We all go through physiological phases in life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, menopause or andropause. But there’s another one, a quieter one, that no one really talks about. It’s what Jung calls the turning point.
And I hit that turning point at full speed. I saw it coming just in time not to crash.
Jung, with his delicate poetry, even calls it the afternoon of life… Well, let me tell you: my afternoon was not a nap. It started more like a… gang-bang.
Let me rephrase that for my mother: my afternoon was not a nap. It started in a rather v
Why you should care – Your welcome 😉
Let me explain why this concerns you.
And yes, surrounded by entrepreneurs and marketers, I have to start with their usual objection: why care about this problem?
With words like niche, target audit, market study… I’m telling you: fuck everybody.
But my friends, let me explain why you are actually the most concerned niche of all.
….You’re welcome.
The first half of life is a total waste of time
During the first half of our lives, we build.
Picture an onion: layer after layer, we cover ourselves, we grow thicker, more structured.
As children, we move toward the future with hope.
We walk through life following the models we’ve chosen — or, more often, the ones imposed on us.
We study, work, love, build social and emotional lives to become the adults we dreamed of.
Then gradually, the path twists.
And if you’re thinking, “Oh really? Hmm… well not for me”—beware: the turning point will hit you like the iceberg hit the Titanic crew.
And for those who haven’t seen Titanic: like a rabbit caught in headlights.
We realize our body isn’t made for the sport we dreamed of, our studies don’t quite lead where we thought, the job market isn’t what we imagined.
And of course, it’s all the others’ fault for not understanding us… rabbit in the headlights.
Without really knowing how, we become ADULTS.
There we are: ripe onions… maybe not the ones we pictured, but formed nonetheless.
Rabbit vs onion → let’s stick with the onion. The rabbit’s about to exit the story.
We then enter the age of execution: routine sets in, life becomes a continuous present.
Our hope tilts toward the present, leaving the future — once a “promised land” — becoming a “I’d rather not think about it” land.
Individuation: listening to your inner energy
This is where individuation begins, that slightly abstract Jungian word.
In practical terms, it means listening to your inner energy and reorganizing your life around what truly matters to you.
“We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what was true in the morning will at evening have become a lie.” – C.G. Jung
The afternoon of life is not a nap.
It’s a rock-and-roll moment — biological and psychological — that can shake you… or transform you.
And you get to choose: let yourself be swept away, or steer the iceberg before it hits you.