Recently, while on vacation  in Snow Mass, Colorado , I met a woman who in honor of her fiftieth birthday did her first bungee jump.  There is something about turning fifty that brings all kinds of  feelings to the forefront.  She wanted to do something that took courage and  prove to herself that she was not old. The dichotomy of still being a  mother of three elementary school children and receiving her AARP invitation was a bit charring.

I don’t remember what I did on my fiftieth birthday but I do recall being very aware that from now on life was no longer limitless. I felt a renewed urgency to reevaluate my life.   I recall being offended when I got my AARP invitation and throwing it immediately into the trash.  I concluded that if I joined AARP that I was agreeing that I was old.  I was not about to join because  I did not feel old. Yet I did have to face the fact that whatever I was going to do with my life I better get started.

I also realized that there is real value in this life stage.  This is when our internal voice  begins to grapple with the reality that whatever we want to pursue the time to begin is now.  Gradually I made a commitment  to take better care of my body, initiated a move to a new community, and began new business ventures.  My journey had its share of setbacks and frustrations  along with the joy of growing  by expecting more of myself.

 AARP kept sending me information like clockwork and I finally was ready to join when I was around 64.  Now I felt ready because age did not matter so much to me anymore. In the meantime  I have come to accept  that what really matters is that I  pursue what is important  to me and live with gratitude.

Did you know that women start more new businesses in mid life than at any other time of life?  I had mentioned mid life in a recent article and received a tweet as to “what is midlife?”  I see mid life as being the time from the late forties into sixties and beyond.  It is a time when there is vibrancy and eagerness to make the second half of life be meaningful and financially successful.

I recently worked with two women who had been in their jobs for over 27 years where they had an opportunity to find out where their strengths were.  Although they did not know each other they were at a very similar place in life.  Their jobs were no longer challenging and they were eager to start their own businesses.  Others may not know what they want to do next but  trust that they will figure it out.

There are three beginning steps to consider when starting a new career.

1. What do you want to do? Most people start our with general dreams and hopes and need to take some  time to focus in on what they want to do.

2. Clarify your niche. Do some basic research to see what the competition is and if what you dream about is feasible.  I have worked with a number of people who started  out with one idea and as they looked further into it shifted  to something else that excited them more.

3. Assess your resources

This step will help you with the decision as to how you proceed. If you can devote full time to developing your business that is great.   Many people find that they have to keep their job for a while longer but they have renewed energy because their mind is actively engaged in developing their new venture.

In my next article I will write about the emotional side of introducing change into ones life.

The act of recharging ones life starts by openly assessing it and then taking action. By the second half of life, routines and habits are usually pretty well established. It is hard to look at ourselves objectively. Yet the answers as to what we need in order to feel content and happy are inside us. Look for my interactive teleclass “Recharge and Enjoy Your Second Half of LIfe” starting in September. The focus of the class will be on making an assessment as to where you see yourself and then initiating action steps which will propel you forward as you create the life you want. 

While in Montreal this past week I read an article about mice whose energy level has been increased by 40%. This was all due to a little pill that they swallowed which helped them eagerly run on the treadmill considerably longer than the control group did. Studies have not yet been done on humans and so we are left to increasing our energy in the old fashioned way: exercising regularly, eating right, having a positive attitude, and being consistent.

To me attitude and consistency are paramount. Energy comes from taking action. Are there things that you are putting up with that keep nagging at you? Think of the energy you are expending by tolerating things that might not take much time to complete. I recall a slippery rug in the hallway that annoyed me for several years. Once I decided to take care of it by buying a non slip carpet gripper I no longer had to think about it. There have been so many other things that have likewise drained my energy. By taking care of things that bother us we have more energy in order to pursue the things that really matter to us.

The action plan for today is to identify five things that you are putting up with and start taking care of them.

By the time we are in our second half of life we are used to doing things in a certain way.  Yet at the same time we may internally yearning to do new things and go after we have always wanted to do.  This is the time of life when there is an internal push to focus on self.  Our lives may be fine on  one level but not truly reflecting who we are and what we are capable of being on another level. 

Today I will focus on one way of creating energy in order to be able to recharge your life. It takes energy to begin anything new. The addition of regular exercise to your life is a fabulous way of creating new energy. A few years ago, when I admitted to myself that my life needed recharging, I joined a gym.  There was one close by and I gave myself the assignment to go three times a week.  Many mornings I did not feel like going. It was only after I made exercise a ritual which I did on a specific day at a specific time that it became a regular part of my life.

Most of us have busy lives and making time for exercise means that time has to be created for it. Look at your life and see if you can make a commitment to several regular time slots.  Unless exercise is on the schedule there is a great chance that your best intentions may not work. The most important factor in creating energy through exercise is your mindset.  What is your reason for taking care of your body?  If the reason is that you want to be healthy and have more energy to live fully you will find ways to create time to take care of yourself.  Anything new that we do in our best interest recharges our lives.

This blog is for people who are eager to take their lives forward and would like tools that will make this journey lighter and more fun. I believe that we all need to keep growing throughout our lives in order to feel happy and fulfilled.

It is in the second half of life that there is this universal inner yearning to make our lives reflect who we really are. By that time we are also usually set in ways that our lives have become rather predictable. My focus will be in supporting you as you recharge your life. I will guide you as you move out of your comfort zone by strengthening your emotional fitness.

On this blog you will also find out about classes that I will be leading on STRENGTHENING YOUR EMOTIONAL FITNESS and on STRENGTHENING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS. These classes will be presented via telephone and webinar and thus accessible to anyone. You will also be able to access and download articles. Visit frequently to see what is being offered.

Additionally, I am very interested in your comments and welcome finding out what your most pressing concerns are. Together we can enrich each others’ lives.