Get the facts
Over the course of our lifetime, change - both positive and negative - will affect us all.
Did you know?
- A person born in the first years of the 20th century could expect to go through about eight major transitions in their lifetime and just one major 'life change' (in fact slightly less than one, on average) after the age of 50.
- The average person born in the 1930s or 1940s has already made eight major transitions by the age of 50. They might be on course for 12 transitions over the course of their lifetime - that's four more major changes after the age of 50 than their older counterparts.
- It has been calculated that the average woman spends as many or more years caring for one or both of her parents as she did caring for her children.
- Divorce rates have dropped by 8% overall in the last ten years. But the divorce rate has increased by over 20% for the over 60s.
- Research carried out on 7,000 men and women by the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction shows that in the first year of bereavement almost 22% of the widowed had a major depression, 12% had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and the remainder were nine times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder.
- By 2009 more than four billion people in the world - out of a total population of 6.3 billion - are expected to have a mobile phone connection in their lives. Changes in technology within our lifetime have been, and continue to be, exponential.
…being told my marriage was over was a great shock … I often refer to the years from 1991-96 as 'my forgotten years'.
In '96 I sold my flat, rented for six months, and bought a cottage in the Cotswolds. I wanted to re-connect with a community and the past ten years have been some of the most fulfilling times of my life!
John Cull in his 50s
An expert opinion
According to Professor Shosana Zuboff, founder of ODYSSEY: School for the Second Half of Life (a unique executive programme based at the Harvard Business School, which is devoted to the issue of mid-life transition):
'The first half of life is about compulsion; the second half is about choice. Nature compels physical and cognitive maturation through early adulthood. Then the need to earn a place in society kicks in: education, career, family, status, recognition, and achievement.
'Once those are accomplished, it used to be time to die. Now more decades stretch ahead. Some people, to be sure, simply continue … without much reflection. But for many, the old incentives no longer bite. They find themselves feeling uneasy. The questions I hear reflect the yearning and fear that comes with shedding old skin. "Is this all there is?", "Why don't I feel the passion and energy I once did?", "Will the 1,300 weeks I have left just be a rehash?"
'Sometimes events such as death, illness, divorce, failure, or betrayal trigger discontent. It's natural to grieve for a life that once felt right, but no longer seems to make sense. For those who don't run and hide, exploring the new questions gradually leads to the realisation that they have choices. The new awareness of "I can take my life in my own hands" is exhilarating.'
