Life is just one long hormonal ride!

This is going to be the last blog post before my sabbatical in Iceland. I have been dying to get out of this concrete jungle for some nature and fresh air which I believe will clear my mind and detox my body, coming back in 3 months with a different perspective just like all the other trips I have taken in the past. Meanwhile, I will be working on completing my online Podcasting course and hopefully have my first show ready to launch sometime in October. Writing is still my passion but branching out to voice my messages by another means is just as valid. It is a lot of work especially for newbies like me but I am sure it's something that will pay dividends in the end. And there is only so much a person can do.

So the topic for this post is about seeing midlife on a positive side as opposed to a crisis.  Starting over is never easy, if not more difficult, and this is coming from someone who has been reinventing the wheels many times over. As we get older, we tend to get set on our own ways of living life, ideas and prejudices, judgement and toleration which we are reluctant to change (teaching an old dog new tricks?). I have yet to recognize my faults, admit to having messed up a large part of my life so far. Going away for a break (a long one this is) is absolutely necessary to preserve my sanity. It is one of the many ways of moving on as change is just what I need at this point in time.  I need the solitude and space to get over the injustice, pain, trauma, illnesses, etc...which I have been putting up for the past 3 years. As my business is not quite yet taken off the ground for more reasons than I can count, I guess this is the time to pause and step out of the game to take a breather, to re-examine my purpose and my second act at life. 3 years of staying stagnant is enough to drive anyone depressed.

Welcome to midlife crisis. There are options you might not have thought of before with a midlife makeover. There is no other time like now to become any version of yourself while acknowledging your limitations. I need a safe space and a different environment to redefine the kind of life I want to live and travelling (especially to somewhere so extreme to where I am right now) is my way of challenging myself to new experiences, to open my mind to possibilities. Travelling alone and without much planning is my preferred way to train myself to readily adapt to change as I believe being flexible and resilient are crucial qualities to make life easier, even more so for an entrepreneur. I hate to waste time vegetating so I have stopped throwing time down the drain waiting for others way before I turned 40. 

To keep my creativity flowing, there are a number of things that I practise religiously:

•  crossword puzzles
•  reading(anything that is worthy of my time and attention)
•  writing (it is already part of my life without compromises)
•  trying out different cuisine / new products on the market / etc...
•  learning (I haven't stopped taking courses since my university years!)
•  art / craft- I love scrapbooking, collages, art journaling, paper craft, etc...using mixed media
•  traveling (my upcoming trip to Iceland provides me a valid reason to get outside and be close to the nature without the pollution and crowds and shops at every darn corner)
• getting a hobby (a life saver for us middle-age)

As life expectancy is getting longer with medical breakthroughs and with several decades as a living being ahead of me (unless I have an accident or kill myself), I wish to live more mindfully and craft a more conscious life for myself. By identifying my strengths, my passions and my values, I would be able to define my purpose. I want to wake up every day knowing why I am not dead yet and what I am meant to do, excited for the journey ahead. May I receive an epiphany during my stay in Iceland and come back with incredible stories to tell!