The Middle

This week has been challenging in our household. Every day has been a struggle to get both children dressed, let alone get them somewhere on time.

Yesterday my daughter and I had an outright standoff about her going to school. On Saturday she wouldn't go to her dance class. Neither of them will go to bed easily, despite all signs pointing to tired. Something has happened to turn my little cherubs into total ferals. And it sucks.

Apparently it's pretty common at this time of year. They're midway through term 3. Getting closer to the end of the year but not close enough. Worn down by the constant merry go round of viruses. Cranky and short tempered.

The thing is, the middle always sucks. Because that's when things start to get hard. The enthusiasm of the start has worn off and the finish line isn't yet within view. It's a grind.

It's definitely been this way with my PhD. And with any other project I've worked on for that matter. And in life, the mid-career crisis has both confronting and demoralising at times.

I don't think there's any trick to making middles less arduous. No great hack. I think it's one of those things you have to endure so you can develop your mental toughness. How you learn to reflect and identify your core values and principles. How you develop the capacity to find intrinsic motivations regardless of circumstances.

It can still be a bloody hard slog sometimes though!