☕️ the main thing
I won’t bury the lede.
Midlife Cues is getting a new name! »»» We’re All Getting Older.
I wanted to let you know about it so that when you get the newsletter edition next week, you won’t be like, “Who dis?”
Also, I wanted to share the thinking behind the name change. Because, you know, it’s important. 😉
1. We’re All Getting Older (WAGO) is a reminder.
I know this statement may be off-putting to some people... particularly those who don’t like going anywhere near the word ‘old’ or those who avoid reminders that the years are adding up.
You know what, though? That’s precisely why I’m going there. Not because I want to turn people off. (I secretly want everybody to like me, shhh.)
But no matter how much we — which is to say, I — want to resist it, the fact of the matter is: We. Are. All. Getting. Older.
So this change of name is as much a statement of fact as it is a loving reminder to us (i.e., me).
2. WAGO is a choice.
My friend and MC reader, Yvonne Marchese, featured this quotation in her recently published book.
“It’s not how old you are, it’s how you are old.” — Jules Renard
It’s how we choose to live the second half of our lives that makes all the difference. So, yes, we are all getting older. What follows that statement, though? That’s entirely up to us, our own individual designs.
Which leads me to…
3. WAGO is about getting better while getting older.
There’s something I’m fond of saying: There are no midlife police. “You do you” has, and always will be, a great principle to live by, no matter our age.
So, trust me when I say you’ll find me with your cheering squad, waving my pom-poms, whatever and however you choose to get older, as long as you’re actively choosing your path.
BUT... I think it’s fair to say that there are some things that can make the experience easier, less frustrating, more joyful, less curmudgeon-y, more fulfilling, less empty.
Those are what I like to explore and what this newsletter will continue to be about. The newsletter may be getting a new moniker, but it’ll still be on themes: personal growth, intentional living, and getting better as we get older.
4. WAGO is a wake-up call.
Confucius once said:
“We have two lives. The second one begins when we realize we only have one.”
My friend, let the alarm clock go off. Let this be the time to seriously start living that second life Confucious was talking about. The bottom chamber of the hourglass is getting fuller by the minute. Let’s not waste what Mary Oliver reminds us is our “one wild and precious life”, doing things that won’t matter at the end of the day.
And for anyone who needs a reminder of what truly matters at the end of the day, this conversation I had with Dr. Kathy Zhang, a physician who specializes in palliative and hospice care, hits the nail on the head.
You know that feeling when what you’re doing is perfectly aligned with your goals and intentions? More than anything, I’m excited about this name change. It’s added an extra pep in my step.
I’m so thankful you are here to share it with me.
🔗 pairings
“Aging gracefully entails walking a tightrope between a youth-obsessed society, which tells us that our value declines as we age. […] Rather than continue to walk this exhausting tightrope, we can move beyond this damaging (and frankly misogynistic) mindset to actually enjoy and celebrate getting older.” Forget aging gracefully. Here’s how to age joyfully.
Paul Graham (computer scientist and co-founder of Y Combinator) is one of my favorite essayists. My guilty pleasure is getting lost in his essays on various topics. This is one of my favorites. “Having kids showed me how to convert a continuous quantity, time, into discrete quantities. You only get 52 weekends with your 2-year-old. If Christmas-as-magic lasts from, say, ages 3 to 10, you only get to watch your child experience it 8 times.” Life Is Short.
“Becoming less relevant or appearing to be past your before date, isn’t something that happens in an instant or on a specific birthday. It’s a slow slide that anyone can find themselves on if they’re not intentional about avoiding it.” The Relevance of Staying Relevant
🎙 what’s playing
Sustaining Our Drive and Ambitions as We Get Older
Do we stop being ambitious as we get older? What happens to the drive we've always had once we retire? In this episode of Second Breaks, I explore ambition with Kathy Oneto, the founder of Sustainable Ambition and host of The Sustainable Ambition podcast.
IN THIS EPISODE:
Evolution of ambition
Unhealthy striving and its impact
Broader scope of ambition beyond career goals
Ambition in midlife and beyond
Strategies for sustaining our drive and ambition
💭 muse
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” — Coco Chanel
💬 last word
Sometime this week, Midlife Cues will be no more. And a new era begins.
Next week’s edition will come from: Lou Blaser, All Getting Older.
Please DON’T move me to SPAM. 😉
Okidoki. Here’s to an awesome week ahead.
Cool Beans,
Lou Blaser
I love the new name! And I love the reasons behind it! Go WAGO and Go Lou!
I love how you say on your About page “that to learn is to grow is to live.” How do we grow if we haven’t had the time to experience what we need to learn? As Rod Stewart sang, “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.” Every day is a growing experience, a maturity that allows space where we have nothing to prove, only a deeper, and wiser sense of awareness of what it truly means to become older.