Day 178: A new take on 'Life Crisis'

You've likely heard about someone having a quarter-life crisis or a mid-life crisis. Possibly even an end of life crisis.

Perhaps you, like me, have seen media portray this with men buying brand new sports cars and women dying their hair and completely changing their looks.

The vibe I've always gotten from this was more of a negative, judgemental one. A 'oh poor so-and-so, they can't handle their life so they are going to go out and do something "crazy,"' kind of feel.

But what if these crises aren't crazy at all? 

What if the people experiencing them are the most sane out of all of us?

Think about it, they are using a challenging time in their lives to acknowledge things they have always wanted or had an interest in and then going for it and making it happen.

Would we tell a child who has ambitions of being a world renowned mountain climber they're crazy? Or judge them for saving up to buy those really expensive hiking sticks they've been wanting only to use them for summer walks with Grandpa in the field? 

Probably not.

So why do we hate on ourselves and each other once we become adults? 

When did it become a bad or negative or crazy thing to acknowledge an interest and take action towards it?

I'm gonna put my money on jealousy. We see someone doing what they really want and are quick to throw labels on it. 

 

Why? Because deep down, we dont feel that we can do the same. We don't feel that we can have our wants or dreams, that we can't go after them.

Because we're adults and we have responsibilities, damnit!

But oftentimes, these 'responsibilities' are actually fears in disguise.

That's not to say that responsibility doesn't exist. Of course it does. But to the rigid and limiting degree that there is zero possible way life could allow you to explore a long-held interest or dream? 

I'm not buying it.

And neither should you.