Discover How Midlife Is Like An Adventure Movie (Then Choose Your Own Adventure For The Year!)

Episode 78 | (00:00):
Hey there, friend. Happy New Year! (This is the part where you can just visualize lots of confetti exploding all over the place.) ;)

(00:09):
Let me ask you a question: Are you ready to discover how midlife is like an adventure movie and how you get to choose your own adventure for the year?

(00:19):
Well, whether we want to admit it or not, our lives are very much like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. If you're not familiar with these books, they're interactive books for kids where the kids get to be the protagonist of the story.

(00:33):
They get to choose the main character's actions as well as the outcome. It's a lot of fun for them because the kids are very much in control of what happens next in the story.

(00:45):
Wouldn't it be fun for you to choose your own adventure and be in control of what happens next in your story?

(00:50):
That's what we're talking about today, and I'm going to leave you with a very simple exercise so you can figure out what your adventure is going to be for the new year.

(01:00):
Oh, I am so happy you're here today as we kick off the new year with the new adventure. This is such good stuff. What are we waiting for? Boom. Let's dive in.

(01:49):
Hey there, Easy Ager. If you're not already an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com right after this episode in sign up today. Thank you for doing there.

(01:57):
The other day I was thinking about a movie called "Adaptation" (2002). Nicholas Cage plays a bumbling, socially awkward screenwriter. In one scene, he's meeting with a studio executive to talk about adapting a book into a screenplay.

(02:17):
The book was called "The Orchid Thief," and Cage's character said he wanted the movie to just "exist" without being artificially plot driven. He said things like running drugs or car heists would ruin it and make it a "Hollywood thing."

(02:34):
Then he asks the question, "Why can't there simply be a movie about flowers?" He says:

(02:41):
"I don't want to cram in sex or guns or car chases, or characters learning profound life lessons, or growing, or coming to like each other, or overcoming obstacles to succeed. In the end, the book isn't like that, and life isn't like that. It just isn't."

(02:54):
Now, I was in a crowded theater watching this movie when it first came out. (Remember theaters? Yeah, I know. A lot of us have forgotten about them!)

(03:03):
I remember hearing myself and maybe one other person laughing at these lines. There were only two of us who understood how ridiculous his comment was.

(03:07):
Because if you created a movie that didn't have the life lessons or the car chases or overcoming obstacles, that would be the most boring movie ever.

(03:21):
There would be nothing happening. Real life isn't all that interesting. It's routine and mundane for the most part. Would you go see a movie where nothing happens?

(03:33):
Granted, Jerry Seinfeld changed the game when he pitched his show "Seinfeld." He called it a show where nothing happens.

(03:45):
I personally think that's the funniest part of it because studio executives would never sign off on a show about nothing.

(03:51):
A show about the monotonous and uneventful parts of our lives would be a new level of boring, and studio execs know this. "Seinfeld" is the exception to the rule.

(03:55):
It's like me coming up to you at a party and saying, "Let me tell you this great story. I got up. I washed my face, I brushed my teeth, I moisturized my face with my serum and made sure it all was all absorbed, especially around my lips...

(04:09):
Then I put on my CeraVe moisturizing cream. After that, I went into the kitchen and I got the carafe from the coffee pot and filled it with water. Then I poured the water into the tank. Then I got my organic coffee and a filter, and I started measuring that out....

(04:27):
And then after the coffee was going, I drank a big glass of water, 16 ounces of water, with all my vitamins and supplements. And then I..."

(04:36):
What are you doing while I'm droning on about the boring activities in my life? You'll be trying to figure out where I'm going with this story, right? You're thinking, "When is she gonna get to the good stuff, or the funny stuff, or the exciting stuff?"

(04:50):
You're going to be waiting for something interesting to happen, because what I've told you up this point is pretty stinking boring.

(05:00):
When something becomes interesting, it catches our attention. It makes us sit up and take notice. That stimulates our curiosity and makes us say, "Ooh, I'm intrigued."

(05:10):
You know, if we don't have these moments in our stories that we're telling other people, the story is just going be bland and boring and meh. So here's a thought:

(05:21):
What if you treated your life like those studio executives treat their shows?

What if you decided your life would be an adventure movie, and you choose a new adventure for the new year?

(05:31):
Instead of waiting for something to happen to you, why not design a life around what you find interesting and intriguing? That way you're not going to be sitting on your heels, waiting for something to happen just like you were doing when I was telling you my boring story.

(05:47):
To find this new adventure, grab a pen and paper, and write down these two questions:

1. What would my life look like as an adventure movie?
2. What adventure do I want to go on this year?

(06:00):
Is it learning how to speak a new language? Is it trying your hand at creating gourmet food? Is it tap dancing? Maybe you want get back to something you used to do....

(06:11):
Maybe it was quilting or painting or writing that you had to put aside because life got busy. Or are you thinking that this could be the year that you're going to get your body back into shape?

(06:23):
What adventure would be the most interesting and intriguing to you? The most important part of this adventure is understanding that it's yours. Nobody else's. It's just yours. You don't even have to tell anybody about it if you don't feel like it. ;)

(06:37):
Maybe your adventure will just be keeping a secret from your family and friends until you feel more confident of yourself, or you feel more grounded on your new adventure. To be clear, I'm not really encouraging you to do that.

(06:52):
We all should have people in our lives that support our dreams, but if you feel you're going to get resistance from certain people, maybe not telling those specific people is a wise choice at the beginning. Initially holding this adventure close to your heart may be a good idea until you're ready to share it.

(07:14):
Create some new life experiences this year, because that makes things interesting and fun. New experiences stimulate curiosity, and they help you come up with even more new ideas that you can try.

(07:27):
And it's the curiosity about life that gives you that rush of excitement you get from doing something different. It gives you that spring in your step that makes you say, "Ooh, I'm thrilled about getting out of bed this morning.!"

(07:43):
Remember that feeling? I know you do. I know that if you thought about it for even a moment or two, you would remember that "whoosh" that comes over you when you've tried something new.

(07:59):
How about making this year your year to reclaim the "whoosh," the spark, the energy that beams directly from your heart out into the world? How would it feel to live life like that again?

(08:13):
So sit down with your favorite beverage and a pen and paper, and figure out what your adventure for this year is going to look like and start getting excited again.

(08:22):
That's it for today. So if you are not already an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com right now and sign up so you don't miss out.

(08:32):
I'll see you in the next episode, and until then, peace, love and blessings to you and yours. Take care. Bye-bye!