Reinventing Your Life at Mid-Life

Research Participants Wanted

Midlife can be the most rewarding time — time for reflection, rejuvenation, and reveling, as a recent article in Parade Magazine said. According to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, the middle period of life "is a time of enormous psychological importance." It's often the time when we seek to truly understand the meaning of life. Yet we embark on this journey without much preparation. In high school and college, we learn the rules for successful (at least defined by society) living. And we spend the next few decades fulfilling goals and living by rules that we may have set but more likely were set for us by our parents or society. In the second half, we often question those goals and rules, but have little to guide us toward finding the answers. Many are lost as to "what to do next."

While inspirational stories abound about individuals who have found new paths at mid-life — particularly women, we believe that many individuals need more than inspiration. Thus, we are writing a book with practical tools and techniques to help readers maneuver through this challenging time, rekindle their creative spirit, redefine their mental models, and to re-discover purpose and direction.

To provide these tools and processes, we are asking individuals who have found a new path to participate in our research study. Participants in the research will be individuals who have made major life changes at approximately age 50 or later or who are in the process of dealing with such a transition. Prior to interviews, participants will receive the set of proposed questions and will sign a standard form, covering the rights of research subjects in qualitative interviews. They are guaranteed anonymity, since we plan to protect identities in the use of stories in the book through the use of pseudonyms.

If you are interested in participating or know someone who might be interested, please email either
Judy (judy@breakthroughcreativity.com) or
Lynne (lynne@breakthroughcreativity.com).

Or, if you prefer, you can take our online survey where you will also be guaranteed anonymity. Your responses will provide valuable input into our research around practical tools and techniques to help individuals — at age 50 and over — maneuver through this challenging time, rekindle their creative spirit, redefine their mental models, and re-discover purpose and direction. Thanks!