4 Signs You're In The Middle Of Your Quarter-Life Crisis (And How To Get Through It)
It happens to everyone.
getty Going through a quarter-life crisis isn’t easy. But once you see the signs, you can learn how to deal with stress that comes with it.
Around 75 percent of young individuals in their mid-20's and early-30's are experiencing this, according to a LinkedIn study. So, you are not alone!
This has become a huge problem for the young individuals in our modern society because they are determined to make a living, work on their dream jobs, or even establish their own businesses, find a partner, and start a family.
For young women, especially, it feels like life is tough and they're falling on hard times. There are a lot of things going in their lives and sometimes, it causes them to feel that their lives are starting to be out of control.
They work hard to pay their bills and to live the life that they have been dreaming of. They are also sometimes anxious about getting married and starting a family of their own because their biological clock is ticking.
Social media contributes to the various reasons why young individuals feel pressured to achieve something in their lives at their current stage. When we see posts from our friends and other people who are living their lives at the fullest, we feel helpless and depressed because we think that their lives are perfectly planned.
How can you tell if you are experiencing a quarter-life crisis?
You might feel lost and unsatisfied with some areas in your life because it is heading to the path that you don’t want it to be. Or you feel like you might need to make drastic changes in your life, leading to you feeling stressed out.
When coping and dealing with stress caused by a quarter-life crisis, you need to get to the root of the source.
Here are 4 signs you're having a quarter-life crisis and how you can deal with the stress that comes with it.
1. You feel trapped.
Do you feel that you are trapped in a box and that your life is just spinning in circles and not moving forward? Why not adjust the way you think about making a change?
Set attainable short-term goals. It can be anything you want as long as it is realistic, manageable, and matches the skills and talent you currently have.
If you feel that you are unable to reach your goal, don't hesitate to pull back and change your plans.
2. You're undergoing financial stress.
You worry that you are not earning enough to sustain the ideal lifestyle you want. Instead of focusing on the amount of money you are earning, try to give a lot of focus on working on your budgeting skills.
You can also change your outlook on money. Instead of worrying too much on the money that you are not making, start to look forward to the money you are about to make from your job.
3. You sometimes feel like a failure.
There is nothing wrong with admiring the life of others as long as you use that as an inspiration to achieve the life that you want. But sometimes, you compare your life to others and let yourself feel that you are a failure.
Every time you fall short in achieving your goal, you fall back and judge yourself too hard; this will seriously drain your motivation because you hold a negative perception of yourself.
What you can do is start valuing who you are and not defining who you are based on what you do or your accomplishments.
4. You feel lost.
Young individuals are often unsure of their purpose in life. They don’t have a clear vision of their career path, not confident on their choices in life, and having a hard time savoring the present moment because they think that the important decisions they have to make in their lives are non-refundable, where in fact, people can still change these decisions.
When you feel that you are lost and have a sense of purpose in life you could start doing what you love one step at a time to create your ideal life.
You can start by visualizing your ideal life first. Second, you can write the things you want to achieve in all areas of your life as possible: work, family, life, exploration, society.
Third, start with working on the small tasks toward the things you want to achieve. Fourth, focus on completing your small tasks and be consistent. Fifth, don’t get discouraged. There might be times that you will experience setbacks but don’t let this be the reason why you should stop. Look for alternative paths.
If you get stressed and tired, take a break and learn to relax.
There are tons of signs on how to know you are having a quarter-life crisis. It is not important how many of those signs you have ticked. What matters most is that you know that your life is not moving correctly towards the path that you desire and you need to do something about it.
Rather finding answers, start improving your life by taking small steps and becoming proactive in your life.
Esther Bilbao helps mentor women to have better relationships, health, and personal development. For more information on how she can help you create a better life for yourself, visit her website for a 30-day all-access pass for lessons from expert instructors.