Intro –
“Crises refine life. In them you discover what you are.” Author: Allan K. Chalmers

Familiarity w/ mid-life crisis – men: fancy sports car/bike, new young girlfriend etc

What is ¼ Life Crisis?

• relatively new phenomenon - a new movement afoot of professionals studying today’s 20-somethings. They maintain that there’s a phase of life — quarter-life — which, like adolescence and midlife, has its own set of challenges and characteristics
• mid- to late twenties feel failure - haven’t achieved the life goals that they dreamed about 10 years ago (a lifelong partner, money in the bank, a senior career position, wonderful car and home)

Causes of ¼ life crisis

• The early to late 20s represents a time of extreme instability
  • thrust out into real world after comfortable stability of college/university life everything becomes uncertain and chaotic
  • endless decisions, bewildering number of choices and no definitive way of deciding on the right one  confused and utterly lost
  • there are also rising expectations: you must be seen to have the perfect job, the perfect relationship and so on
• a transition to adulthood - taking longer than ever today - more tumultuous process
  • college loans, often in debt for longer,
  • sometimes in school longer,
  • more competition for jobs,
  • more short-lived careers
  • more people living at home with their parents,
  • people getting married later

Solutions

1. Take a break
   • burnt-out with non-stop work  need long break
   • get off the treadmill and revitalize
   • travel and spread wings
   • sometimes drastic action is the most sensible thing to do

2. Question everything
   • nothing like a long break to re-evaluate your life BUT
   • don’t wait until you reach the point of exhaustion to question everything
   • life-changing conversation with yourself anytime, any place
   • better to confront the reality of a life that’s not working as soon as you notice b/c problems rarely go away on their own

3. Don’t blame yourself
   • avoid blaming and resenting yourself for what you see as failure
   • only confuses assessment of what’s gone wrong
   • difference between taking responsibility for your life and punishing yourself when you need to make changes
   • many people resign themselves to their fate, even at 25, and do nothing about changing their lives
   • take pride in having the guts to walk away from it all

4. Create your own opportunities
   • mistake - thinking that good degree is passport to fulfilling and well paid career. (may have been true once, not anymore)
   • being smart and ambitious – often not enough to guarantee career success
   • if opportunities and breaks aren’t being offered to you, it’s time to think about creating some of your own – for yourself

5. Have an open mind
   • Examine your limitations (real and self-imposed) (what have you decided is possible and not possible for you?) Watch out for that voice inside telling you that something is not ‘realistic’ or you couldn’t do that.

Conclusion
The Chinese character for crisis (wei-ji) is made up of two parts
literal meaning = “Opportunity for danger”

Unfortunately, many of us see only the danger in the crisis and miss a valuable opportunity to change and grow.

To escape from the quarter-life crisis or any crisis, it’s important to recognise that change is inevitable. The twenties is yet another time of transition; it’s a phase you have to live through, with all the accompanying pain and anxiety. The only thing to do is to think it through rationally. Where do you want to go? How are you going to get there? Who can help you? What is the next step?

“Close scrutiny will show that most “crisis situations” are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.“: Author: Maxwell Maltz