New Beliefs, Behaviors, and Priorities Make Life After 50 Better Than Life When We Were Younger

Daria and I were successful by society’s standards. We were high achievers with graduate degrees and professional careers. She was a lawyer; I was a pastor. Our work was meaningful, but it was also all-consuming. Ultimately, the negative effects of those careers on our mental health, relationships, and overall quality of life outweighed the benefits. We decided that the freedom to set our own schedules and spend more time with family and friends was more important than career success. So we have started new careers at the same age many of our peers have finished theirs and retired. Daria is now a certified health and wellness coach. I am a mental and spiritual health writer, speaker, support group leader, and coach. Our conversation is about the crises that led us to make that choice. It’s also about the difficulty of rejecting deeply ingrained beliefs about what it means to be successful, what “the good life” includes, and what determines our worth. Most of all, it’s about the importance of being true to yourself, prioritizing your values over others’ expectations, and creating a sense of self-worth that is based on who you are instead of what you do. Learn more about my Zoom spiritual support group here Get full access to Changing Lives at wendigordon.substack.com/subscribe