The picture above is my standard social media profile picture. It’s a self portrait that I shot in August 2010. Why have I been using the same profile picture for over ten years? An excellent question, and one I have been asking myself recently.

I’m not a particularly vain person, so I don’t think it’s the obvious – signs of aging from the last decade. The conclusion I’ve come to is that is has to do with stagnation. I really don’t feel like I have made much creative progress over the last several years.

Back in 2010, I was laid-off from one position and had a brief window where I produced a lot of creative work before finding a new day job. While financially problematic, this time was the most creatively rewarding of my career. Since that time, I have continued to work in a creative field, but there is just something different about creative work done for yourself.

Over the next several years, my intention is to work my way back to a place of creative satisfaction, and maybe even independence from the dreaded day job. Through the posts on this site, I will take you along on my journey.

I will cover a variety of topics related to mid-life change, including: creativity, writing, building an audience, health, finances, etc.

I will also cover topics that specifically interest me, such as photography, alternative social media platforms, and open source software adoption.

If you find any of these topics to your liking, I would love it if you would follow along. If I’m lucky, it won’t be too long before I’ve overcome stagnation and I’m ready to shoot a brand new profile picture.

The post Existential Necessity: Mid-Life Change for a Gen X Professional appeared first on Jason Noffsinger.