The Second Curve of Midlife!

One of the most thought-provoking ideas I’ve come across recently comes from Arthur C. Brooks in ‘From Strength to Strength’. He writes about the shift from ‘fluid intelligence’ to ‘crystallised intelligence’ as we grow older.

Early in our careers, many of us are rewarded for speed, technical expertise, problem-solving, ambition, and being the person with the answers. It becomes part of how we measure our value. But over time, those qualities not only diminish – they matter less on their own. What starts to matter more is judgement, perspective, pattern recognition. The ability to develop others. To coach, mentor, connect ideas, and help people navigate complexity.

Brooks describes this as a ‘second curve’ - where our contribution becomes less about individual performance, and more about wisdom and stewardship.

“When you are young, you have raw smarts. When you are old, you have wisdom.”

I think a lot of people in midlife feel this shift before they can properly describe it. The work that once energised you may no longer feel enough, it doesn’t quite hit the spot anymore. The idea of success changes, you stop wanting to prove yourself all the time and start wanting your experience to be useful.

We’ve been led to believe that this is the decline of our careers, of our lives. But if we reframe this more positively, it’s actually evolution! And, I wonder if there more we can do - not only to value this shift, but to let others know that it is coming?

What if we could play to our strengths, and repurpose our professional lives to rely more on crystallised intelligence? To coach, to mentor, share wisdom, and give back to others.

I am curious whether you have felt this in your own career: Have your strengths - or your idea of success - changed over time?