Question

what is the nature and significance of work in midlife? how important is leisure?

Answer 1

• Midlife is the central period of a person's life, spanning from approximately age 40 to age 65.
• During midlife, adults may take on new job responsibilities and therefore often feel a need to reassess their professional standing and make changes while they feel they still have time.
• Midlife crisis is all about when an individual in his/her 40s and above feels unproductive due to maybe health conditions,depression,anxiety etc.
• Anyone experiencing midlife,goes through confusion about one's own identity,feel exhausted, bored, or discontentment with life or with a lifestyle (including people and things) that previously provided fulfillment.
• People do experience stagnation and search for new meaning in life.
• To gain back self confidence and set new goals midlife career shift is needed. Highly educated people may have higher expectations, and may therefore find career disappointments more bitter.
• Erikson observed, at some point in middle age a person begins to shift from investing inward—building a career, raising a family, buying a house, accumulating wealth and prestige—to investing outward and creating a legacy.
• Having a sense o purpose in life helps the person to take up new challenges and break free from old work life.
• Learning anything new past the age of 30 is an upward climb,going into a new field of work is much easier for people in midlife.
• Changing goals or career paths during midlife will help the individual cognitively as well. A fresh start to new challenging things will motivate the person to make his/her life worthy and fun.
• The tasks need to be difficult and engaging to motivate the individual.
• Research indicates that having a sense of purpose is a powerful predictor of mental and physical robustness.
• Leisure time is important because it has a freshening effect on our mind body. It gives him a new lease of life.
• Continuous work leads to stress in life and some time off is absolutely necessary for a health mind and body.
• Anyone who works sincerely can enjoy his leisure fruitfully. It boosts up his spirit and makes him more enterprising.
• Going for a vacation,taking up a hobby,recreational activities,sports etc. all helps in breaking away from a monotonous work life.
• Exercising,yooga,meditation are other activities to relieve tension and stress in an individual.
• When there is no compulsion, we are more free and less reluctant to use our time in accordance with our inclinations.