Use this Mindset to Pursue Your Writing Dream in Midlife

 I heard someone say once that being in your fifties is like being on the back nine of an 18-hole golf course.  I don’t like golf. Not at all. So thinking of my fifties in terms of chasing a tiny white ball through wooded areas and sand traps almost brought on a midlife crisis for me.  To avoid that, I decided to come up with my own analogy.  For me, so far, being in my fifties is a little like day four of a seven-day vacation. And that’s a good thing, because very often, day four stands out as the best day of a week’s vacation. 

For me, so far, being in my fifties is a little like day four of a seven-day vacation. And that’s a good thing, because very often, day four stands out as the best day of a week’s vacation.

It’s the day when I’ve been on the vacation long enough to have done the things I absolutely must do at any given destination — the required “must sees” like the Coliseum in Rome or the  Statue of Liberty in New York City. With those “demands” and “agendas” out of the way, there’s more time for relaxing.  Day Four also means I’ve been in an area long enough to know a little bit about what I like and don’t like. I probably have developed a fondness for a coffee shop, found a boutique or two, maybe even discovered a restaurant worth visiting again. I’ve probably picked the best route for a jog and I’ve scoped out  interesting yoga classes.  The newness of the destination has worn off, but the magic of the vacation is still present. That’s because there’s a reduction in the pressure I sometimes feel in the first few days of a trip to make it worth the money and effort we’ve spent to be there.

Day Four of a Seven-day Vacation is the Best

Day four is hopeful because it’s not too late to plan something significant like an excursion or a side-trip. And it isn’t melancholy like day six when I know I’m so close to the end of the vacation that there’s a different kind of pressure and a little bit of homesickness, as well.

Thinking of my 50s as Day four of a vacation helped me find my voice as a fiction writer. It also gave me the courage to push through to the end of the first draft of my first novel and the courage to start the long process of revising.

I’ve done the “must-do’s” (school, college degree, job) and I continue to do the “must-do’s because I really want to do them” (marriage, children and soon, grandchild).  I certainly know where to get a good cup of coffee and a great meal, and I’m acquainted with all the boutiques within a 20-mile radius of my home. I also know when and where to exercise.  I’m not young, but I find joy and magic in youthful things all the time, mostly through my children, especially the 13-year-old. Thoughts of them also help me push back against the doubts that sometimes discourage me — those ideas that I haven’t accomplished enough, haven’t done enough on the career front, haven’t contributed to some larger cause. I look at them and know my time at home was worthwhile. It’s important for me to keep this perspective if I am to give myself permission to write.  A few years ago (after a devastating one-on-one session with an editor that helped me realize it was time to put a sixty-thousand-word manuscript in a drawer and start over) I thought maybe it was too late for me to pursue this novel-writing dream. I gave myself some time to cry and then reminded myself that you don’t  throw in the towel on day four of a week-long vacation, even if the weather is crappy.

It’s Never Too Late If You’re on the Top Side of the Grass

The further along I get, the more I believe that old cliche — it’s really never too late if you’re on the top side of the grass. That belief gives me the motivation I need to keep writing.

It also gave me the courage to become an Author Accelerator Certified Book coach so I could pivot my freelance business and focus more on working with people who want to write books and stories. I’ve never been more professionally satisfied than I am today - I get to spend my days in the world of words, books, ideas, creativity, journaling, and publishing. And I get paid to do it.  One of my superpowers is helping people figure out if the idea they have for a book or story will work. If you’ve got ideas and want some feedback, let me help you. Check out (ADD LINK TO DO YOU THINK IDEA CAN WORK PROGRAM and then let me know if you’re interested.

For me, so far, being in my fifties is a little like day four of a seven-day vacation. And that’s a good thing, because very often, day four stands out as the best day of a week’s vacation. Day Four also means I’ve been in an area long enough to know a little bit about what I like and don’t like. The newness of the destination has worn off, but the magic of the vacation is still present. That’s because there’s a reduction in the pressure I sometimes feel in the first few days of a trip  to make it worth the money and effort we’ve spent to be there.