The polls prove it, many French people want to change their lives. Changing jobs, moving or going around the world are desires that tickle them. But are they ready to go for all that? Are there better times for change or triggering events? Answers.

That the one or the one who never wanted to leave everything to change his life, raise his finger? It has already gone through everyone’s mind, especially when it comes time to return to work after an exceptional summer vacation. A small moment of blues which, most of the time, fades after a few days because life resumes its course. But it seems that this desire to send everything off for a new life is a hidden dream for the vast majority of French people.

Thus, a survey carried out by the YouGov polling institute in 2018 revealed that 78% of French people dream of changing their life, or almost 8 out of 10! And this concerns all ages and all socio-professional categories. Change your life yes, but how? Among those questioned, 59% of them would like to move. Moving elsewhere would be one more way for them to flourish. For 46% of respondents, changing jobs would improve their lives.

A second study, carried out by Ipsos for M6 in May 2018, confirms this trend: the survey results indicate that 66% of French people want to change their life. For 68% of them, a move abroad is considered. And 63% of those questioned would even be ready to live in the middle of nature. Finally, 59% of survey participants would see themselves changing jobs. 

The desire for a change of life arises from dissatisfaction, whether professional, romantic, family or even social. By seeking to change his life, the individual actually wishes to find himself and finally meet his needs which he judges that they are not satisfied in his current life. This desire to live differently generally occurs in the middle of life, when we are tired of doing what others expect of us to the detriment of what we would like to do deep down. It is therefore an internal quest: to reconnect with yourself by doing everything to do something other than what you have always done. 

The desire to change your life often remains a fantasy because the fear of the unknown prevents us from taking the plunge. But certain events can trigger a click …

Love breakup

The breakup signifies the end of a story but it is also the opportunity to start another. Beyond the suffering it can generate, the break is often experienced as a moment when we finally find ourselves with ourselves. We then take stock of this completed story but also of his life. Breaking up is a form of failure and forces one to question: “Have I made bad choices in my life? ”,“ What is important to me today? ”,“ What do I need to feel good? ”,“ What are my plans for ‘to come up ?”. Questions that we do not ask or that we do not want to ask until a difficult event puts us in front of a fait accompli.

The existential crisis

It is also called a “mid-life crisis” because it usually manifests between the ages of 40 and 50. The change of life is one of the “symptoms” of the existential crisis. It is also experienced as something brutal by those around the individual in the midst of a crisis, because it is the opposite of everything he had undertaken before. But just like the rupture, the existential crisis imposes an introspection which opens our eyes on what we really want in our life and therefore on all our desires repressed for too long.

Le burn-out

Burnout is characterized, among other things, by emotional exhaustion, cynicism about work, withdrawal into oneself and a feeling of worthlessness caused by intense stress at work. Resting is essential to get out of it. A break that can sometimes bring out beautiful things. Indeed, if burnout causes great suffering in the people who undergo it, it can also be seen as a great opportunity to bounce back. The testimonies of people who have decided to change their life after a burnout are flowing on the Internet. This is the case of Ariane, a former stylist, who tells her story in an interview with the site Les Déviations, a platform entirely devoted to the testimonies of people who have changed their lives. After realizing the “emptiness of his life”And a year of reflection, the young woman launches into reading books of personal development to which she however did not pay attention before and starts to write a book on the history, which is her passion. She is now a historical journalist at France Télévisions.

The climate emergency

The desire to change your life comes, in most cases, from within. But today, global warming is an external factor that makes more and more people want to review their lifestyle. To limit this warming, changes in our way of life are necessary. Just like the testimonies of rebirth after a burn-out, the testimonies of people who have decided to live differently (consume less, remove all packaging, eat organic, campaign for the environment, etc.) to protect our planet are multiplying on the planet. Cloth. The eco-anxiety generated by the climate emergency is in this sense a trigger for change.