What Do You Want from Work in the Second Half of Life?

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Many of us in healthcare reach a point where we feel stuck. There are parts of our jobs we love, but the day-to-day grind and the bureaucracy can weigh us down. It’s easy to feel like we’ve lost the passion or purpose that once drove us.

The truth is that over time our values shift, so we need to make decisions that align with the life we want now, not the one we thought we wanted at the start of our careers.

It starts with reassessing our core values, exploring how they fit into our work and life, identifying the skills we’ve developed – like communication, leadership, and problem-solving – and imagining how they might apply to other areas beyond our current job.

Staying within a role that drains you leaves little energy for the things and people that truly matter. Over time, this can lead to deeper dissatisfaction and even despair.

But this conversation with Dr Mark Shrime offers some practical first steps to help you make the most out of the second half of our life, based on what you truly value.

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More episodes of You Are Not a Frog:

What’s So Important About Purpose? – Episode 240, with Dr Mark Shrime
How to Take a Good Long Look at Your Career – Episode 250, with Dr Lois Brand
Crafting a Career That Works – Episode 238, with Dr Sarah Goulding

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About the guests

Mark is an author, speaker, global surgeon, and the creator of Solving for Why, a book and programme that helps medical professionals find their next career path.

Follow Dr Mark Shrime

Reasons to listen

To explore how values and priorities shift in the second half of life, and their impact on career decisions
For practical frameworks on making big life and career decisions amid uncertainty
To understand the relationship between identity, purpose, and burnout – and how to navigate these challenges

Episode highlights

00:08:01

When it feels like management is the only career path

00:09:40

The “shame” of moving to a non-clinical role

00:17:06

The psychosocial development life cycle

00:22:29

Leadership is undervalued

00:26:09

What if you make the wrong decision?

00:29:53

Mark’s technique for helping navigate career decisions

00:34:35

When you put all your meaning into your work

00:36:13

What you’re good at vs what you get paid for

00:40:24

Mark’s three top tips

Episode transcript

[00:00:00] Rachel: When you think about your career now, is it any different to the one that you imagined when you first started out, or have you started to feel stuck and maybe even bored? And more importantly, is your identity so wrapped up in what you do that it feels uncomfortable even asking yourself those questions? [00:00:18] Rachel: What we want from the second half of our working lives is often very different from what we wanted when we started out. And for me, that’s nearly 27 years ago. When we are younger, we tend to crave recognition and…