Is
40 or 40-ish the trigger for a midlife crisis or the springboard for greater
success? Many people are psychology-driven by this "forty" thing,
others are totally blasé and yet others find it a time to make excuses for
doing silly things.
Men
and women look at things so vastly differently although they may end up doing
the same things. Life is but a test and our environment certainly plays a big
role. Men develop a view that "there are some things in life we have
missed out on and we need to still try and do". It is the period after
they have started a family and there was some settling down. Now that the
foundation has been laid, the man wants to get out and play.
Women
will tell you that they also have missed on things and they certainly need to
explore further too. The eternal difference between male and female is most
often exposed during this period. The man wants to hunt and be out there with
his toys and whoever his playmates may be. The sensitive emotion-driven woman
wants to be out there but for a different reason. She looks at her life and
says "I have put so much effort into raising the kids while I too was
working", I need to be out there being loved and enjoying the finer things
in life.
It
ends up being a tricky part of life when people stray and this is not
restricted to one gender. But this straying is often to fulfill different
needs. The woman wants the sensuality and the man, well, is not so sensitive
about the detail. Is this real and can this be avoided and prevented? We cannot
guess entirely what goes through our spouse's mind and there comes a time when
even a thought or two is not shared. We are individuals and at times one may
want that privacy - the privacy of our thoughts. That's not a crisis. The
crisis is that, more often than not, people start living passed each other and
thereby create different identities - the communication has broken down. This
lack of communication allows private thoughts which are fuelled by different environments,
by friends and family to steer us on a different path, a path not yet trodden by
ourselves. The slightest spark lights the fire and the straying from the
marital bed becomes a mistake or regret. Sometimes things spiral out of control
and, often depending on the support structure, things are mended in some way or
another.
This
"midlife" period most likely is not defined at a set age, but anecdotally most changes happen around 40. People
reflect on their lives around this time, intentionally or subconsciously (and
more often than not it is the latter) and they see in their spouse an obstacle
to greater happiness. Sadly, instead of finding a way to address it with the
spouse, thoughts are further developed and action is taken unilaterally. The
likelihood that you see some shortcoming in your spouse is further exaggerated
because, over time, there was no meaningful way to address it.
The
ideal person is the one who is young at heart but mature in his/her thinking
and ways. The ideal couple is the couple where both parties share the view of
being mature youths. Those that live with passion and have it ingrained in the
family while be wise enough to build a platform for themselves and the children.
Their wisdom will keep them from being reckless. Their midlife will not be a
crisis but merely a springboard to take them both to greater heights together.
Forty
is not a time to start being naughty. Forty is the age where we should think
like a sage while with our spouse we still engage.