Reimagining Midlife Wellness, Part IX - The Plan
This is the final installment of a multi-part series on Reimagining Midlife Wellness, focusing on the importance of strengthening our vitality as we get older, especially in times of transition. These articles will provide a framework to help you define what matters most to you at this stage of your life and ways to continue to take positive action to be well.
In Part IX of the series, we’ll put it all together and I’ll share how I utilized The Athena Principles and related practices we reviewed in these articles to create a wellness plan for 2024.
In the last post, I shared how I worked through these articles alongside you to reimagine my own midlife wellness. I outlined my strategic takeaways from the process and promised to share a more detailed plan for the year ahead. But what unfolded in my thinking surprised me.
I’m sharing this process because I think the transparency is important – even those of us who are considered wellness experts are impacted by life’s transitions and have to be mindful to keep our well-being top of mind. And I’m still wrestling with the question I posed to you and have been holding myself: “What does well-being look like for you in your next chapter?”
I mentioned in the last article that part of my updated strategy is to be less exacting in my approach because I’m no longer training for endurance events like ultra-marathons, yet I want to continue to stay strong, flexible and healthy. I’m trying to find ways to enjoy what I do from a body, mind and spirit perspective. And I got a taste of that recently. Here’s what happened.
I decided to go on a trail run early on a Sunday morning. It was a gorgeous day and the trails were pretty empty. My body felt strong so I decided on a five mile route. I had one earbud in and put on a playlist I hadn’t heard in quite some time. I got lost in the music and the movement and the scenery, and before I knew it my run had concluded. I felt like I was part of the beautiful sanctuary that surrounded me, and I left the reserve feeling exhilarated.
I drove home thinking, “This is the way I want my wellness practices to feel. In fact, this is how I want my life to feel – uplifting, wild-hearted, connecting, inspirational, enlivening.”
I have to tell you, that is not the way I’ve approached wellness, or my life, in the past. It was about doing the best I could, pushing myself, competing with my past results, making detailed plans, tracking the metrics, and improving so I could do better next time. I conducted my corporate life in the same manner by always trying to up my game to be the best I could be. It worked – for that time in my life.
But it feels like I’m shifting to a very different way of being in my personal life and now as a business owner. I have to remind myself sometimes that I get to make my own rules now. And I’m free to do things in a completely different way. I feel that’s what I’m being called to do.
It’s been said that you teach what you need to learn. The irony is not lost on me that the signature course I teach is entitled, From Type A to Type Be. During that course, I guide high-powered executives on how to downshift when they’re ready to leave their corporate careers and explore what’s next.
Downshifting is a choice to simplify and let go. It’s about examining your habits and determining how to live a simpler lifestyle. That’s what I seem to be craving right now. It’s not about working less, it’s about focusing on the things in my work life that put me in a flow state. It’s about finding joy in the everyday home and work responsibilities and tasks and eliminating the noise and friction. It’s about relishing what poet David Whyte calls “well-peopled solitude.” It’s about enjoying the quiet, contemplation, and presence of being in a flowing, yet disciplined, life.
With that in mind, here's how I’m using The Athena Principles and the related practices to shape my wellness and business plans for 2024:
Principle 1 – Self-Compassion: I’m giving myself permission to redefine what it means to put forth my best effort.
Principle 2 – Intention: My overall intention is to create space by assessing my attachment to things and ways of being, especially overscheduling and overcommitting.
Principle 3 – Consistency: I’m going to routinely say no to what doesn’t fit into that vision and practice being in the open space.
Principle 4 – Growth Mindset: To stay positive, I’m going to observe how I’ve been utilizing things like busyness, distraction and technology to sooth and make positive substitutions.
Principle 5 – Accountability: I’m going to schedule time to dive deep into activities that keep me well, such as writing, reading, learning, exercising, eating well, being in nature, hiking, meditating, and deep conversation.
And now the practices I’m committing to for 2024:
Contemplation: This summer I began a practice that I love. As soon as I get up in the morning, I step outside to greet the day. I do some deep breathing to activate all my senses, and then I do a little gratitude practice. It takes about five minutes. Then I sit on my meditation cushion, set my timer for 10 minutes and just experience the quiet. It’s a beautiful way to ground myself and set the tone for the day. I will continue with this daily practice, however, I will take it indoors during the winter months.
Journaling: I want to go deeper with my writing and expand the boundaries of my practice by exploring and incorporating other media into my journals.
Positive action: I will commit to the positive actions I outlined as part of the Accountability Principle I shared prior related to writing, reading, learning, exercising, eating well, being in nature, hiking, meditating, and deep conversation.
Holding a question: This practice will be split between the deeper writing I’m doing, which is always question based, and the walking/hiking I love to do where I walk with a question in nature.
As we wrap up this series, I’ll summarize my plan this way. I’m utilizing The Athena Principles and related practices to reduce complexity in my life while encouraging growth and a deepening relationship with myself and the world around me. This means committing to living in alignment with my own personal rhythms and the changing seasons of the world and my life.
I’ll be exploring these practices and ways of living as a way to ready myself for a milestone birthday – in a few months, I’ll be celebrating my 60th birthday. I’m welcoming my new decade wholeheartedly, filled with all the things I want to experience: love, vitality, creativity, exploration and abundance, with a good dose of fun and adventure.
I hope this has inspired you to reimagine your midlife wellness. Remember that you can download the free Athena Principles overview that I used for this episode at athenawellness.com/actionplan to help you chart your unique path.
If you have any questions or comments about this series, please do reach out by email at hello@athenawellness.com. I’ll be sure to receive it.
Sending you my warmest wishes for the new year. May 2024 be a year that’s brimming with vitality and wholeheartedness so you can do the things that light you up with the people you love!
Journal Reflections: How might you incorporate The Athena Principles into your 2024 life plans? What practices will you incorporate? How can you embrace the new year as an opportunity to invite wholeheartedness?
Notes:
You can download The Athena Principles overview @ athenawellness.com/actionplan to help you chart your unique path.
If you prefer, you can listen to this article here: Episode 222