Ep20 Transcript: How to Find Fulfillment in Midlife

Andrea Vahl: Hey Dreamers, it’s your host, Andrea Vahl, and in today’s top takeaways episode, we’re going to dive into Bernie Borges’s interview and talk about how to find fulfillment in midlife.

Intro: Hello dreamers. Welcome to the Late Starters Club, giving you the inspiration, mindset, and tools you need to start something midlife and beyond. Remember, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

Andrea Vahl: One of the things that really struck me about the interview I did with Bernie Borges in episode 19 was his talk about the happiness U-Curve. And this has been a study around the globe. I’ve looked up a few references, dove into it a little bit, and there is a suggestion that there is a U-curve of happiness where we are at our most unhappiness and unfulfilled in our forties. And I know I definitely found that myself. There’s been lots of side studies on this, but I think what’s important is to recognize if this is true for you and to decide what you’re going to do about it.

I think I’m just going to stay home and eat Pringles.

For me, I dove into reading a lot of books and I’m going to give you a few books as references.

One of my favorites is Hidden Blessings, and there’s others in my resources section that can help with midlife fulfillment as well. But I wanted to talk about what we can do about finding fulfillment in midlife. And one of the things that Bernie said was to really just recognize that there are seasons, we have chapters in our lives, some are better, some aren’t as good, and we need to ride through those chapters or those seasons and learn from them.

I definitely found that was the case with myself in my forties. I was really struggling, doing a lot of different therapy, both in my marriage and personally, and I think I did learn a lot more about who I am, what my purpose is, and why I’m here on the planet.

Another thing that Bernie talked about and I think can really help with fulfillment is to keep creating in whatever way is meaningful to you.

This is also a theme I see with a lot of my guests so far. I know that Bernie has seen that as well, is that they are creating something that is meaningful to them. Maybe it’s art, maybe it’s something in their business. Maybe it is a bigger purpose that they have, that they are working on. As Seth Goden says, Life is too short not to do something that matters.

A third thing that I think can help with fulfillment is to commit to a goal that moves you out of your comfort zone. This is something I did in creating this podcast I always thought. I’m not sure if I want to have a podcast. I don’t know what I would talk about. And I finally decided that yes, I am going to do a podcast. And it’s been a little bit uncomfortable and a learning challenge, but it has been so rewarding and I am so excited for everything that’s coming out of this so far. That’s also something I did when I started standup comedy. I thought I’m never going to do standup. And there I was and I love it. So having that purpose and having that goal that you’re working towards can really make your life more fulfilling.

And if you want more inspirational stories, definitely go check out Bernie’s podcast, Midlife Fulfilled.

Outro: Hope that was helpful, and make sure you grab the free guide Top Tools for Late Starters on the website at latestartersclub.com and let’s turn dreaming into doing.