What to Know
Despite not feeling like it at all, I am rapidly approaching my 40th birthday. Even though I’m painfully (literally!) aware of how aging works, I still can’t believe that it’s happening. And I’m not alone. I’ve talked to so many of my friends, and we all can’t believe that we’re entering the fourth decade of our lives. Many of us Millennials are shocked by this revelation, mainly because for most of us, it feels like we don’t have anything to show for it. The Millennial midlife crisis is going to look a lot different than those of the previous generations because our life circumstances are so different.
One man is addressing the Millennial midlife crisis.
Comedian Mike Mancusi shared a Reel on Instagram addressing his fellow Millennials who find themselves entering midlife.
“We’re coping very differently,” Mancusi said. “Generations of the past used to have a midlife crisis and were like ‘Oh my God, I better buy a Lamborghini or get a second family,” he joked. “We’re like, ‘I can’t even afford one of those things, so I might as well go back to Disneyland and relive my childhood.”
He also said that previous generations have feared entering midlife because they were “looking forward,” but Millennials are mostly looking back. “We were told what to do, we were told the blueprint to follow. Here we are, unfulfilled.”
He had some solid advice.
Mancusi claims that many of us may be suffering from a career crisis. After spending 10 or 15 years doing the same thing, we may be feeling stagnant and unsure of what we want out of life.
His advice? “You have to find something else to do.”
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean changing careers. But you need to find an activity that you can find enjoyment in. He suggests finding “something that you are intrinsically drawn to every single day.” It doesn’t have to be for money, or to make anyone but you happy.
“The more that you allow some job that you don’t even like to define your entire existence, the more it’s gonna crush your soul,” he said. “You need to find meaning elsewhere, outside of your family.”
His advice may seem unrealistic, but it’s actually really profound.
A few years ago, I realized that I didn’t have anything that I did for myself. Like many Millennials, I turned all of my adolescent hobbies into jobs. I’m a writer, I do book reviews so I can make an excuse to read, heck I even started a small baking side hustle!
So I decided to start learning hand lettering. It’s nice to just be able to take a half hour for myself, pick up a pen, and trace some letters and words. I made a conscious decision to never try and monetize it so that I can have something to do when I need to relax and take a break from the world.
Many people seemed to find Mancusi’s advice had some truth to it.
“Is sleep a hobby? Because that’s about the only thing I’d really like to find time to fit into my schedule,” one person wrote. (Honestly, same!)
“There is still hope for us,” another person added. “There is still meaning for us. We just need to remember that it’s not a constant, but integrate it where we can. We have to believe it exists, because there is another side.”
“I never thought of it that way—that we may spend more time looking back vs looking forward! That really lands with me,” someone else wrote.
“Midlife crisis? My whole life is a crisis,” someone else quipped. “My midlife crisis started in 1985 when I was born still waiting for it to end 😂😢😂😂” another person added.
“It’s chickens…get chickens. If you have the room they will brighten your day. 🐓” a commenter suggested as the solution to their Millennial midlife crisis.
