At MEA, our solution is simple: lighten the load. One of our favorite activities on the first day of our workshops is the “Great Midlife Edit,” which often relates to mindsets or scripts that we’re ready to retire (“my best days are behind me” or “I’m too old to be an entrepreneur”). As my co-founder, Jeff Hamaoui, says, “We’re allowed to mourn the loss of our narratives at MEA.” Especially when they’re no longer serving us.
Here’s a collection of identities, mindsets, disappointments, and habits that I’m shedding these days, many of which feel very privileged:
- Our awesome MEA 2020-21 workshop calendar in favor of very cool “Sabbatical Sessions.”
- Having a big birthday party (every 5 years) in a cool, odd place…the pandemic is a party-pooper!
- Spending July in Baja with my sons and their moms…not this year (sadly).
- Calling San Francisco my hometown.
- Drinking alcohol virtually every night.
- Saying goodbye to a couple of friends who are dying knowing I’ll never see them again.
- Feeling less of a man because my libido seems to have exited stage right.
- Potentially letting go of businesses I’ve owned for decades because we’ve run out of money.
- Thinking of love as a competition, a trophy, a way to impress.
Welcome to your “Great Midlife Edit.” Maybe the pandemic is the ultimate editing function. What are you ready to let go of that is no longer serving you? To get in the mood and mindset for your edit, you might enjoy this recent Michael Meade Living Myth podcast on “Three Pieces of Wisdom” as the metaphor of his folk myth is well-suited for letting go.