If “30 is the new 20”, will we ever grow old?

Welcome to Middle Age.

I have two words of advice, “Let Go.”

Many of our family, friends and loved ones are turning 40. However, the 50s approach with a quickness. So, as you’re blowing out the candles on 40, be ready to release to the unknown. Loosen your grip on the familiar before getting to the other side of 50.

And here’s why.

In our youth, we contemplate physical and financial planning. We rarely think, if at all, about our body’s mortality or our mental and spiritual preparedness. We stop getting ready when we begin to grow our families. Some with young ones may not notice the years slipping away because our babies keep us tethered to a youth-oriented way of life. Others allow memories of their youth to keep reliving those glory days.

Instead, we should use those memories as stair steps to move up, over, and through the transformation.

Clinging to the past keeps us from transitioning into and being fully present in a new phase. Therefore, preparing to complete the shift is the key to aging mightily.

Not sure what it looks like to age without a presence of mind? Observe someone struggling with a process that already has an easy-button solution, and they refuse to use it because “This is how it’s always been done.” Not a good look, is it?

Instead, follow the inner light that guides us toward a new path of discovery. Remain open to using our imagination.

From the outside, it may look like a midlife crisis. But let’s unpack “crisis.” It unfolds, first, with denial, saying the 50s is the new 40s – but is it?

In our 40s, the drivers of our capitalistic society find us useful and beckon us to continue to participate in its trappings. Yet, if we’re honest, we notice that this lifestyle is unsustainable. If it’s impossible to continue on the path – the point becomes a crisis, also known as a turning point. At that moment, we move from doing what we’ve always done to not knowing what to do next.

The Next becomes a change of life.

And many might find it the most challenging part of life. But don’t despair. Hormones trigger our physical changes – but we have some control over our mental and spiritual metamorphosis. We can choose a mental resurrection and continue to evolve.

The challenge is letting go and accepting that we might emerge as someone unrecognizable to our former selves. Or surrendering to an ethereal existence. Kind of like the caterpillar, who lets go of its known life to become a new entity.

Welcome to middle age. Next stop, a new you awaits.