Embrace the Journey

The exquisite opportunity available to us in the second half of life is less about reinvention and more of an invitation to become who we were always meant to be.

The first half of life is about accomplishment as measured by school and society.

Living from the outside in.

The second half of life is about meaning as measured by contribution and connection. 

Living from the inside out.

Slough off the dead skin of what schooling and making a living required. Reimagine what living the good life really means.

And remember, it’s easy to fall into the trap of always looking forward—seeking your becoming.¹

“We have a right to our labor, but not to the fruits of our labor.”—The Bhagavad Gita

But it’s in your being that you have the opportunity (and choice) to craft your journey of emergence.²

And to live more authentically (and effortlessly) into your life’s encore, don’t forget to look back, all the way back, to what you’ve been.

You were once fearlessly curious, stepping into possibility, and fueled by wonder and joy.

How else would you have learned to walk and talk or all the other impossible things you achieved without external instruction or validation?

Those efforts and acts were their own rewards, not their results or outcomes.

That is the beautiful invitation and opportunity in your life’s second act—letting go of attachments to old ideas of who you are and what you want.

Instead, reconnect with the awe and adventure of childhood as you employ the wisdom and experience earned through education and occupation to pursue the difference only you can make in the second half of life for its own sake.

Do the Work

Are you ready to live passionately and purposefully into the second half of life? 

How are you doing that today?

What are you going to stop doing?³

Take time to journal or discuss your work, and be sure to apply your takeaways.

This article is the republished eighth of nine lessons from my handbook, “The Art of Encore Living.” See the links in the footnotes to access additional chapters⁴ or to purchase the complete guide for $1 on Amazon,⁵ or access the entire course for free.⁶

¹ Becoming