Turn Midlife Crisis into Midlife Victory
If I were to ask an audience to finish a sentence that starts with the word “midlife,” most would add the word “crisis.”
This is a cultural and collective blind spot and why so many of us underperform during the most productive, fulfilling, and high-impact season of our lives.
This season of recalibration can start as early as our late thirties and last until our mid-sixties. Mine started almost precisely at age forty, and it was a transformative experience leading up to the best decade yet.
I’ll come back to it, but first - an opportunity.
I’m hosting a free webinar on January 26th at 12 PM CST:
Faith-Fueled Success: Navigating Career and Calling with Confidence
I find that many, if not most, separate faith from career and miss out on having our professional lives fueled by our faith. I invited some remarkable special guests, and we’ll have time for Q&A.
Things start happening when you reach the season of midlife, which can be confusing and a bit scary.
Stress and anxiety became the new normal.
Work, responsibilities, money, spouse, kids, aging parents, unresolved trauma - all of it piles up. You either settle for the new and unhappy normal or learn the skills to thrive and create a different future.
Expectations - Reality = Disappointment.
It means it’s time to reevaluate both. What was important before becomes less critical going forward. Meaning is a core human need. It may be time to reevaluate your priorities and rearrange your work and life accordingly. If done right, both expectations and reality can be adjusted up, not down.
Your body starts showing signs of aging.
If you could get away with not taking fitness and nutrition seriously in your twenties and early thirties, it’s now time to honor and respect your body.
Professional success comes at the expense of your joy and fulfillment.
You are not your job. It’s time to invest in your inner game to overflow into your outer game.
The pressures and responsibilities of life have left you feeling isolated from others.
Show me your closest friends, and I’ll show you your future. It’s time to find a tribe of people who “get you” and call you higher.
I have personally experienced all of the above. Many of my clients in Xponential are making the changes needed to thrive in life because they refuse to settle for the cliche and become a statistic. My life post-40s has been exponentially more fulfilling than pre-40s.
In the latest episode of the Headspace podcast, I had the honor to speak with Chip Conley, author of Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age, which drops on January 15, 2024, and is available to preorder now.
Chip is a remarkable human being, an early contributor to the massive success of Airbnb, and the founder of the Modern Elder Academy. Watch the episode below.
If you're reading this post, it probably means you are in the midlife season and have many friends navigating this fun season. I highly recommend that you forward this post to all of them.
What I’m watching: Ferrari - out in theaters now. I’m so glad the makers of this film didn’t just focus on the engineering and the adrenaline of the cars but also beautifully described the life of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the iconic car. We find him in the midlife season, dealing with pretty much what I describe in this post. The film is a masterpiece. Immersive, well-paced, and powerful.
What I’m reading: After you read Chip Conley’s new book, read another inspiring book about midlife - Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks. I’ve re-read it several times, and the insights have helped shape my professional life.