A shiny, red convertible sports car!

Cosmetic surgery.

A brand new hobby.

We wake up one day and realize we are getting older. We don’t want to admit that we are “maturing,” so we deny our aging process by covering up the signs that hint at the fact that we are not the young adults we used to be.

Somewhere between age 30 and 50, some people experience what psychologist Carl Jung first referred to as a mid-life crisis. While this phase of maturing is a normal part of life, mid-life crisis can feel very uncomfortable, and cause people to make drastic changes in career, appearance and personal choices. Some of these more radical lifestyle changes can be damaging and may be regretted later.

If you are going through mid-life crisis, you might have a wide range of emotions or experiences, such as:

• Alcohol, drug, food or other abuse
  
• Affairs, especially with someone much younger
  
• Boredom with things/people that have held interest or dominated your life
  
• Confusion about who you are, or where your life is going.
  
• Daydreaming
  
• Discontentment with life and/or your current lifestyle
  
• Exhaustion
  
• Feeling adventurous or risky
  
• Frantic energy
  
• Greatly decreased/increased ambition
  
• Greatly decreased/increased sexual desire
  
• Irritability
  
• Questioning the meaning of life
  
• Self-questioning
  
• Unexpected anger
  
• Wanting to do something completely different

This time of transition can also be seen as a mid-life check up. After all, that’s what it seems to call for. As we approach our middle years, we tend to assess where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished in life and where we are going in the future. This glance into life’s mirror can be upsetting for some people because they do not like what they see. There are a few more wrinkles around the eyes, the kids are leaving the nest, and that novel you were going to write is still only an idea in your head. This assessment calls for some much needed changes and many times a total lifestyle change.

How you cope with this time of life can literally make you feel older or younger than your years. For many women, mid-life is an empowering time. Even with menopause symptoms and empty nests, women of this generation are seizing this stressful but pivotal moment in their lives to reinvent themselves. Some women feel a need to reassess where they are and make positive changes.

You may be inclined to exercise and eat more healthily. This is a great time to begin caring for yourself and taking care of your own needs.

It’s also a good time to get a life insurance policy check up or it may be time to convert your term insurance to something more permanent. Don’t have a life insurance policy? It’s not too late.

Quality of Life…Insurance from American General Life and Accident can offer financial help during a critical or long-term chronic illness, at retirement or to offset the costs of life’s other mid-life milestones. What if you suffer a heart attack, stroke, or invasive cancer and don’t die? Would your family be able to maintain their standard of living if you were financially impacted by a serious illness?

Mid-life is a good time to reassess your financial future. If you don’t like what you see, there is still time to change course and get on track to assure that you will enjoy your retirement years.

If you are not happy with your current job you may be interested in a position with American General Life and Accident. We offer great careers for people who are seeking a change that will lead them comfortably into retirement years.

American General Life and Accident can help you make the mid-life adjustment. We encourage you to accept the aging process and begin preparing for your many prosperous years ahead. Remember, sometimes the best part of life begins in the middle!

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