Midlife crisis needs a rebrand | Pash Pashkow | TEDxUCLA

What if facing your mortality was the best thing that ever happened to you? Pash shares the funny and touching ways his multiple "midlife crises" became opportunities to rebrand and redefine the phenomenon and start a new life-affirming conversation. Pash is a brand strategist / author / educator with 28.66 years of experience in the field of design. He is currently Vice President of Brand & Design at ABC. Before joining the network in 2010, his work spanned a wide variety of clients and industries. He designed the official logo for Miles Davis, brand extensions for Playboy, products for John Varvatos, retail product strategy for Motown Records, and advertising for Perrier.
Pash is a President Emeritus of AIGA Los Angeles and currently sits on their Advisory Board. He has taught in UCLA Extension's Design Communication Arts program since 2001 and frequently lectures to students and creative professionals around the country.
Pash lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jessica and his daughters, Mirabelle and Juliette. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@ormiecole]

Coincidentally, when I was 25, I had what I have always considered as my "midlife crisis". It was the worst time of my life. I was lost. I hated my life. I was quitting jobs left and right. Going in and out of school. Searching for a job here and there. Until one day a friend of mine, took me under his wings and offer me a job. He didn't give a good paying gig but he gave me mentorship. With him I had time to reflect. With him I got another chance to pause and rethink things through. It was almost 20 years ago. Now I am having the perfect life that I didn't know I am capable of living. You had no idea how much I appreciate those short period of time you took care me at Digital Soup. Well, seeing what you did up there talking about what you do best really gives me goosebumps. You are such a great mentor, Pash. I'm so proud of you. Thank you.

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

So many great points in so few words, outstanding.

[@curiosophy4241]

Wow! Such an inspiring testimonial.

[@antrant7533]

I'm very pleased to read this story. I'm 17 and have been suffering for 10 months now, but I'm positive that I will learn more about myself in the end!

[@kylenohren420]

You need the Holy Ghost

[@mariahc.crawley884]

That's the quarter life crisis

[@dannymartin5129]

This hit me at 48 once i recognized it was a need to repurpose myself. I got to work made new goals list and that empty feeling turned into pursuit!..

[@Brooklynaires2001]

Amazingly clear and concise. I have never considered this perspective and I now understand that a mid-life crisis is not what I have been led to believe. Thanks Pash.

[@cindybrown3298]

Well done Pash! Thanks for addressing this issue. I hope you can share this viewpoint with young and old alike, near and far. We've all experienced a crisis in life in one way or another, and not necessarily at the mid way point. It can happen at anytime, any age. The value of your message is important for all to hear. A crisis isn't necessarily a crisis but a time to GROW and LEARN. Bravo to you!

[@Mirrtamirrv]

I went through a "crisis" last year at 22. Now I'm 23 and I feel like a new person. The breakdown was the best thing to happen to me. Tho it was tough with a couple of suicide attempts, I am now stronger than ever.

[@sanziaenam]

I'm 18 n still battling depression n anxiety everyday trying to figure out if my future will be good or bad...I think always there's so much injustice in the world..I don't know how to connect to the positive thinkings n be optimistic.. it's like a cycle of never ending anxiety:(

[@Mirrtamirrv]

Sanzia Srima i suggest reading The Power of Now. It helped me immensely.

[@antrant7533]

Glad to read this and that you are okay! I'm 17 and have been struggling for months now, but I believe everything will be okay in the end!

[@kzeoli01]

@@sanziaenam hang in there. Sounds like simple advice, but I once felt as you did. I am now 40, and with lots of professional help and reflection on self, I really love life. xo

[@sunset33533]

The mindfulness book "30 Days to Overcome a Midlife Crisis" by Harper Daniels has been helpful. It's all in the mind.

[@SteveJordanAFA]

Love the alternative viewpoint on midlife crisis this speaker shares with us!

[@golfpark94]

I love the way this man talks, like he has been doing voice-over for all of his life. And the message was very clear aswell. Thank you!

[@futuristicperson3375]

You are a good brand strategist! Thanks for re-defining Midlife Crisis!!

[@reha1066]

AMAZING! This is all I needed to know! I think will be okay after my dip. Thank you very much Pash!

[@clevemallari]

Thank you so much for this! ❤

[@backdownthehill]

This is a great talk. This guy needs to do more of this

[@AbigailK]

*This is brilliant and I'm 100% on board with helping the rebrand of the midlife crisis! For me it's the MIDLIFE REINVENTION! That's far more empowering and this talk has sparked many ideas of how I can continue to help my clients do this! Thank you! *

[@markbrown8009]

A fresh and funny perspective on "life dips" presented in a thoughtful and loving way. Everyone, from millennials to boomers, should check this video out. I'd love to hear Pash talk on other issues; in fact, any issue he chooses!

[@candorkhan8083]

It's not a crisis, it's a wave of life

[@Zayney]

This was so helpful. Excellent Talk.

[@bonelesspizza5409]

Why am I watching this I’m still young

[@aleezajahan5703]

boneless pizza faccx

[@dicksonm1254]

preparing for it 😂

[@dev1lm4n63]

@@dicksonm1254 same here, I don't wanna have any regrets

[@LadieBjj]

I have a cousin who’s 43. Since I have known her, she liked to play soccer, motorcycle, tattoos and she looves to dance! She has never changed. When I hear the younger crowd who doesn’t know her all her life like I do telling her that she suffers from mid life crises, I find it ridiculous. I know that everything she does is who she always have been. There is no mid life crises. She is just young at heart. I can see her doing all this at 80. 😂

[@robjones6741]

Great video. Totally spot on.

[@Nowyouscantleave]

That was great! Spot on on how im feeling right now.

[@mikebrees6236]

That’s really amazing..

[@mannuanu]

Mind-blowing speech..

[@josephjingsun7400]

True my middle age crisis was typically a death related fear and anxiety. Every middle night I woke up at the that time, I kept thinking of the died father, and the future death of my mother, and then my death in some future too, then looking to my wife well sleeping besides me, and thinking of the cutiest son sleeping in the next room...all the ones deeply loved. I just can't help to be trapped in the melancholy...

[@mikeharris468]

This was GOOD!!!!

[@anonymous1432341]

This TED talk is something a guy going through midlife crisis would do :) Joking aside, this is really a great way to look into this subject.

[@hienminh8960]

Thanks

[@beshoy24]

Nicely said!

[@ta_pritchard]

I embrace the term, and this is the idea behind the rebrand of my podcast and channel, and i did all this before seeing this video

[@kimstrandberg9529]

A midlife awakening! I like it ❤

[@araisininthesun5958]

What do you do in the middle of that dip/ wave, in order to make it over the hump safely?

[@Room237REDRUM]

I love the gal at 9:41 who GETS IT. The look in her eyes and connection to Pash's wise words is the sync: REFLECTION. Inner dialogue provides all the answers we are seeking, but the challenge resides in whether or not we can "ride the waves" with strength and resiliency. One day (or wave) at a time :)

[@ddgg5481]

I put my phone down and I clapped as hardest I could!! Wow..

[@Yu-rj7sc]

I think my dad is now having his tough midlife crisis, but I don’t know what I can do or help him as his daughter... hope there will be more study and proper helps to save people like my dad.

[@pinkkitty3636]

The exact same scenario is occurring to me!

[@Shadow77999]

Well what a nice daughter

[@karlbyrne1111]

How's your Dad now 💞💞

[@MidlifeCredo]

Way to flip this term on its head. Looking for that midlife positivity!

[@sunset33533]

The mindfulness book "30 Days to Overcome a Midlife Crisis" by Harper Daniels has been helpful. It's all in the mind.

[@shihabmohammed5852]

Looking at the audience, I just miss the precovid days so much!!

[@alphapressurewashing]

I wish people would stop with the trope of men buying a sports car and dating a younger woman. It's old, boring, and demeaning to what is really going on in men at midlife.

[@lmb4876]

Nope...stereotypes ( often) are true..to an extent.

[@c.stevenkane6461]

From what I've seen, everything that I was ever told about men in america has been false. But it's all so pervasive, that we don't even try to object to any of it anymore even if it is often highly counterproductive.

[@gtavtheavengergunnerlegend3340]

explain

[@kyleolson9636]

It would be nice. I hardly noticed the signs of midlife crisis in myself because it didn't manifest as a desire to leave my family, cheat on my wife, or buy expensive toys. It was/is closer to a mild depression. I'm glad I was willing to see a therapist so she could help me see the root causes of my feelings instead of ignoring them or taking depression meds (not that there is anything wrong with meds for those who need them).

[@swf4841]

What a pro.

[@antrant7533]

I'm 17 and going through a midlife crisis; it's definitely a positive thing.

[@fakename5400]

Same😭

[@antrant7533]

@@fakename5400 Wishing you the best!

[@micheleturner8549]

Totally

[@user-gj5yy6rk2q]

im 22 i feel like im losing my youth to this lockdown and its making me crazy.

[@carpo719]

It will pass

[@bdeeganrams5474]

Just 15 more days to slow the spread!

[@gaborfentosi9968]

I am 42 and i feel I lost it

[@justimagine2403]

Like the Moody Blues song with the poem at the end... look back and lament... Senior citizens... wish they were young. I wish I was 22 again.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

You never lose your youth, unless you choose to. I went to more clubs, more festivals, more parties......did more drugs, got laid more, and had way more fun in my 30’s, then I ever did in my 20’s. I was always studying or working in my 20’s......and had no money. Most people who finally have some money, forget that they can still have fun. ALWAYS have something planned, that you look forward to. Its a must.

[@jasjuaquin140]

Wow people worry that much

[@kumar5558]

I’m having an early 20s crisis

[@morganlake41632]

You've heard it said: I"ts not about how long you live - its about how well you live." I say: "I dont want to live forever, I just want to live while i'm alive." - JBJ It's not about how long you live, Its about living an authentic life, your life, not the life others dreamed of having, or the life others wanted you to live. (Didnt know I was living one of my father's unlived lives until he told me when I was 50) Its about becoming who you truly are, (not living the life of your persona) through enacting your destiny, making the unconscious conscious: dredging the depths of the ocean beneath the sea, and building that causeway with the benthos -and put all those treasures into a mythopoetic epic drama. And make your adolescent dreams a concrete reality. Love somebody with all 4 rooms of your heart. Say thank you to a life long friend at the finale. Kiss her good-bye with an "You know how much I love you." Did I leave anything out? ?

[@hollycarso8867]

Yeah, I just lost my husband to a 25 year old and we had a great life I think it’s a crisis. Pretty much destroyed our family

[@venkata.krishnan]

None of us come together or go together, when I lost my father and ranting to my friend, he silently listened and he said he lost his father at 6... looking at people affected more than us and developing gratitude for what we are left with or have helps immensely

[@sagejunkie7089]

🧡

[@TheLexiconMind]

So true that people perceive midlife crisis incorrectly. I suppose some people react to a midlife crisis by behaving immaturely let's call it but that was not my experience. My experience that I am in right now at the age of 45 is the death of immaturity, the realization of my own mortality, and the realization of the fact that I could have done things so much better in my life therefore feeling a lot of regret. That is a midlife crisis. There are times where my mind spirals into the idea of death and the fear becomes so real and so frightening. These days I live with a sense of spookiness, a kind of morbid fear, It's really bad. I hate it. I hope to God it leads to something better but it sucks.

[@thigmotrope]

This was good. While lay people may not, it seems clear that psychologists and therapists take it seriously. There is a large body of work on the topic. I've found the Jungian approaches useful.

[@gitbuh12345qwerty]

Let's rebrand it the Dorkus Malorkus stage of growth and development.

[@MidlifeCredo]

I’m reworking my midlife. It’s a process!

[@U.S.President]

My midlife crisis is every time i see my 401K balance.

[@melm1932]

Wonder what others think of those who relocate during this phase. Except for the lack of support system in the new place, I'm liking it but because I have no name for myself or connections, I cannot seem to get hired. I'm gonna try highlighting my uniqueness of midlife amongst young employers next interview.

[@samshuijzen]

Good to play together with aphex twin

[@chrisklugh]

Great Talk, but the audio is bad. Probably why its not getting the views.

[@rellielorenzo6084]

This guy is a genius

[@LabRat6619]

Today's kids won't have enough money to enjoy a midlife crisis

[@jr5389]

Yip just going through one now, 4 yeas in..........first one ever.....thats because my brain has just switched on very late in life (@54) due to childhood trauma. My brain Switches back and forth from doom and gloom to euphoria + this is great I can see now, before I was blind. I could explain to people but unfortunately it’s invisible to them, unless there brain has switched On. 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤪

[@somewhereoverit711]

The Spanish Flu is the Heckler, Kansas Flu

[@anneshan34]

Hi , Tedx its anneshan34 😊 awesome video 😎

[@dsc1970]

Thanks bro, turning 50 soon..

[@juliettepashkow6254]

this is my dad lmao

[@MrFromminsk]

I am 39 and depressed for no good reason :/. I have a wonderful family, loving wife, two beautiful daughters, a house, good paying job in a big company, but I feel unhappy and burned out. I feel tired in the morning after getting 10 hrs of sleep and need 3 cups of coffee to get out of bed. I started procrastinating instead of spending more time with my family and work, I don't know what to do next in life... The life gets kind of "boring", same routine day in and day out. Am I going through midlife crisis?

[@richarduk8156]

So sorry to hear this .i heard it said depression is your souls way of saying “I don’t want to be this person anymore. “ Perhaps you can free some of the perceived traps you feel. I wish you all the very best for a bright future.

[@slyfox1974]

More like a burn out, which has similar symptoms as depression and midlife crisis

[@armandozarate]

ok...just found out I´m screwed! :D

[@pat2398]

My husband is 46, he’s getting crazy and hurting me so much

[@mikebrees6236]

I can understand. Hope you’re okay..

[@MYKEYCARD]

KZbin fork in the road with sheree Clark SHEREE. TMCC IS THE MIDLIFE COURAGE COACH

[@MYKEYCARD]

KZbin fork in the road with sheree Clark SHEREE TMCC IS THE MIDLIFE COURAGE COACH

[@aaronacosta6425]

Bro this dude's voice is a mix of pharmaceutical commercial voice and a v sauce channel. Hey v sauce here, did you know people die?

[@TotalRookie_LV]

He is in his 40s?! I mean, he is my age, yet looks like belonging to the generation of our parents. And I'm from Eastern Europe with it's pretty turbulent recent history, like building barricades against Soviet troops in 1991, poverty and other stuff, which wasn't exactly a very sheltered and comfy life until recent times

[@CDoggC]

Year of Birth- Year of Midlife :)))))) Year of death🥳

[@Soulmadness]

Im 18, what am I doing here?

[@sanziaenam]

Me toooooo😁😁😁😁😁

[@ciarabelotte7609]

I’m just 14💔

[@beautifulpotato6906]

French fries are Belgian!😯

[@sallylemon5835]

I knew a female approaching her 50s talking like young college girls "I know he's into me, but he's still in his 20s. I would like someone with a bit more maturity like someone in his 30s".

[@oson3061]

and here I am at 27, waiting for change - what coincidence XD

[@sss58483]

I am 39 years old, I spent my 20's and early 30's in a regular way, actually it was pretty boring, going to college then get back to do my homeworks, hanging out with naive friends, watching 90's Hollywood movies, that's it... now in 2020 I figured out that I didn't live my life as I supposed to live I didn't enjoyed it enough,,, I started feeling that years are running out rapidly, my hair started graying,, I started worrying about diabetes and blood pressure.. when I see these days young people I really wish I could do just like what they are doing.. hanging out with beautiful girls, drinking crazily, loving girl after girl,, traveling around the world. Please folks, how can I deal with this feelings?

[@TheLexiconMind]

Why did the word crisis have to be used? I don't know if you have experienced a midlife crisis if you don't know the answer to that question. As I said in my other comment I am in the middle of a midlife crisis and every bit of the definition of crisis fits. What can be more traumatic than realizing truly realizing your own mortality for the first time?

[@charleshurstreinvention3959]

My topic for my own subscribers this week. So maybe you're at midlife, maybe younger or even mid twenties and you feel you didn't get what you wanted. You look at someone like Stephen King and suddenly you feel poorly about yourself. Don't. Two mindsets to take here. First, most people don't get everything they wanted--they may get a lot, but not everything. Most talented actors or other artists won't make the big screen. But you evaluate what you did get. Maybe family, maybe you did get to that suburb or maybe your job is getting to help people. But maybe that didn't get you to the Bill Gates level. So what? Everyone has there own path to walk. And guess what, Bill Gates and King didn't get everything either. Stephen King has trouble walking because he got run down by a truck decades ago. See? Second point. There is still time. There are many things I can't do now due to age. Can't join the Marines or become an FBI agent. Can't try again at pro thai kickboxing. But I can travel. I can hike. I can see the world. I can keep writing books and keep plugging that vlog. What is left greatly outnumbers what I didn't get and now can't get. That is the take home point--at thirty, at eighty. Hope this helps someone out there---Charles.

[@aaronacosta6425]

Yo how can he say it's not about our environment when our biology came from the environment. We create our environment and our biology is part of that environment.

[@cohenfromdiscord2551]

25, lol the pandemic is finally winding down and sorta getting use to being closer to 30 than to 20

[@alexgunawan98]

I am 40s, I got 20 years left. so what sup life.....

[@venus.rebel77]

At 40+ I went through a tough time and after a while I found my remedy. I always wrote songs but I decided to go public with them. I turn my life into songs and I also wrote one called "Sounds Like Life" dealing with midlife "crisis" or "consciousness". Check it out on my channel if you want.

[@StarbaseTx]

I don't think he is describing a classic "midlife crisis". Perhaps he or I am misunderstanding what a midlife crisis is?

[@paulramasco6769]

"Killer whales are one of the most gentle creatures" Sir, let me introduce you to 2023

[@drkarenbukharibukhari9931]

Mybelatedfatherfhewasafantasticdad

[@GoblinsAreAGirlsBestFriend]

Actually I disagree with your entire setup - I don't think those two things are different. I think a sudden dissatisfaction with your life can lead you to make out-of-character and radical decisions that you probably end up regretting.

[@daithiscreations1955]

Terrible sound off the mic

[@Shadow77999]

Id like to see him going for a swim with a group of wild killer whales

[@free2beme20071]

Oh wait, he doesn’t have a background in psychology and doesn’t present extensive macro data on men between 30 and 50 in terms of lifestyle choice, mental diseases and/or therapy. Probably does need to be rebranded but I am hesitant to listen to a professional brand architect about something remotely related to emotional health and needs.

[@JonGreen91]

But… Aren’t killer whales giant bullies? Do they really need a re-branding?

[@sekittojoseph8341]

13 year old midlife crisis XD.

[@TheRealChiliblossom]

Save the whales! :)

[@audingasprindyte7097]

You are a great brand strategist, but midlife crisis is not a brand and this issues should be left for psychology majors. :)

[@media_dept]

I admire his energy and delivery but... Another vacuous TED talk. 🙄

[@matildapatterson1034]

Message is fine but his research is sooo inaccurate.

[@hannawatts8368]

Yikes this was so so bad. His flippant attitude about a very real issue that is destroying families.

[@thomasbrock1420]

This is the worst Tedx I've ever heard. When you put animals in the talk with a midlife crisis and studys.......wow

[@i___________i8472]

Thomas Brock Boi u isa stoupud

[@MYKEYCARD]

KZbin fork in the road with sheree Clark SHEREE TMCC IS THE MIDLIFE COURAGE COACH