Looking Back to Move Forward
Brief highlights from early days of Not Done Yet!
I am so grateful to you for joining me on this journey to unlock life’s 2nd half. Through little more than word of mouth, we’re averaging well over 1,000 views of the articles released in 2025. That may be small potatoes next to some writers, but it means a lot to me that someone is finding value. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your week as well as for sharing this series with your friends and peers who may want to join the journey. I’m planning to keep this series available to everyone (no subscription fee) and only hope to see the impact continue to grow over time. Before we look ahead, perhaps it makes sense to look back. As always, you can freely access the entire library of articles here. What follows are brief highlights of 2024 articles some of you may have missed or would like to revisit…
The Funnel was the very first article I wrote to kick off this series, and so it holds a special place in my heart. New to Substack, I was stumbling through the logistics as I tried to create something meaningful out of the gate. It set the stage for what was to come, and I hope that as you read it, something stirred inside of you. Personally, the process of putting the veritable pen to paper forced me to consider my purpose in doing so, and clarified my own personal vision for the role I might play in coming alongside others through the journey of life’s 2nd half, even as I’m trying to figure it out myself.
All Things Don’t Have to Be Equal brought some intriguing research to life from Yale’s Dr. Ray Fair that allowed readers to easily calculate an “ATBE” (All Things Being Equal) score, utilizing Dr. Fair’s data on runners, cyclists and swimmers. It provided real numbers to the question of whether we are settling for the popularized headline about losing 1% of muscle mass & performance per year or choosing to take steps to create our own trend line going forward.
In the Meantime considered the often missed opportunity existing within the space between our present and future. Life can often feel like we’re stuck in a holding pattern, unable to escape the pause back into what’s “important.” But what if it’s within that space where the opportunity comes to life?
The Psychology of Our Physiology examined the influence our perspective on age literally influences our physiology! Obviously age has “an” influence on our physiology, but we give it far too much credit, and thus often fall short of our potential. This article provides five specific steps available to move the dial in this area as we’re called to move beyond the status quo aging mindset.
Beyond Goals was released in early December to set the stage for readers who were tired of the traditional short-term resolutions and were looking for a better alternative. This article differentiates between goals or resolutions and the far more powerful strategy of creating a clear, personal vision. It’s a bit longer than our typical articles, as it walks through the four key elements of creating your own personal vision, including examples from my own journey, now in year 13. Nearing March 1st, now might be a perfect time to take this one to heart.
Aim High, Aim True was the final article of 2024, reminding us our calling is to both aim high (moving beyond status quo) and aim true (authentically living out who we uniquely are). Drawing on wisdom from a vast range of sources (Existentialism to Buddhism, Stoicism to Christianity and more), I did my best to provide practical steps toward application related to each. If your life feels like it’s lacking clarity or you’re stuck in a whirlpool of shoulds, this one may be the perfect place from which to launch your own “what’s next” pathway.
There were plenty more accompanying these initial six articles, including The Call to Adventure, real world Strategies to Improving our Sleep, the short allegorical story of life’s 2nd half struggles in Hawk’s Dilemma, and last week’s article about our role as Modern Day Troubadours. If one or more of these provided you a spark of hope and a few tools for your toolbox as we venture this journey together, then it has been well worth doing.
I’m not done yet - how about you?