How to survive a life crisis

Poppy Jamie, co-founder of wellbeing brand, Happy Not Perfect

A life crisis can mean many things. For me it was a long period of endless questioning: what am I doing? Am I good enough? Should I stay in this job? Should I be in this relationship?

Whether we like it or not, we’ve all been conditioned by society to follow certain paths. Let’s say you’ve been told the right thing to do is to get a partner and settle down, or to try to buy a house, and suddenly you find yourself asking: ‘Am I on that path? Is this something I even really want?’ That’s a life crisis. It makes you feel uncertain, unstable and unsure of whether you’re doing the right thing.

Many of us experience anxiety, which is really about fearing uncertainty. Tackling this is about developing the confidence to say, ‘I know things are going to be OK, because I trust myself.’ Keep this mantra in mind, but don’t worry if it takes time to sink in – it’s not a thing you wake up and just believe!

Fitting in regular movement is also important. Many of us have sedentary jobs and it’s easy for our brains to spiral, so work on taking five minutes to walk and reflect – this is really going to help you to find answers to questions you might be asking.

But don’t get intimidated by the pressure to plan your whole life. I’m in favour of setting small goals. Think, ‘What can I do today to help me reach that large goal? What is the smallest thing I can do to get a little bit further on the path?’ You can still be crazily ambitious and dream, but along with your dreams you need to write down practical actions to take. Long journeys start with small steps. happynotperfect.com