So the mid-life crisis might actually be a thing!!

Up until recently, I had always thought the notion of a ‘mid-life crisis’ was a phrase that was just used to justify out of character behaviours and decisions. You’re probably familiar with the cliches surrounding this, the one’s where a new and lavishly expensive sports car is purchased, quitting your job and travelling the world or what I consider to be the most cliche one of all, the concept of trading in your partner for a younger model!

But then things started to change which made me realise that a mid-life crisis might actually be a real thing. Not only did I realise it was a real thing, but it might be one of the most significant periods in an adults life. Let me explain.

It all started with the passing on Hulk Hogan. He was a childhood icon for me. Those heady days of hulkamania running wild. The charisma, the presence and the iconic entrance theme song!! The beautiful thing with childhood is that it is full of icons and people to admire. Sports players, musicians, actors, authors, scientists and maybe even world leaders to name a few. You watch them on TV or read their books, you talk about them in school or even collect all their work. Maybe they inspire you to follow in their footsteps. Either way, they can all hold a special place in your memories which often aren't forgotten.

What ya gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild over you!!

As you move into early adulthood, the memories remain but in general your life changes and you don’t have the time or desire to dote on these people in the same way you did. Things take on a different meaning as you traverse the often complicated and messy real life situations such as work, relationships, house owning and in some cases parenting.

There’s nothing wrong with this and often the stars you once idolised and followed intently now are those who entertain you whilst your having your weekend takeaway or the album you listen to in the car during your commute whilst trying not to think too hard about the challenges that might face you that day.

But there comes a point in an adults life where things change and it can be really difficult to process. Hulk Hogan wasn’t the only high profile loss suffered this year. Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Madsen, George Wendt, Val Kilmer and George Foreman are among a list of people that have passed this year. People that at some point during my life so far, for different reasons, have had an impact, however small.

Maybe it was the realisation that my son is starting his GCSE’s this year and it won’t be long before the dependancy on his parents reduces to a minimum (apart from financially, but I suppose that might never change!!). I imagine there are other events that might cause these sorts of thoughts. Maybe a family illness or bereavement or the breakdown of a long-term or significant relationship.

But something changed. There was a transition from a denial that bad things happen and we’ll be watching Ant and Dec on a Saturday night forever to wondering whether if we had the years again whether we’d do something differently. Maybe for some people, this notion of a mid-life crisis is when for the first time we realise that it’ll will come to an end some day. I can completely understand at this point that people might start thinking of their legacy. I can also understand the need to perhaps take some risks and make some decisions that we wished we’d done 20 or so years earlier.

My wife and I have recently been watching a programme called The Bear. It is about a restaurant in Chicago. One of the main characters former mentor had a clock in their kitchen with a sign underneath which reads ‘Every Second Counts’. When I was 18, if someone had said that to me I would have laughed it off as part of

my youth shaped invincibility. But now, the concept of every second counts hits differently every time I hear it.