When the topic of Emotional Sobriety was first raised in 1958, the longest time anyone had sober in a 12-step recovery program was 23 years.

Since that time many people world wide have surpassed that 23 year mark, some by more than twice that amount.

So what was Bill Wilson referring to when he authored Emotional Sobriety: the Next Frontier?

The photo above was one I was looking at when I was pondering one morning, where I had gone “wrong”. Of course, I hadn’t at all, but that’s the way it feels sometimes. One look at my happy puppies in my home on a quiet Saturday morning brought me to my senses to realize I wasn’t having a mid-life crisis but rather a mid-life alignment.

This idea that was attempting to be expressed lies in the belief that for many folks, whether in recovery or not, reach a stage of life where – from out of nowhere (seemingly) – is the question from the sky or wherever universal questions emanate from is “Is this all there is?”

Faced with our own mortality, we can wonder more about where will we go from here? Time takes on a new finite value that it didn’t have before, and all of a sudden, like a swift kick in the pants – that voice yells, if you’re going to do A, B & C – ya better get moving.

We are left to sort these questions out. For some this period is very difficult. There can be feelings of lonesomeness, regret, resentment, wonderment (where did the time go?), How did my body get like this? I thought I’d have MORE in my retirement accounts. This isn’t the life I expected I’d be living – and on.

Some may have previously referred to this as a midlife crisis. That could be true. But I’ve found that like with most things, it just represents that dreaded word – “Change”. Change in attitude and outlook that is necessary to alter ones course forward to bring it more in line to what we had in mind for ourselves or with how we’ll specifically approach the balance of life in our careers, interests, passion or relationships.

These are some of the most challenging times to navigate. But, fear not. We each have within us a compass or at least the comprehension of right and wrong. All we’re doing is reaching a point of assessment in questioning “has this path been right? or wrong?”

I’ve been spending time recently conversing with some coaching clients going through this transition. It’s been fascinating when comparing it to my own and realizing, we must all go through this in some measure. I’m interested in hearing about yours? Let me know! I’d love to interview to get insight into your transition.