A midlife crisis can be avoided

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- An Israeli dismisses the prevailing myth that people between 40 and 60 have a midlife crisis adapting to diminished expectations.

Professor Carlo Strenger of Tel Aviv University and Arie Ruttenberg said when the term "midlife crisis" was coined 40 years ago, the average lifespan was 70 and at age 35 people could expect to decline from that point forward.

"As people live longer and fuller lives, we have to cast aside that stereotype and start thinking in terms of 'midlife transition' rather than 'midlife crisis," Strenger says.

By age 30, most Americans have already married, decided where to live, bought their first home and chosen their career, but people still have the better part of their adult years ahead of them and the midlife years are the best time of life to flourish and grow, Strenger says.

To avoid a midlife crisis, Strenger suggests to:

-- Realize you have more high-quality adult years ahead of you than behind you.

-- Think about what you've learned about yourself so far, your strongest abilities and about the things that most please you.

-- Don't be afraid of daunting obstacles in making changes.

-- Make use of a support network, colleagues, friends and families.

The findings are published in the Harvard Business Review and the journal Psychoanalytic Psychology.