ion Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to chaFor more than twenty-years, Carla’s primary focus was working her way up the corporate ladder in the Human Resources department of a large publicly traded company. Day after day she worked hard to meet the demands of her superiors and colleagues, until one morning she woke up with a sickened, sinking feeling in her stomach.

It was her career, she realized. Having spent nearly half of her life working in an unsatisfying job, with few genuine accomplishments and the goals of her youth long forgotten, Carla had hit midlife and she didn’t like it. To alleviate the feeling in her stomach, Carla began making a conscious effort to pay more attention to the gap between the reality of her life and the dreams and passions she once had. She was determined to pounce on her one last chance for a career that could make the second half of her life more meaningful and fulfilling.

In 2004, Carla decided to nourish her passion to serve the elderly and today, is the owner and operator of an adult day care facility in Houston, Texas. She is now planning her next venture—an assisted living program for low-income elderly residents.

Is Carla’s story unusual? According to a study reported in Prevention Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to cha

eeling in her stomach.

It was her career, she realized. Having spent nearly half of her life working in an unsatisfying job, with few genuine accomplishments and the goals of her youth long forgotten, Carla had hit midlife and she didn’t like it. To alleviate the feeling in her stomach, Carla began making a conscious effort to pay more attention to the gap between the reality of her life and the dreams and passions she once had. She was determined to pounce on her one last chance for a career that could make the second half of her life more meaningful and fulfilling.

In 2004, Carla decided to nourish her passion to serve the elderly and today, is the owner and operator of an adult day care facility in Houston, Texas. She is now planning her next venture—an assisted living program for low-income elderly residents.

Is Carla’s story unusual? According to a study reported in Prevention Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to cha

an making a conscious effort to pay more attention to the gap between the reality of her life and the dreams and passions she once had. She was determined to pounce on her one last chance for a career that could make the second half of her life more meaningful and fulfilling.

In 2004, Carla decided to nourish her passion to serve the elderly and today, is the owner and operator of an adult day care facility in Houston, Texas. She is now planning her next venture—an assisted living program for low-income elderly residents.

Is Carla’s story unusual? According to a study reported in Prevention Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to cha

ed to nourish her passion to serve the elderly and today, is the owner and operator of an adult day care facility in Houston, Texas. She is now planning her next venture—an assisted living program for low-income elderly residents.

Is Carla’s story unusual? According to a study reported in Prevention Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to cha

ion Magazine, not in the slightest; “79% of baby boomers will expect to work at least part-time well into their golden years,” the study has revealed. “A growing number of adults are looking at their 40s, 50s, and 60s as the right time to start fresh in an entirely new field.” What drives adults to change their careers? The answer, in a word, is midlife.

Craving a more fulfilling and meaningful career is just one area of focus during midlife adjustment. As adults reach midlife, at a time when parents and older relatives begin to die, the realization that their lives, too, will come to an end begins to hit home. Suddenly the importance of achieving goals and doing what makes us happy becomes much more important. This is the time closet authors, entrepreneurs, musicians or artists will begin thinking about careers to match their energy, vitality, and passion for life.

The life cycle is, for most of us, fairly predictable. From adolescence to age 30, most of us are consumed with learning how to become who we think we want to be. We go from our 30s to our 40s working and living that role. But at age 40, midlife, after having reached this goal, many discover it wasn’t what we wanted to do after all. At this midlife point, after having worked so hard only to find ourselves wanting, many are willing to take on the challenge of more risk and freeing ourselves from the burden of other’s expectations.

Longer life expectancy plays a part, too. At midlife, says Deborah Carr, sociology