The First Half and the Second Half
Carl Jung viewed life as divided into two parts. The first half is outward-focused: establishing one’s identity, building a career, starting a family, and meeting societal expectations. The logic of this period is success and conformity.
The second half poses a different question: “Who is all of this for?” This transition typically occurs between the ages of forty and fifty. Jung called this “individuation”—the shift from being the person others expect you to be to becoming the person you are from within (The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, 1960).
This transition sometimes begins with a quiet unease. Sometimes with a major event. But most often with the same question: “Is this it?”
Elliott Jaques and the “Midlife Crisis”
The term “midlife crisis” was coined in 1965 by psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques. He was describing a pattern he observed in creative individuals in their forties: a previously free-flowing creativity is interrupted by a sudden pause and a desire for deeper reflection. The first real awareness of mortality comes during this period. The realization that time is not infinite ceases to be an abstract concept and becomes a physical reality.
Subsequent research has shown that this pattern is not universal. Not everyone experiences a crisis. But the intensification of the question of meaning during this period is a widespread pattern supported by research.
Why External Success Doesn’t Fill the Inner Void
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes into play here. Once the needs for safety, belonging, and esteem have been largely met, another question comes to the fore: meaning.
Viktor Frankl formulated this much more sharply: meaning is not a need, but the fundamental drive of existence (Man’s Search for Meaning, 1946). Success is not a sufficient condition for meaning. When someone wins an award, they may not feel the satisfaction expected. This is not failure; it shows that the question of meaning cannot be overshadowed by success.
This feeling becomes more common in middle age because there are fewer things to prove externally, and the question arising from within grows louder.
Is This a Crisis or a Turning Point?
The two are not the same. A crisis is a situation marked by a loss of control and is typically met with panic. A turning point, however, is an opportunity for a change in direction.
The difference depends largely on how one engages with this question. Avoiding the question of meaning—by taking on more work, buying more things, or filling one’s life with more activities—only prolongs the cycle. Engaging with the question, even without an answer, spurs action.
Daniel Levinson’s research on adult development (The Seasons of a Man’s Life, 1978) defines middle age as a period of “reassessing one’s life structure.” If this reassessment does not take place, a greater disconnect occurs later in life. If it is carried out, the groundwork is laid for a more integrated second half of life.
“The afternoon of life cannot be governed by the morning’s agenda.” > Carl Jung, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, 1960
Cevvela’s Perspective
- The intensification of the search for meaning in middle age is no coincidence; within Jung’s framework of individuation, this period marks the threshold of transition from external identity to internal identity.
- External success is not a sufficient condition for meaning; as Frankl foresaw, the question of meaning cannot be overshadowed by success (1946).
- Is it a crisis or a turning point? — This depends largely on how one engages with this question.
- Avoiding the question of meaning prolongs the cycle; engaging with the question sets something in motion.
- Coaching during this period is not meant to answer the question of meaning; rather, it can be used to clarify the situation and lay the groundwork for the transition from the first half to the second half.
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