LEGACY STAGE 1 – REFLECTIVE DISCOVERY

Midlife can be confusing and unsettling as you reach a point where you question your purpose and begin to search for something that would give greater meaning to life. You have learned what it means to prosper and have power, however, you have a gnawing empty feeling where some unexplainable force inside is restless. You have a vague awareness that something that you can’t define is missing, an inarticulate stirring deep in your psyche, and a chronic cloying sense of not being fully real or not fully inhabiting your life. There is a pervading and nagging thought that your successes in the first half of life have not delivered everything that you expected and a haunting hunch that there must be more.

The first part of life is naturally more directed at the self, at getting ahead, becoming somebody, pursuing rewards, accomplishing what you set out to do and emerging from the collective as a creative individual, all of which was a necessary time of gaining skills, wisdom, confidence and experience. Eventually that focus on self-interest may diminish even though you want to celebrate your past achievements for the foundational role that they play in the second half of life. You start to purify yourself and turn self-interest into a broader outgoing concern, to perceive that a fresh mindset is gradually superimposing itself over you, giving way to concern for the world around you. There are new criteria for determining what is important in life and a deeper understanding of what life is all about. You feel that your previous ambitions were the platform for something more meaningful and significant in the second half of life. You yearn to have an impact by applying unique talents in innovative new ways connected to an enduring cause that calls forth the best of who you are. You long for personally rewarding means to give something back, be of service to others, leave your mark, make a difference and know that your life mattered.

At this stage in life you become increasingly discerning about how you invest what remains your time on earth and it starts to matter less how much money you make or how influential you are in your field. To quell the uprising and fill the void within you, you shift away from material wealth to a life of higher purpose. You crave more than capital building, a beautiful house, bigger bank account, accumulation of more stuff, and acquisition of further professional accolades and advancement. There is a glimmer of the quest you are about to embark on as you realize that even incredible financial success does not bring true satisfaction or joy and that there are more fulfilling things in life than personal gain.