It doesn't go any further up, where can I go now?

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There is no further up at the summit

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Artur Debat / Moment RF / Getty Images

Petra, 54 years old, asks: »I am a manager in a large company.

I've achieved a lot in my career and I'm proud of that.

But for a few years now, the corporate management has been restricting my room for maneuver more and more.

The worst part is that I've completely lost my motivation.

I don't even know that about myself.

I want to burn for something again, preferably in a self-employment, but have no idea what that could be.

How do I find the way out of this impasse? "

Dear Petra,

many are like you.

In the so-called "middle of life" several factors come together that lead to dissatisfaction and doubts:

Everything seen before, everything achieved

After decades in the job, many executives get to the point where they have achieved their original career goals.

This means that this incentive is no longer applicable.

In addition, many things repeat themselves, you've seen everything before.

This reduces motivation and often leads to boredom.

Your own priorities change

It is a natural development that from the mid-40s onwards, personal priorities usually shift.

Material and status-oriented goals lose their importance and inner values ​​such as fulfillment, freedom and meaning are becoming more important.

It is becoming more and more difficult to support strategies and procedures in the company that you do not fully support yourself.

Time for an interim balance

The fiftieth birthday brings many people to take stock and ask themselves the question: What did I actually want to achieve in my life and where do I stand today?

Often they are now becoming increasingly aware of the fact that life is finite.

Now at the latest you should deal with what you expect from life and which wishes you still want to fulfill.

This awareness usually also means that you no longer want to waste valuable time - for example in an unpopular job.

Unfortunately, people who have spent many years in demanding, time-consuming jobs often no longer know what they want.

In addition, they lack non-professional interests.

So it's no wonder if you have a hard time figuring out what the basis for self-employment could be.

What can you do now

For now, stay with yourself.

You won't find your business idea outside.

Look inside.

Who are you?

You probably never had the time to do that.

Accept

that in the moment you are in an intermediate state, in a transition.

It is normal and part of the process that you feel insecure and simply do not have a solution at hand.

That's okay.

Take the pressure off yourself and trust that the solution will work out.

Take mini-steps.

Just go ahead.

The direction does not matter at first.

If you set off, even if it is the wrong one, your position will change and you will always see different things than before.

Try yourself out.

Be playful.

Do something you don't see any point in.

Talk to people you don't know, who interest you, who do something that interests you.

It is important that you get out of pure thinking and gain experience.

Feel what you like and what you don't.

For many years you have identified yourself very strongly with your professional role.

You were not in the position of managing director, you

the managing director.

This is your identity.

Therefore, a career change is life changing and never easy.

I know that many see a huge hurdle in the fact that for many years they have only been active strategically and do not have any deep technical expertise.

They then think that they “can do nothing but manage”.

This approach falls short.

My advice: take a look "behind it".

What exactly is it about management that you are so good at?

The business idea is often a combination of professional expertise, personal preferences and personal learning experience.

The special thing is therefore the intersection of what you like to do best, what you are good at and what you also use to create added value for others.