During the so-called afternoon of life, we often shift our focus from what has been called the “résumé” qualities of our youth (what we do) to “eulogy” qualities (who we are), said Chip Conley, author of “Learning to Love Midlife.” But making that shift isn’t always automatic, so Conley suggested an exercise.

**List old identities that no longer

Recently we have been hearing of the “mid-life crisis.” Actually, this is but one of many “crises,” or critical stages of development, in life, as Erik Erikson taught us thirty years ago. (Erikson delineated eight crises; perhaps there are more.) What makes crises of these transition periods in the life cycle—that is, problematic and painful—is