Carl Jung: Life Really Does Begin at 40
A mind-blowing theory on life’s transformation process.
Midlife is hard. But our early 40s to early 60s is not a crisis. People talk about midlife like it’s a sudden breakdown. A crisis. I think of it more like a realignment or reorientation. I am aligning with my values, core self and true north: quality time to reassess my life. I won’t call it a crisis. Because if you do it right, you will experience so much more on the “midlife” path. Something meaningful happens if you can bend midlife in your favour.
I like what psychologist and psychotherapist Carl Jung said: “Life really does begin at 40. Up until then you are just doing research.” He thought the first 40 years (the first half of life) were “preparation” period for our self-becoming. We gather data, learn about the world, and figure out who we are. But the real work — living life on our own terms— begins later.
In our youth, we absorb everything: ideas, values, beliefs. We try to make sense of life. But we don’t yet have full control over our own story. We try on different roles, exploring who we might be. It’s experimental.
We learn from failure, mistakes, and challenges. Jung calls it the “first half of life,” a process of establishing identity. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson describes this as…
