I’m 41 now, when I first read Carl Jung’s famous quote below I was in my teens. I always liked the idea of life improving, becoming more interesting when you age.

“Life really begins at 40. Until then, you are just doing research”.
Carl Jung, 1875-1961

Most of your abilities don’t peak in your early years as I pointed out in a previous column.

Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, believed that human life unfolds in two halves. Each half has its own important purpose.

In the first half, we’re focused on building a life. Getting an education, finding work, starting a family – we are establishing our place in the world, we prove to everyone, parents, God, our boss, and ourselves that we are worthy. We create a stable identity.

Jung called this identity the persona, or the mask we wear to fit into society. It is very much possible to forever remain stuck in the first half of life and die in your 90s without ever having reached the second half of life.

The second half of life, if we reach it, is about something deeper. We turn inward, question old assumptions, and discover who we are beneath the roles we’ve played so far.

Jung called our first adult identity our ‘persona’. Photo: ETH-Bibliothek

Jung came up with a fancy term for this process of discovery: individuation. He claimed that this journey toward becoming our true, authentic self roughly starts at 40 for most people.

To enter the second half of life we must integrate our shadow. This means we must face and embrace the rejected or unconscious parts of our personality.

As an aside, my favourite cinematic depiction of shadow integration is The Fisher King (1991) featuring Robin Williams. Feel free to stream the movie tonight as your demographic and psychological homework assignment.

As we enter the second half of life, we realise that we are not the centre of the universe. We become psychologically more complete as we stop chasing an (elusive) flawless version of our lives and ourselves.

At some point, many people start to question the script they’ve been following. Be a top student, become a high achiever at work, get a mortgage, chase some goals (run that marathon, secure that promotion, photograph that lunch).

We wear the mask (Jung’s persona) that was assigned to us. Seemingly out of nowhere, often between the ages of 35 and 45, little cracks appear in our persona.

The things that once motivated us (job titles, pay rises, ticking off life milestones) don’t hit the same anymore. We start to question the rules of the game that we are still very much playing.

This is the traditional midlife crisis. We now have two choices.

Either we double down and become REALLY good at the game. Cue the clichés: We buy that Porsche, upgrade to that trophy home that we can’t really afford, make that dramatic career pivot or grow your portfolio even more.

But Jung wouldn’t call this a midlife crisis. He’d refer to it as a turning point.

We therefore have a second option. We can stop being who we’re supposed to be and start figuring out who we really are. As mentioned above, Jung called this process individuation. That’s just a fancy term for the process of becoming your true self.

Individuation is not about ditching responsibilities, running away, or dismissing previous achievements. It’s about shifting from success to meaning, from performance to authenticity.

If you’re in your 40s and feeling unsettled, it’s OK. You’re not failing. You’re evolving. That feeling of restlessness? It might be your soul trying to get a word in after years of career KPIs and school drop-offs.

So, what do you do? You get curious. Revisit the passions you shelved years ago, fight for that social cause you deeply believe in, and engage in bettering your local community. You question the assumptions you’ve been living by. Maybe success now looks less like a promotion and more like peace. Less hustle, more purpose.

By now regular readers of this column surely expect a demographic take on the two halves of life. Tada! Here it is.

The oldest millennial (born 1982-1999) is only 43 at the moment while the youngest is 26. Millennials are the biggest generation in Australia (and in most of the Western world).

In the coming 15 to 20 years, we are pushing them all into the stage of the lifecycle when entering the second half of life is most likely.

Accounting for the slow-life approach (fancy way of saying that millennials stayed in education for longer, delayed milestones like first childbirth by a few years) that millennials usually took, the second half of life probably doesn’t start at 40 but probably closer to the mid-40s.

Millennial midlife

I’d estimate that in about three to four years we start to see significant numbers of millennials enter the second half of life. 

Let’s imagine what Australia might look like if millennials really doubled down on self-reflection and embarked on their journey of individuation at scale.

In such a scenario, we might observe a collective shift away from external validation towards internal fulfilment.

This could manifest as a reduction in status anxiety and consumerism, with individuals prioritising authenticity and meaningful experiences over material possessions – this would be a dramatic push against the normal tendency of people in their mid-40s as this is still the highest spending phase of the lifecycle.

Career paths for millennials might become more fluid, with midlife reinvention becoming commonplace, leading to a workforce that values purpose-driven work and lifelong learning.

Mental health could gain prominence, as introspection and self-awareness become societal norms, reducing stigma and encouraging open dialogue – I would highly welcome such a shift as we facie a tough mental health crisis already.

Elders (sorry, baby boomers but you are now being referred to as elders) might be revered as wisdom keepers, fostering intergenerational mentorship and community cohesion. The pace of life could slow, emphasising mindfulness and intentional living.

Civic engagement might deepen, with policies reflecting long-term values and legacy considerations.

Media and entertainment could evolve to explore deeper narratives, resonating with a populace seeking meaning.

Granted, the media argument sounds like a bit of a stretch to me too, but I am hoping for the emergence of deeper reporting that is truly interested in truth finding.

Educational systems might adapt to support continuous personal growth. Communal living arrangements could gain popularity, emphasising connection over isolation.

Overall, such a societal transformation would likely prioritise inner development, authenticity, and collective well-being over traditional metrics of success.

I don’t see any major downside of our biggest generation reaching the second stage of life throughout the coming decade at scale. Let’s file this under “reasons to be slightly optimistic about the next ten years”.

If Jung was right and everything millennials have done until now has just been research, the real footprint on history of the millennial generation is yet to come.

Simon Kuestenmacher is a co-founder of The Demographics Group. His columns, media commentary and public speaking focus on current socio-demographic trends and how these impact Australia. His podcast, Demographics Decoded, explores the world through the demographic lens. Follow Simon on Twitter (X), Facebook, or LinkedIn.