Midlife Crisis Quotes

“Towards the end of your life you have something like a pain schedule to fill out—a long schedule like a federal document, only it's your pain schedule. Endless categories. First, physical causes—like arthritis, gallstones, menstrual cramps. New category, injured vanity, betrayal, swindle, injustice. But the hardest items of all have to do with love. The question then is: So why does everybody persist? If love cuts them up so much....”
― Saul Bellow, More Die of Heartbreak

“I feel as if I have been piling things into my arms for the last twenty years, holding it all,
managing it all, doing it all, being it all and suddenly I am looking at the pile, realizing how much
of it doesn’t belong to me, and hungering to let it drop, to lay it all down, to walk away. I have
learned that when people see you carrying a lot and not dropping anything, that they often
think, “I guess she can hold this for me.” When they see you saying yes, they decide to also ask
you for things. When they see you doing something, they think, “She can do something for me
too.” And, eventually, the load becomes unbearable and you are driven into the ground by a
weight that you have opened your arms to accept.”
― Molly Remer, Walking with Persephone

“All three are hip-deep in midlife, when the eyes go and the waistline spreads and the city on the hill that shone so brightly in youth turns out to be more like a semi-incorporated town in the middle of a garbage strike. An age when a person can feel not so much himself as an inexplicably inferior version of himself.”
― Mary McNamara

“People talk a lot about midlife crisis, the momentary stress that arises when you finally slack off. The sublime flash of greenish light as the curtain of the sanctuary rips, when poets start reviewing books and programmers take jobs in quality control.”
― Nell Zink, The Wallcreeper

“An alignment crisis happens when we remain chronically misaligned with our purpose.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Imagine what our story would look like if, rather than succumbing to the insistent voices of family or culture, we determined that our vocation was to be a better human.”
― James Hollis, Ph.D.

“I couldn't bear being this suburban mom who was alternating between screaming at her kids and being the heartfelt, privileged witness to their joy. But the people around us - the haranguing mothers and sexless fathers - I kept trying to find ways that I was better than these people, but all I kept landing on was the fact that the common denominator was me.”
― Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is in Trouble

“He smiles and his wavy haired, bright eyed head scoops me in but quickly lands on Mimi. It lingers a bit long, his chest frozen as if the breath's been knocked out; he already loves her. Mothers know these things. It's the kind of love that springs from awe, attraction, intellectual curiosity, and finding a woman mom approves of... the girl next door with exciting fangs. I wonder if their offspring will have fangs.”
― Penelope Przekop, Centerpieces

“I want a place with stories and genuine laughter, Dollars on crossbeams, bra’s strung from the rafter

No focus group menu and sanitized spaces,
I’ll settle for friends in old seedy places!

Nick Schlonski”
― RB Conch, Seedy Places: Key West Comedies Book 1

“A period of protracted, repeated, profound, emotional turmoil, beginning sometime in the second or third year of the practice of law, and continuing off and on, mostly on, many times for the rest of the legal career, characterized by a rather significant, continuous, and oftentimes all-consuming, desire to explore alternative possibilities; to explore a change, any change at all, and to effect the change. These periods are typically coupled with a constant search for a new dream to pursue, potentially followed by additional periods of intense regret as dreams are not fulfilled.”
― Mark Shaiken, And... Just Like That: Essays on a life before, during and after the law

“Perhaps it’s time you stopped looking at work or money or reputation as the biggest source of achievement. Perhaps you can now measure your worth by how you help others and contribute to the community or how well you are growing as a person, both mentally (e.g. self-awareness and calm) and physically (eat healthier, train hard, and gain a shredded body).”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“The fact is that Planet Earth is overloaded with highly qualified and uber experienced folk who are rubbish in the triple wisdom- have a dim idea of who they are, can’t manage themselves well and are middling at managing others. They rose up the ranks powered by mostly technical skills but now that’s far less important. They have entered their comfort zones but what got them here most certainly won’t get them there and what will take them further are some tough behavioral changes.”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“He smiles and his wavy haired, bright eyed head scoops me in but quickly lands on Mimi. It lingers a bit long, his chest frozen as if the breath's been knocked out; he already loves her. Mothers know these things. It's the kind of love that springs from awe, attraction, intellectual curiosity, and finding a woman mom approves of... the girl next door with exciting fangs. I wonder if their offspring will have fangs. - Holly Carter”
― Penelope Przekop, Centerpieces

“It’s not the activity that holds the key to finding your passion; it’s what your actions accomplish.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Your mindset touches nearly every aspect of your life, yet for the most part, you don’t realize it exists, or that most people come equipped with a different mindset than you.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Your mindset is fundamental to who you are: it’s what you know deep down to your core and why you do what you do. Like an operating system, it runs in the background and guides your decisions, interactions, and how you interface with the world around you.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“We were never meant to be like each other. Instead, we’re perfectly designed to complement one another.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“You are far more extraordinary than you have allowed yourself to believe. Every mindset is important, valuable, significant, and equipped with incredible gifts. Our world would not be as enjoyable, beautiful, or productive without any one mindset.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“You aren’t a jumbled assortment of traits and characteristics. On the contrary, the various aspects of your being are sublimely interconnected.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“To find out who you are, you must also see who you are not.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“A mindset is an innate disposition governing how you expect people to behave (and not behave), what you are motivated to do (and not do), and why you do what you do (and the consequence if you do not).”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Though you may value many principles, there is one you instinctively uphold above all others.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“The formula to end burnout is straightforward: maximize your passion and minimize your void.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“When someone compromises your mindset principle, your “Grr!” reflex automatically kicks in. Just like your physiological reflexes, this psychological reflex serves and protects by safeguarding a virtue of humanity.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Purpose is heartfelt, benevolent, and personally meaningful to you. It’s a state of being that you desire for yourself, yet you recognize its importance in the world, and you want it for others too.”
― Karen Whitten, The 25 Mindsets: Understand Anyone, Even Yourself

“Some wealthy men bought soccer teams; others acquired new wives or had their current ones rebuilt; some endowed hospitals or art galleries; it was Brunetti's destiny to live in a country where they began political parties.”
― Donna Leon

“I started asking myself 'What am I doing?' a few years ago when I was about 43 years old. It felt like some sort of midlife crisis at first. My wife and I had moved to another country five years before, and I wasn't quite happy with my life there. It never felt like 'home', I never belonged there. Objectively speaking, my career was going well and I was making good money. But I didn't care about the job I had, I was going through the motions. It felt off, and it was making me feel anxious about the future. I lost my mom to cancer when she was 47 years old. In my mind, that could be my fate too. What if I only had four more years? Am I wasting the time I have left?”
― Daniel Voigt Godoy, You're Not Your Job: Going Above and Beyond for Yourself

“I might not know much about being a witch per se, but I know this: it's kind of a one-size-fits-all deal. Having gifts, being a wise woman, reading tarot--whatever your witchy quirks might be--those aspects of your life don't disappear just because you're busy for a few years changing diapers and driving kids to soccer practice.”
― Red Tash, Miss Fitz Discovers Midlife Magic

“Midlife Haiku

First: love. Then marriage.
A mortgage. And a divorce.
Is that all there is…?”
― Peter Radley

“What's often called a 'midlife crisis' is not a crisis at all, but a midlife transformation yearning to unfold. Embrace the discomfort, for it is the sound of your authentic future beginning to unfold.”
― Anoir Ou-chad