FEATURE
50
40
years old
1. The U-curve of happiness is well-
established and shows that the roughest
patch of one’s life is the forties, so be
prepared for a bumpy ride as Disappointment
= Expectations – Reality. This is the period
when expectations (and the possibility
that you won’t meet them) start to
become acute.
2. Make sure you’ve created some emotional
insurance via individuals or groups of people
with whom you can be vulnerable and
curious. This is especially important for
middle-aged men, as this is a particularly
treacherous decade for them and they tend
not to connect with their peers as easily or in
the same way as women do.
years old
1. The first half of your life is focused more
on accumulating: success, responsibilities,
family, friends, hobbies, identities. A mid-life
crisis is often about feeling weighed down
by all of this. Focus on what’s most important
in your life and start the process of removing
anything that doesn’t serve or nourish you.
2. Viktor Frankl wrote in his epic book
Man’s Search for Meaning: “Between
stimulus and response, there is a space.”
In that space is your power to choose your
response. And in your response lies your
growth and your freedom.”
No wiser three sentences have ever been
written about emotional maturity. If you
haven’t mastered the difference between
reaction and response by this time in your
life, it’s essential you take a crash course
now. Start by reading Frankl’s book.
About Chip Conley
Chip served as Airbnb’s Head of
Global Hospitality and Strategy for four
years and today acts as the company’s
Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and
Leadership. His five books include
Peak and Emotional Equations and are
inspired by the theories of transformation
and meaning by famed psychologists
Abraham Maslow and Viktor Frankl.
Chip is a recipient of hospitality’s highest
honor, the Pioneer Award, and holds
a BA and MBA from Stanford University,
as well as an honorary Doctorate in
Psychology from Saybrook University.
www.chipconley.com
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