My name is Michael Wolfe, and I’m on the tail end of that semi-universal transformation known as (cue dramatic music) the midlife crisis.
My transformation story began in earnest a little less than two years ago. I like to think of a certain three-week period back then as my own personal Bermuda Triangle of midlife gut punches. Why a triangle?
- On one side, I turned 50. For this of you with marketing backgrounds, this means my membership in the coveted 18-49 marketing demo was officially revoked, and my opinions and purchasing decisions no longer mattered.
- On the second side, I left my job, and a career that I had spent over a quarter century cultivating.
- And on the third side, my kids left for college.
Age, career, empty nest. All the things that defined the top-line of my Twitter bio pretty much evaporated all at once.
So the big questions, ones I thought I had asked and answered in my 20s, now re-emerged. Who am I? What defines me? And do I really have to read a book called What Color Is My Parachute at my age?
So I set out to try and answer all these questions. And there’s good news to report. My transformation is ongoing, still plenty to work on, but my progress has been solid.
- I’ve branched out in my work on many different levels, creative energy is flowing in new and unexpected ways (yes, I have a podcast, because we ALL have to have one by the end of 2020).
- I turned 51 without any major personal fireworks.
- And the empty nest…if I had to use a word to describe what it’s like to have your kids leave the home…I’d choose AWESOME. Really, really awesome. Not having a single teenager around to roll their eyes at you and accidentally drive your car into the side wall of your garage is surprisingly enjoyable.
But wait…there’s more.
The other day, I was in my closet getting dressed after a shower, when my son (who was home from college for a visit) came into my room to ask me a question. He took a semi-long look at my shirtless torso, and was so dazed by the majesty of what he saw that he could only mutter a single word in response.
That word was: “ew”.
Little did I know that my own personal transformation journey came accompanied by significant weight gain and muscle atrophy...read more
