Your Early Midlife Crisis

It can be a scary moment to realize that you are not happy with your career and don't know what your options are at age 35, when you have children or a family who rely on you.

The Prescription

My message to all of the 20- and 30-something men in my audience is that this early onset of midlife crisis is fairly common. You are not alone.

It is a normal part of our developmental cycle, and if it's resolved successfully, it will allow you to really enjoy your golden years. It is important to remember that all people change rather drastically during their 30s and 40s. The things that motivated you early on after college may no longer fuel your fire by the time that you are bouncing your firstborn child on your knee.

In many cases, people either grow out of their jobs or marriages to some degree, or the job or marriage changes so much that it matures away from us.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is time to take inventory of your life and what is important to you.

I find that it is important to re-evaluate your life goals and ambitions at this benchmark in your life. Be brutally honest with yourself and others about what you need and want for your future, because holding in your feelings can lead to impairment in your social and occupational functioning.

Take this opportunity to look within yourself, at your core values, beliefs and aspirations. Be realistic and engage others whom you trust to help you live out your dreams.

Expect to work hard to get what you want in life and remind yourself every day that you can script your own future. Start writing that script today.

Please write to the Stock Doc with your trading, emotional, or investing dilemmas. Dr. Cass always welcomes comments and stories, for which he'll try to offer solutions in later columns.