On one level, birthdays are meaningless, right? It's just another day in our made-up human calendar, albeit with more cake and cards.
AND, these punctuation marks in our lives help us stop and take stock.
As I found on Sunday at my latest turn round the sun, birthdays can be a signal to reflect and digest. To look at where we've been and where we're going, and to make sure, as we get older, that we're heading in the right direction.
For me, the reminder of life progressing, of a numerical step up the aging ladder, brought up a number of priorities:
Physical strength: For women especially, it's important to build our muscles as we move through midlife. I know this, but my exercise regime has taken a hit recently after an injury. Time to recommit.
Presence: As life hurries by, it's all too easy to forget to pay attention to what's right in front of us. My beautiful son is getting older at such a rate, and I want to make the most of every moment with him.
Experimentation: As we get older, it's easy to slip into the habits of the familiar and miss out on new experiences and opportunities to learn and grow. I know it's a cliché, but life really IS so short—and we have nothing to lose but our own self-imposed limitations.
This is why I do what I do. Career coaching isn't just about finding a new job - it's about making sure the time you spend working (which is most of your waking life) actually means something. That it energises you rather than drains you. That you're not wishing your days away.
If your birthday, or the end of another year, is making you pause and wonder "Is this it?" when it comes to your work, know that you're not alone. And you don't have to stay stuck there.
What priorities are coming up for you as the year draws to a close?
(In the spirit of experimentation, I've just started my very first newsletter! Subscribe on LinkedIn. I'd love to hang out with you more next year...)