Surviving Your Quarter Life Crisis: Step 10

Step #10: Come to Terms that Life Might Suck (for a while)

As you dig into your career change plan of attack, you might have discovered an unpleasant side effect of this transformation: Life has started to suck.

You might be anxious about whether you made the right decision, or frustrated that you aren’t seeing positive results fast enough.

You could be miserable about your lack of a social life, or afraid that you don’t have what it takes to actually set out what you want to do.

You could also be really tired from burning the candle at both ends.

This is all understandable. Life’s hard, as the old saying goes. And the road to change is often filled with potholes.

Once you realize and accept this fact, you’ll have one less thing to worry about—especially because this is something completely out of your hands.

In fact, you’re not alone in feeling that this time of your life is the worst. Google the phrase “quarter-life crisis sucks,” and you’ll get well over 100,000 hits, featuring not-so-reassuring articles such as “Your Quarter Life Crisis After College Is Going To Suck A Lot.”

It’s important to remember that your twenties are for learning. Nobody has life figured out the second they get a diploma.

In fact, leaving the college bubble and navigating adulthood is like freshman year all over again—only the growing pains (hopefully) involve less RA interference and a nicer apartment.

And it’s all about perspective, too: This whole struggle is only temporary. It will get better, and you will get through it. Life will not suck forever.

Plus, the dirty little secret that’s worth keeping in mind the entire time? Even if you make a mistake—or find that things aren’t working—that isn’t the same as failure.

As the Huffington Post helpfully spells out in a 2015 piece, “How to Get Over Your Quarter-Life Crisis,” whatever direction you’re attempting is fail-proof.

“You might not like it, or it might not come together all at once, but that’s not failing,” author Kali Rogers writes. “If you give it enough shots to know that something really isn’t clicking with you, no big deal.”

In short, rather than blaming yourself for things not working, simply chalk it up to quarter-life crisis turbulence and forge on ahead.

Now that you’re coming to terms with the fact that life is temporarily going to suck, what comes next with this decision? How can you make this your best year yet? Follow us for quarter-life crisis survival tips and guidance, including step #11.