J.K. Rowling was at a loss of what to do after her mother’s death. It was a rough time in her twenties.
She had to continue her life and moved to Portugal as an English teacher. There, she met a man that she married later down the line. Previously, she had a miscarriage and finally gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Unfortunately, her marriage didn’t last long. She came back to the UK and took a teacher training course at Moray House, Edinburgh University. This was the time when the Harry Potter idea popped up in her mind. Although the idea got rejected by many publishers, it didn’t stop her ambition. Finally, her Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone was accepted and became successful.
Not only J.K. Rowling, people living in their twenties or early thirties might also experience the same situation known as quarter-life crisis or QLC. QLC is a period when someone feels uncertain about their purpose and trapped by insecurity, lack of motivation, loneliness, and disappointment towards oneself. There are some phases in QLC according to Harvard Business Review: the feeling of being caught in some situation, whether professional or personal life, and considering self-isolation by moving to another city or leaving a partner. In the latter case, one would consider exploring new things, change their life plans, or direct new life purposes.
People will probably find a quarter-life crisis a terrifying time. They tend to want to get rid of it as soon as possible, but actually, a quarter-life crisis isn’t something to be feared because it is a normal stage of entering adulthood. Atwood and Scholtz explained that a sense of someone losing direction can be the start of searching for their identity. During this time, people will reroute their minds and find things that make them happy. We can also see a different perspective from a difficult quarter-life crisis. Mark Manson, in his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck said that rough times in someone’s life is more memorable and able to evolve someone’s capability. People will learn from previous mistakes and try to avoid repeating them because they remember how the pain feels like.
In case you want to prepare or cope with QLC, here are a few tips:
Be Honest
While self-meditating, listen to your inner voice. Let’s say you’re thinking about getting a job. Say you decide to prioritize a job based on the wages despite it being your passion or not, or a job in line with your passion despite the wages. Then, estimate the bad outcome that might happen and decide how you will face it later.
Get up and try new things
See the other side by reading books, traveling, cooking, and many more! J.K. Rowling didn’t find herself very passionate about writing until she gave it a try. Start taking baby steps such as scheduling your goals for tomorrow and do it diligently!
Stop comparing
Everyone goes through life at their own pace. In your twenties, some of your friends get a job first. You probably go to congratulate them, but deep down, you feel kind of envious. You can always compare yourself with everyone, but wouldn’t it be better if you could just focus on yourself instead? Keep track of your goals because it makes you feel more motivated since you complete them one by one!
The twenties is approaching fast, whether you want it or not. When you feel that you are the only one having a hard time during this period, remember that everybody feels the same. This will pass. You can go through this. Be it the people you never know or famous ones everyone adores, everyone solves their problems in their unique ways, and so will you.
References:
Ward, M. (2017, June 22). How each of these 5 highly-successful people overcame their quarter-life crisis. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/22/how-6-highly-successful-people-overcame-their-quarter-life-crises-.html