No matter how you found yourself here, for the next few years your life is going to be an adventure! For those of us who like to plan and prepare, the bad news is that this is one journey that tends to take its own course. We can learn what we might encounter, but the sequence is generally out of our control.

By midlife we have learned that our old routines are inauthentic and no longer serve us well. As we shed these old ideas we look for new ones to replace them, and for many the desire to travel and experience new ideas and places becomes strong. We become ’sensation seekers’ always looking for new ways to be creative, ways of taking better care of ourselves and ways to be alone with our thoughts.

Traveling to a new destination is one way to actively throw off conventional ways of doing things, and seek new ideas and experiences that are more satisfying and provide a better fit the selves we are becoming.

Often when we are out of our familiar environment we notice simpler ways of doing everyday things that we can repeat at home. We are more aware of our surroundings and are better able to notice sounds, sights and smells – if we can put the camera down and simply enjoy being present in the moment!

I’ve always loved to travel, and have often found that the trip is more interesting than my destination. We can read up on the sights of the city we’re headed for, but how we get there brings new possibilities and opportunities we couldn’t have foreseen. My advice to you is to enjoy the trip by being adventurous along the way.

Keep reading for advice and ideas for navigating midlife, people I feel are reliable sources for information, and ways I’ve found that make the journey more of an adventure.