Tag: midlife


  • The Cruel Diary of Truth: What Have I Learned?

    IntroductionThe Incarcerated SlaveOf Course, Childhood TraumaManifest Parentification as an AdultThe Incarcerated Slave RevisitedEmpathic Depletion & Compassion FatigueConclusion & Lessons Learned Introduction I was in, no. I stayed in a fifteen-year โ€œrelationshipโ€; one that should have ended within months. But what can I say, die Eule der Minerva fliegt. The relationship officially came to an end…

  • ร‰lan Vital As the Inverse of Entropy

    IntroductionOn ร‰lan Vital, Aporia, & Feeling StuckPsychological EntropyOn ร‰lan VitalHave the Discipline for TransformationInterest as Purpose ReinventedAdvantage, CapacityReinvention: Itโ€™s Not What You ThinkConclusion & Key Takeaways Introduction We hear it all the time: When we get to a certain age, the central insight is always the same: โ€œstay active.โ€ That advice is like a cup…

  • Confronting Status Anxiety at Midlife

    Introduction Status anxiety is that quiet, persistent hum in the background of our lives. Itโ€™s the fear that we arenโ€™t measuring up, that weโ€™re falling behind, or that others see us as failures because we donโ€™t have the right job, car, house, or lifestyle. Itโ€™s disguised coercion because the drawing of invidious comparisons doesnโ€™t feel…

  • The ‘Vette Won’t Stop the Fret

    IntroductionPerspective: Confronting the InevitableMaking Contact with RealityGrieving Past IdentitiesAging Is AsymmetricalEmpirical Evidence: What the Research ShowsThe Practical AdvantageConclusion & Key Takeaways Introduction We should approach this subject by distinguishing between the fear of aging and the fear of irreversibility. Aging is a visible phenomenon, but for many older adults, a deeper, underlying anxiety exists: The…

  • The Strategic Discipline of Letting Go

    Success in a dynamic world requires mastering what might be called โ€œthe discipline of productive destruction.โ€ That is to say, the willingness to destroy yesterdayโ€™s strategy to build tomorrowโ€™s success. This doesnโ€™t mean abandoning your purpose or betraying your commitment. It means committing to the outcome enough to abandon any particular path that no longer…