There are certain strange norms of denigrating people that somehow seem to continue on even though they could be either outright proven false, or laughed off immediately. For example, the old put-down that ‘women are bad at parking’ is so untrue that to even suggest it makes any serious person laugh in a mocking manner. It’s just absurd. But while this is one that’s easily disprovable and silly, there are many long-term stereotypes that just seem to continue on. For example, the mid-life crisis. We often think of a guy buying a sports car in his mid-40s, getting a new haircut, perhaps with blonde dye, and selling his business to work for a sports nutrition company. Okay, this is also an outlandish situation, but there does seem to be a perception that when men get to middle age, they lose it.

But why does a mid-life crisis have to be the norm that’s discussed? What about mid-life resurgences? Sometimes taking stock of your age and seeing yourself as young can help you decide to make the most of your life with more energy, cutting away the insecurities of youth and letting your experience guide you.

Sounds fun to us. You just have to know where to begin:

Showing Your Kids The World

You might decide that instead of following the old, denigrating perception of a mid-life crisis, that you redouble your efforts to be the best Dad ever. Showing your kids the world could be an excellent first step as far as this is concerned. For example, you might decide to travel with your family to meet other family members that live in other countries, to show them your cultural roots, or to perhaps take a trip to a destination you loved as a younger man. You can of course experience the world again yourself in this way.

At an age where most people are looking to settle down and feel secure in their environment, making a true effort to explore and expand can help you feel less like you’re being stifled. After all, why worry about making purchases or overcompensating in any way when you have an entire world to grapple with? This can provide a new change of pace for many who experience it, and might just give them a massive new lease on life itself. That, coupled with the educational capacity of travel, should help your kids feel absolutely blown away by the beauty in front of them.

A New Workout Plan

A new workout plan can also give you a new lease of life. If a mid-life crisis means getting healthy and feeling more confident in your skin, then surely we could pencil in more? Does it really have to end? Hitting the weights with a brilliant plan such as Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength can allow for you to build real functional strength, to change the architecture of your frame and become much more proportional and well-postured than you are now.

Of course, ‘getting big’ is something that seems to only be worthwhile if backed up by function rather than form. But of course, if you wanted to bodybuild, that is also totally your choice. However, there’s something to be found in powerlifting, high intensity interval training cardio and great stretching. It can help you get stronger to mitigate the effects of old injuries, or in some cases completely reverse them. A new workout plan can help you feel ten years younger, and look it too. Working hard on yourself is a point of pride, and you’ll feel it in every step that you walk.

If you’re looking for a change, something new to contend with or appreciate, you could do much much worse than this.

A New Vehicle

It might be that you wish to purchase a new vehicle. Of course, the stereotype of a mid-life crisis is purchasing a brand new sports car that you’ll only drive once and polish hard at the weekends regardless. If you wanted to do this, that’s fine. But purchasing a new car with utility, one you can explore with or entertain your family in, or enjoy a beautiful road trip regularly with is more akin to a mid-life resurgence. For example, a beautiful classic car restoration or brand new HRV SUV could bring you the experiences you most wish for.

There’s something freeing about the open road, perhaps traveling to environments that you haven’t before such as those in Europe, and documenting the entire process. To us, that sounds freeing and beautiful.

Implementing Bravery

We often have many personal projects on the backburner that we wish we could implement, but often feel agitated to. We worry about the personal risk, what we might lose, or worse, the fact that no one will care. But implementing bravery into your mid-life resurgence might help you cultivate the courage necessary to launch that business project, to purchase that restaurant space, or to switch careers. In some cases, it might be escaping the job you feel like you have been consigned to for the rest of your life and heading back to university to enjoy something you actually care about. Implementing bravery is sure to be an enjoyable, rewarding process that could lead you to shores anew, perhaps the shores you truly want to explore.

Delve Into A Topic

You’re never too old or too young to learn something new. Delving into a topic can show you just how life-giving a personal project can be. For example, you might decide to become familiar with a range of wines, to try wine-tastings, to learn more about the process and become something of a personal sommelier. This is a skill that could help you meet people, find the true creativity in a certain world scene, and open your eyes to something that you might have simply ignored in the past.

But this is hardly the only topic you might want to delve into. There are many rabbit-holes out there you could become interested in, just be sure it’s a healthy one. For example, delving into conspiracies on YouTube might be interesting to begin with, but is hardly an extremely useful or health-inducing use of your time. Instead, learning more about culture, about history, about culinary expression, about an instrument or another creative development can help you feel supported by an interest. Those who fail to steward these interests in life can often feel empty and hollow, as if they have nothing supporting them. When you become proficient in whatever this is, you can pass that knowledge down. Over time you are likely to feel the best possible version of you. Not bad for a mid-life resurgence.

Stop Worrying

One of the truest dangers of the mid-life crisis stereotype is that we often feel like all of our actions are pressed into that definition. We might joke about experiencing one soon at a party, but then any new valid pursuit you wish to take your life down might feel like your compensating due to the damaging effect of this strange insult. Stop worrying about it. Continue to follow what you love or start new passions, because that can help you grow, and it shows that you have plenty of life left to give the world. If that’s what a mid-life crisis is, then it doesn’t sound too bad at all. Just stay away from the blue hair dye.

With these tips, you’re sure to experience a fantastic mid-life resurgence.