be a hard reality for people, but in a world that runs off of financial status and mental health issues, it is the only way to keep sane. A mixture of all of these minuscule issues occurs at a later age and it can become frightening. The problem with a limited time frame is that we won't be able to do everything. Not everyone realizes that decisions need to be made. Another problem is the fact that our age harms us and differentiates us from children. This means that we can't do the things we could like we used to. This is also a frightening thought. To top it all off, we understand that our time is limited and when you hit 50 or above, time becomes even more limited. 

While there may be no set solution to combat a midlife crisis, it is critical for people to take a chance, take risks, set time aside for things they want to do. Children should enjoy their childhood and slow down the want to grow up. Obviously, this is all my opinion and from my perspective as a 22-year-old, but it is something I have realized over the years. 

I encourage you to be the best you

Don't ever limit yourself, you might not know your full potential...

Expressed by: Oscar Mendieta