Midlife

At times, simply enjoy reading The Sunday Times coz have always looked forward to reading the section, "Reflect". You know, sipping my cup of hot tea and reading the newspapers in the morning is such an enjoyment...Anyway, was reading an article "Midlifer and mentor" by Chua Mui Hoong, allow me to quote a section of what she has written...

For many people, midlife is a period of reflection, when you come in touch with your inner desires, and come face to face with your dreams. You then have a decision - do you accept your limits, let go of those dreams and learn to live with what you are and what you have? Or do you take a leap of faith and go after your dream? Either decision is fine. The key is to embrace your real self and accept yourself lovingly, achievements, disappointments, successes, failures and all.

In midlife, we learn different ways of gaining satisfaction. In our younger, driven 20s and 30s, our self-esteem is tied to our achievements. We take pride in work done with our hands, by the sweat of our brow. But as we grow into middle-age - and into management positions - the source of our satisfaction changes. Instead of taking pride in doing things ourselves, we learn to take pride in coaching, training and mentoring others to get things done. Psychologists call this "generativity". It is one of the most important transitions for those going through midlife.

Indeed, midlife is a period of reflection. In fact, well, I thought it could be a period of intense reflection. You probably learn to let go more easily, especially of things that won't really matter five years down the road. You probably learn to accept things more readily. I couldn't agree more with what Mui Hoong has shared.