5 Suggestions For Using Meditation & Mindfulness to Discover Your Passions
Let’s get those golden sh*t shovels out as we have an open and honest conversation about why and how meditation & mindfulness can help us find our passion in midlife. We are talking to Suze Schwartz all about what we can do to switch things up and start discovering our passions in the second half of life.
Suze Schwartz is an author, mother, founder, and CEO of Unplug Meditation App, and the world's first drop-in secular meditation studio. She was previously a fashion editor and "makeover guru" working at Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour Magazine. After quitting her job in New York and moving her family to Los Angeles, she started taking hundreds of hours of classes. Suze realized that meditation needed a makeover and she was the one to do it. Suze's mission is to make meditation simple, accessible, powerful, and interesting enough so that everyone will want to practice it and experience the benefits for themselves.
Suze shared with us her top 5 suggestions for your “second act.” We are going to learn why staying in the same career might not be the best option for you, how we can unplug, and how meditation might be your new favorite thing. Let’s start digging!
Suze’s Top 5 Suggestions
to Finding Your Passion in The Second Half of Life
Don't stay at the same job for the rest of your life. Growing up we all dream of the one career that we want to do for the rest of our lives. How we should do that one thing and strive to make it a huge success. But no one tells you that you can enjoy more than one career in a lifetime.
Suze was talking to one of the editors at the magazine she worked for who was 60 years old. She told Suze to not be like her and she should try something new and take that chance because she may end up having regrets like she did.
However, how do you leave something that seems perfect and ideal for something else when you absolutely don't have to? Suze said that sometimes you need to appreciate what you had and then move on to the next journey. If we continue to do the same thing over and over again we can become bored over time and not feel as fulfilled by our career choice.
When starting a business it’s about the relationships we make, the people we meet, and how we feel about ourselves. In your second half of life, if you decide to start a business, of course, you want it to be a success…but that’s not the only thing you should focus on. The reason businesses are successful is because of the people. It’s all about the relationships that you build with those people and in return how they contribute to it. Reach out in your community and make an effort to grow the relationships with the people who support your business.
How we feel about ourselves is just as important. Things will be constantly coming up that we will have to learn. We can learn as we go. You don’t have to have everything planned out as we will evolve over time. Take that time to learn the new things…but give yourself some grace along the way. Over time you will realize that learning is just part of the business.
Secondhand stress is real. We often absorb stressful energy that is given off by others and this can easily cause a ripple effect. This can then cause us to feel stressed and the cycle continues. When you notice that someone around you is stressed, try to establish yourself in the present moment and then take action. Being mindful of where you are and how you feel will help you take care of yourself.
At Unplug Suze teaches simple techniques that help you move away from that feeling of chronic stress. You will be able to learn how to become calm, still, and present. You will start to be able to think more clearly and this will result in feeling a lot happier.
The biggest ideas happen when we are unplugged. Have you ever noticed that your biggest ideas come when you are out on a walk or in the shower? Suze explained how our biggest ideas usually don’t come to us when we have our heads buried in our computers or phones.
Step away from the devices and allow yourself some space to daydream. This is where meditation can help you as it is a time to expand your mind and take a break from the million distractions we have going on in a day.
Start a meditation practice. When we allow ourselves that time to step away from the busy day-to-day and sit in stillness we can learn so much. This isn’t something you need to spend hours on. Just a few minutes a day will make a world of difference in how you feel in the present moment. Research has shown that your memory, decision-making, and focus will increase with a daily meditation practice. You will also notice that your stress and anxiety levels will dramatically decrease.
Start your meditation practice by anchoring into the present moment, placing awareness on your breath, and becoming fully present. We then can open our minds to all the possibilities our midlife remix can take.
We dug deep in that conversation with Suze. I hope you can take something away from her 5 suggestions to finding your passion in midlife and maybe throw a little meditation in there too. Meditation might just be that thing that helps you get unstuck and figure out what your passions are. I want everyone to think about what sh*t we can start doing today and take that one small step to start your own midlife remix.