Staging Your Second or Third Act

HOW TO TAP INTO YOUR PASSIONS AND TALENTS TO LAUNCH A SATISFYING SECOND OR THIRD ACT

Finding new passion and purpose at midlife is key to success and fulfillment. While you may have a touch of gray hair and find it tougher to memorize the way you once did, don’t despair! Research shows that experience and wisdom in midlife more than make up for what you have lost with age. And you’ve got another advantage: awareness of the finite nature of life. That can embolden you to step up and relaunch yourself without veering off track as youth is prone to do. Now that you have the advantage of really knowing yourself, the time is right to become a more entrepreneurial version of yourself. Judy uses vivid anecdotes, enthusiasm and research-derived data to empower others to reinvent themselves.

Banish Loneliness

HOW TO BUILD A VIBRANT SOCIAL NETWORK 

Many of today’s empty nesters have failed to build healthy social networks. That’s largely because they haven’t taken the time to build them. Most upper- and middle-class parents have been intensively involved in their children’s lives in the last 60 years and that trend is continuing now that their kids are adults. But this high level of concentration on the next generation leaves little time for cultivating healthy relationships outside the family, which can strain a marriage. A vibrant social network is key to well-being. Having strong relationships with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues is a strong predictor of physical and psychological health and increases longevity. Engaging people you meet in your everyday travels also boosts well-being and opens up your world. Too little social interaction can hurt you and trigger premature death as much as if you are a heavy smoker, an alcoholic, or someone who always skips exercise, and it is twice as harmful as being obese. Cultivating a robust network of friends and family throughout your life helps you feel responsible for others, gives you a sense of purpose and meaning, and prompts you to take better care of yourself.

Letting Go

HOW TO GUIDE YOUR YOUNG ADULT FLEDGLINGS WITHOUT GETTING IN THEIR WAY

Growing up takes a lot longer these days. This generation of young adults is settling on careers, becoming financially independent, and learning to accept personal responsibility later than ever. They are putting off the portals to adulthood for another six to eight years. Many young Americans these days appear to have adopted Peter Pan’s I-don’t-want-to-grow- up attitude, rejecting the idea of settling down in their teens and 20s. But while the road to adulthood is longer for this generation, many well-intentioned middle- and upper-middle-class parents are also unwittingly slowing their kids’ journeys. Many of today’s moms and dads have been highly involved in most every aspect of their children’s lives through high school. Many have tapped the full force of their education and drained their bank accounts to grant their offspring advantages in academics, athletics, arts, and social life, knowing that their kids face a tougher economic climate than they did. Now it’s time to allow them to build a new level of independence.