Become What You Might Be

Midlife is a transition period. And it can be both rough and transformative.

For some, it’s a chance to turn the page on the past while becoming something more in line with who you realize you want to be. For others, it’s a rut that turns into a spiral of regret and bitterness.

As you might expect, a lot of this plays out in the context of work:

As we age, things often don’t turn out as nicely as we planned. We may not climb up the career ladder as quickly as we wished. Or we do, only to find that prestige and a high income are not as satisfying as we expected them to be.

The second sentence from that quotation is the most frustrating. You’ve achieved the success you desired, and yet you don’t feel as good about it as you thought you would.

Paradoxically, those who objectively have the least reason to complain often suffer most. They feel ungrateful and disappointed with themselves particularly because their discontent seems so unjustified — which creates a potentially vicious circle.

As long as we’re able to find our way through, though, things get better. Once we pass the age of 50, we see that what happened in the past is separate from who we are now. And more importantly, it has nothing to do with who we can become.

Just by being interested in the things we discuss here at Further, you’re unlikely to be the type who wallows in regret and dissatisfaction. But that doesn’t mean you might not need to try various approaches to become more like the vision you have for yourself.

This week, our own Trudi Roth has written up a Feature article that does double duty. She shares her unexpected midlife transition, while also revealing ways to make your own personal transformation happen.

Live Consciously to Become Who You Choose

It’s Your Move

It’s interesting to me that proponents of the Paleo diet think eating like our distant ancestors is the key to health. While there may be some truth there (at least when it comes to non-processed foods), it’s probably much more important to move like our distant ancestors.

Just Move: Scientist Author Debunks Myths About Exercise And Sleep (NPR)

New Year Persevere

If you’re the type to make resolutions at the beginning of the year, don’t beat yourself up if you’ve already failed — it’s incredibly common. But if you’re still going, or even if you’re simply picking back up, here’s how to get your mind right about your goals.

5 Psychological Tips for Sticking with Your New Year’s Goals (Positively Positive)

Everybody Hurts

Even if you’ve been spared illness, job loss, or the death of a loved one in the last year, you still likely feel off your game. That’s okay, and you’re not alone.

It’s Not Just You: Everyone’s Mental Health Is Suffering (Wired)

He Who Dies with the Most … Is Still Dead

“We have every evolutionary reason to want to keep score in life — passing on genes is a competitive business, after all. But there is no evidence that Mother Nature gives two hoots whether we are happy or not. And, in fact, this kind of scorekeeping is a happiness error for two reasons: It makes us dependent on external rewards, and it sets us up for dissatisfaction.”

Stop Keeping Score (The Atlantic)

There’s nothing from Trudi below, because she’s right here (just in case you didn’t click up top). But there’s always the Flashback, and this week I’m not even going to give you a hint. No peeking before scrolling.

Keep going-

Brian Clark

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