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Men and women alike speak of feeling too narrow and restricted. They blame all sorts of things, but what the restrictions boil down to are the outgrowth of career and personal choices of the twenties. They may have been choices perfectly suited to that stage. But now the fit feels different. Some inner aspect that was left out is striving to be taken into account.
此时的男男女女都会提到感觉生活圈子狭窄而又受限。他们抱怨各种事物，但是一切局限都是自己二十几岁时的经历和选择造成的。也许那些选择非常适合当时那个阶段，但现在已经不合时宜了。以前曾经忽略的一些因素现在必须认真考虑了。
Important new choices must be made, and commitments altered or deepened. The work involves great change, turmoil, and often crisis-a simultaneous feeling of rock bottom and the urge to bust out.
要做出一些新的重要的选择，并且修正或者深化自己的责任。工作中会有很大的变化、骚动，甚至常常出现危机——那是一种沉入谷底的共鸣和情感爆发的冲动。
One common response is the tearing up of the life we spent most of our twenties putting together. It may mean striking out on a secondary road toward a new vision or converting a dream of "running for president" into a more realistic goal. The single person feels a push to find a partner. The woman who was previously content at home with children chafes to venture into the world. The childless couple reconsiders children. And almost everyone who is married, especially those married for seven years, feels a discontent.
一种常见的反应是彻底打破我们二十几岁时花费大量时间、精力构建的生活。这可能意味着重新开辟一条通往崭新梦想的支路，也可能意味着改变原来诸如“竞选总统”之类的梦想而去追求更加现实的目标。单身的人会想找一个伴侣。原来在家带孩子的女人会想到外面的世界一试锋芒。没有孩子的夫妻会重新考虑是不是该要个孩子。几乎所有结婚的人，尤其是有七年之痒的人，都会对生活现状感到不满。
If the discontent doesn't lead to a divorce, it will, or should, call for a serious review of the marriage and of each partner's aspirations in the Catch-30 condition. The gist of that condition was expressed by a 29-year-old associate with a Wall Street law firm:
如果这种不满没有导致离婚，那么夫妻双方就会，或者说应该，重新审视自己的婚姻，并设身处地地考虑一下对方在而立之年的种种期望。华尔街一家法律事务所的一位律师今年29岁，他这样总结自己的状况：
