Do Women Have the Edge in Handling Midlife?
Are women better able to handle midlife transitions? While I have previously written about whether midlife really IS a crisis, I found some interesting perspectives shared by Les Brown in his blog post: “Do Fewer Women Have Midlife Crises?” It’s a decidedly male point of view, and addresses issues I hadn’t thought about. (not being a man myself)
At midlife, both genders find themselves at a place where we are challenged to move beyond many of the limiting mindsets of our youth into a more “self-possessed” maturity.
The steps we take to deal with our midlife transition closely mirror Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ 5 stages of grief (which I also write about in Amazing Grays – noting that it was originally call the 5 Stages of Receiving Catastrophic News!)
We either work our way through these stages and get on with a productive life, or we get stuck somewhere along the line. According to Brown, two key components that make working through this transition easier for everyone are the willingness to talk about what is going on inside of them and the ability to rely on a community of support and ask for help.
Well, ask any woman…
1. Are most men willing to talk about what’s going on inside of them?
2. How many men are willing to ask for direction(s)?
While the answers to these questions may make many of us smile – men come by these traits honestly. According to Brown, throughout their lives, men are rewarded for being “competitive” and taught that success is achieved through “rugged individualism” – the “I gotta do it myself” mentality. These culturally ingrained mindsets often keep men from asking for help and creating the sense of community they need to transition into this next phase of life.
Most women, on the other hand, love to talk about what’s going on with them and willingly share their feelings and insights (note the number of blogs written and visited by midlife women).
So, take a peek at his article and come back and tell me…do you think women have the edge in handling midlife transitions? How are the men in your life coping with midlife?