Discovering a sense of purpose for the second half of your life

I've been thinking more about midlife recently and how I want to spend the second half of my life. How about you?

As a 54-year-old female, I have a statistical life expectancy of another 29 years. Since I live a pretty healthy lifestyle and both my grandmas lived into their early 90s, I suspect I might even have another 40 years ahead of me.

Another 40 years! That's a long time. That's more than the years I have spent in adulthood so far.

I want to live the next few decades with meaning and purpose, rather than just letting the years flow by. But what is my purpose? What do I want?

To help me clarify that, I am currently in a seven-week group coaching program for women who want to uncover their purpose, recover their power, and discover their destiny at home, work, and the world. It's powerful stuff.

I've also been reading books about midlife. You might find them helpful, too. Remember that you're not alone on this journey.

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So, here are 3 books about midlife you might enjoy:

​"Learning to Love Midlife" by Chip Conley, 2024

Chip Conley is the co-founder and CEO of the Modern Elder Academy, which offers workshops to help people in midlife get unstuck. The book is full of uplifting midlife musings. It focuses on why life gets better as we age, including:

• we finally stop caring what people think of us and grow comfortable in our own skin
• we step off the career treadmill and redefine what a successful life looks like
• we do a "midlife edit" and let go of the emotional baggage, mindsets, and obligations that no longer serve us; and
• we begin to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves.

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​"From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life" by Arthur C. Brooks, 2022

This book is terrifying and uplifting at the same time. It is written for overachievers and success addicts who are trying to keep up with the younger generation. Arthur Brooks shows us it’s possible to build a life that really does get better with age by leveraging our crystallized intelligence which increases with age. Finally, something to look forward to!

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​"Epic! The Women's Power Play Book" by Carolyn Buck Luce, 2022

This book is written for women who have "played someone else's game - a masculine corporate game at which I was extremely adept but could never, never win." The author lays out a framework to determine our purpose and actions to create an epic life "by design, not default."

The coaching program I am participating in is led by the author of this book and is based on the framework laid out here.
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I leave you with this quote by David Bowie:

"I think aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been."

Go Ziggy Stardust!

Also, if you are into audiobooks, I recommend you listen to "Self-Care for the Wisdom Years: Practical Ways to Celebrate the Mystery and Wonder of Aging" by my friend Cheryl Richardson. I joined her in the recording studio during the pandemic as she recorded a section of this wonderful audiobook about self-care for the "wisdom years".

If you have other books/blogs/podcasts about midlife you have enjoyed, let me know.

Best,

Christine

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