Whatever your circumstances, you need to figure out you.
By the time you reach your mid- to late 50s, it’s natural to ponder your next chapter. You can put it off for a while, then you come up against it.
What’s next?
Who will you be when today’s efforts are no longer needed? When your children prove to be fully grown, or work pressures ease. Or work can no longer be sustained at your current pace.
When there’s an end in sight, a corner, what’s next?
Yes, you want to be there for those close to you….your partner, your grandchildren, or ageing parents, if you have them. You want people you love in your life.
You may already have made adjustments. Those you’ve loved have gone, or are different, and you hold the grief, and your memories.
At this juncture, there starts to be rising of energy in you. There’s some decisions to make.
How do you want to spend your time and energy in the coming decades? Chances are that you want there to be something new and interesting there for you.
What do you want, next? It’s a big question, with many sub-questions. It really is a time of reinvention.
If you want to continue working, what changes would you like to make? Do you want to stay or leave a relationship that you’ve invested in up to now?
Do you have the kind of friendships that sustain you? Do you have a creative side you want to explore? Do you yearn for some adventure?
These questions can excite you and also make you anxious.
Will you have the funds? The health? The confidence? What will be right for you?
It’s a time for optimism because, despite some limitations, your life is far from over. The time for deeper fulfilment awaits, but where do you start? It can feel overwhelming.
If you are finding it easier to stick to familiar habits and routines than redesign your life, here’s one thing you can do.
Make a decision to get to know yourself all over again.
Put aside the old stories (yes, even the good ones!) and decide on an adventure.
Perhaps the greatest adventure of your life.
Your goal? To find out what will make you spring out of bed in five years. No one can tell you this.
Start with trying new things and meet new people.
What do you most enjoy doing? What stirs your heart? What makes you truly laugh? What gives you the greatest sense of fulfillment? The deepest peace? What resonates with you the most?
Forget the shoulds. Ask why not. Get to know yourself all over again.
It may take some time to identify the changes you want to make…so best make a start.