Vintage Wisdom and Retro Intuition
#2 of 10 Essentials to Thriving in Middle Age
Dear Reader,
I hope you had a great weekend, and thanks for being here. To support this newsletter and future topic development, please consider subscribing if you haven’t already.
Introduction
Two weeks ago, I kicked off my 10 Essentials for Thriving in Middle Age series by writing about finding joy in hard things.
As you may have noticed, I didn’t send out a newsletter last Monday. I was following my own advice and backpacking with my lovely lady in Joshua Tree National Park. Backpacking is the ultimate “hard thing,” especially when you consider the challenges of the desert—extreme temperatures, BYOW (bring your own water), wind, heavy weight on the back and legs (shaking my fist at you, gravity!), and no shade, just to name a few.
Yet with every challenging step, from the unrelenting sun to mice in our bowls (note: we didn’t actually eat the mice), I found a deepening appreciation for the experience, especially since I got to share it with someone special.
Now onto this week, where we’ll be diving into #2 on my list of 10 essentials for thriving in middle age: applying your wisdom and listening to your intuition.
Applying your Vintage Wisdom
From soaring hearts to broken hearts, being in our middle years means we've gathered decades of life experience, and with that comes a wealth of wisdom. Whether it's from navigating college, grad school, multiple careers, marriage, divorce, relationships, raising children, joy, celebration, miracles, change, accidents, sickness, loss, or dealing with really any of life’s unexpected curveballs, we’ve learned lessons along the way that have shaped who we are today. The beauty of this accumulated experience is that it doesn't just sit in the past—it can actively serve us in the present and future.
At this stage of life, we can take the lessons learned from past successes and failures and apply them to new experiences, challenges, and opportunities. That’s how we thrive—by drawing from our vintage wisdom and using it to approach what’s next with confidence. When you’ve already weathered a few storms, it becomes easier to face the new ones with a grounded perspective, knowing that you’ve made it through before and can do it again. It’s not just about surviving—it’s about using what you’ve learned to thrive in the next chapter, whether it’s reinventing your career, navigating relationships, or exploring personal passions you’ve put on the back burner for years.
Listening to your Retro Intuition
As we get older, our intuition becomes a more reliable guide—like an old friend who knows us well and has seen us through it all. After decades of living, we’ve learned to trust the quiet voice inside us, that gut feeling that often knows what’s best before our minds can even catch up. This kind of intuitive wisdom isn’t something we’re born with; it’s cultivated over time through experience, trial, and error.
In our middle years, we’ve lived long enough to recognize patterns, to understand what truly aligns with our values, and what doesn't. A caveat though: don’t confuse fear with intuition. Something might feel like it’s holding you back from taking a leap—and you might confuse that with intuition. For example, you say to yourself “I really want to start my own business, but I just have a feeling it’s going to fail.” Do you feel like it’s going to fail because the concept is iffy, or because you’re afraid to fail?
So ask yourself before you make your decision: am I listening to my intuition or acting out of fear? By listening to our intuition and also learning to distinguish it from fear, we can make choices that truly reflect our wisdom, guiding us toward what’s best for our growth and future.
For this week: Putting your wisdom and intuition into practice
Tuesday: Reflect on a recent decision you’ve made. What did your intuition tell you at the time, and how did the outcome align with that feeling?
Wednesday: Think about a challenge you’re currently facing. How can you apply the wisdom you've gathered over the years to tackle it with confidence? Make a list of practical steps to move forward.
Thursday: Reflect on a moment in your life where you trusted your intuition and it paid off. How did that feeling guide you, and how can you apply that same trust to a current situation? Write about it and see how it might inform your next steps.
Friday: Set aside time for a quiet moment of self-reflection. Close your eyes and listen to that inner voice. What’s it telling you about the next step in your personal journey? Write down your thoughts and revisit them next week.
Let me know how you applied your wisdom and intuition this week! Did you trust that gut feeling to guide you through a decision? Did you take a leap into something new and feel the rewards? Shoot me a reply with your experience—I’d love to hear about the moments where your intuition led you right, the lessons learned, or even what didn’t go quite as planned.
p.s. Happy Valentine’s Day!
