21. Timeless Happiness-5
“The point to this podcast and the class is to start planning ahead. Start thinking about what you want .... Keep your antenna out for things that interest you and what you get excited about.”
In the final episode of their debut season of Messy Middlescence, Tara and Tina conclude the Timeless Happiness series they have presented for the past few episodes.
Here they return to the “5 Essential Elements of Well Being” and focus on the ones that have not been explored in the previous episodes: Health (physical and mental); Social Relationships, and Community Engagement. Tara defines each of these remaining categories and discusses the possible and various ways to achieve them.
Tara reiterates the need to just start thinking about these – not just from a retirement planning perspective – but for anyone seeking a change in their life for the better.
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[00:22] Christina Donovan: Do you feel the need for change in your life, but are not sure why or when or how? Do you feel a pressure of running out of time? Do you spend most of your time doing things that are not important to you anymore? These are all symptoms or characteristics of middle essence. And this is our podcast, messy middlescence.
[00:44] Tara Bansal: Hello. This is Tara Bansal, and I'm here with Christina Donovan. And we are on our last timeless happiness class, and it's a little bit of a hodgepodge, so we talk about some of the other essential elements of wellbeing and also try to bring things together as a conclusion for the class and look back on it with any perspective and what we learned. Tina, any comments or questions or observations around the home play from last time?
[01:27] Christina Donovan: No. The only thing that I would say is we did get a subscription to the monarchy. To the monarch. Yeah. So hopefully we'll see how that goes.
[01:39] Tara Bansal: Well, that's a win. You took a step.
[01:41] Christina Donovan: That's a big step. Exactly.
[01:43] Tara Bansal: A big one. Did you try to start paying attention to when you spent money? And I have been.
[01:50] Christina Donovan: Yeah.
[01:52] Tara Bansal: Any surprises or anything you've started to notice?
[01:55] Christina Donovan: I don't know. Some of it. We are undergoing right now a very expensive renovation to the front of our house, and I guess I just don't want to spend any money right now.
[02:07] Tara Bansal: And is that because you see that as all this money going out? Yes.
[02:12] Christina Donovan: I mean, we still have the final payment, which is. It's a lot of money. And, I mean, we've known this is happening. It's not a surprise, and we have the money set aside for it. But I don't know, it just seems like right now, anytime I go to spend money, I'm just like, do we have to spend this? But, yeah, I do think that will change, though, once we're kind of past this renovation. And so I will keep doing it, but so far I haven't found anything I'm happy to spend money on, which.
[02:44] Tara Bansal: Is interesting to notice. What about, like, when you went on your trip or looking forward to the trip, the family trips we have coming up? Like, when you spend money on that, does that feel hard or that feel.
[03:03] Christina Donovan: I mean, I recently, just so people know, went on my college friends, I have a group that we get together one to two times a year, and we went to Minneapolis. It usually doesn't always, but sometimes involves plane travel. And the one thing that was hard about that was I had pretty much prepaid. Like, I'd already paid for the Airbnb, we'd already paid for the plane ticket. I mean, I did have to pay, I guess, for meals and parking and some, but, yeah, that was not something. Although I can say for the July trip that we have with our family, we're all meeting in Wisconsin. We're meeting at our youngest brother's home for the July 4 holiday. And I don't know, I did have to remind myself, it's a lot of money that we're spending on because we're flying. And by the time you take into account parking and we're going to Uber to the airport and, I don't know, the lodging, and I had to keep reminding myself, like, this is something we want to do, that I can't worry that it's going to cost us x number of dollars. Yeah, I think that did help to just keep reminding myself, what else are we going to spend this money on that's going to make me happy and be glad to be there?
[04:22] Tara Bansal: To me, it's interesting just observing that anytime you spend money, you have this negative reaction to it, even when it's for something that you want to do. So it's like, you have to remind yourself, yeah. Rationalize it a little bit. So if I were your life coach, I would want to jump into that a little bit. We will not do that.
[04:50] Christina Donovan: But.
[04:51] Tara Bansal: And the other thing that you said that studies have found is, like, prepaying for trips and vacations is helpful because.
[05:03] Christina Donovan: Then when you're there, you're not thinking about it.
[05:06] Tara Bansal: You're not thinking about it. It's already in the past. Did it. And then you can hopefully more fully enjoy the experience. No, I think that's true.
[05:17] Christina Donovan: I have to say, not just for this trip, but when we've rented places in the summer and it's paid off by March, I know it's not free, but the fact that it's already paid for when we go definitely feels good.
[05:33] Tara Bansal: And for what's going, the. The renovation and the work you're having done, you already set that money aside, but it was still in your account, so that's why it feels different.
[05:43] Christina Donovan: Yes. Okay. I just wondered. 10,000 more than we had budgeted.
[05:50] Tara Bansal: Okay.
[05:51] Christina Donovan: So, you know it's gonna happen. I mean, that, again, wasn't a huge surprise, but it's still $10,000. Yeah, that's pretty.
[06:01] Tara Bansal: So, yeah, I was trying to pay attention, and we spend a lot on food, and part of I've said this before, like, I hate food shopping. I hate. You know, and that's so much of what money goes out the door and. And yet I, as a family, we love to eat. We love good food. So just noticing when I go to the food store and buy stuff, I'm always a little surprised at how much we do spend on food. And it doesn't feel good, but yet eating what I want and enjoying it with my family is something. So it's a little bit just noticing the resistance and I don't know how much of that is. I just hate food shopping, just the whole experience. And it makes me think of. There are some people in our family that love food shopping, and I just wish I could have them do it for me.
[07:09] Christina Donovan: Or you got a little bit of that, Gene.
[07:11] Tara Bansal: Yeah, or that too. I didn't even think of that as a possible possibility. But we'll move into our last class. And going back to the very first class, we talked about well being and the five essential elements. So this is a book by Tom Rath and Jim Harder, and I'm going to list the five. The first is they called it career, but I switched it to contribution. This is how you occupy your time and for me, how you feel useful. Like, what contribution are you making to your family, to the world, however you want to view it. The second is social. So strong relationships and love and friendships in your life. The third was financial, effectively managing your economic life. Whether we like it or not, money is a necessity in order to pretty much live. The fourth is health, and this is both physical and mental, feeling healthy enough to do what you want. And then the last is community, sense of engagement with where you live. So we spent a good amount of time on the financial and also contribution or how you are going to spend your time. So today we're going to kind of COVID the others and talk about them. Before I do that, Tina, anything that comes up for you? I think of this almost as like a five legged stool, where they all have a contribution and they all overlap to some extent and they're all important. Anything else that you just thinking about the five elements of well being?
[09:19] Christina Donovan: No. I mean, I think it covers everything personally.
[09:25] Tara Bansal: Yeah. So the first, we're going to jump into physical well being. I'm currently rereading tranquility by Tuesday, which is a book by Laura van der Camp. And she presents a, I think, nine habits to how to use your time more effectively. And the first three habits are around, she calls them the foundation. So they're around your physical well being. And I think that's always a great place to start, because if you're not healthy, it makes doing anything that much harder. And all too often, I feel like I take my health for granted until you are laid up and something happens and that is hard. So when we're talking about physical well being, these are the things most of us know, but often get short changed, like exercise, sleep, eating well, and meditation. So these are exercise. They say just 20 minutes a day, and even just walking for 20 minutes a day makes such a significant difference in people, how they feel, how they perform. It gives you a boost. It boosts your mood, gives you more energy, can decrease your stress, increases your confidence. I mean, part of this is if you look better, you feel better, and you live longer. So just moving your body, and I like to say finding something that you like to do is important. It doesn't have to be torture. So, like, I used to be a runner. I now only walk pretty much. And I always go back and contemplate, do I want to go back and try running? But I haven't. Our family, at least Tina and I, both are pretty big exercisers. And I feel like it's as much for my mental well being as it is for my physical well being. I think part of it is, they say as people age, we're just more sedentary. And it's almost like the slippery slope of when you don't move then unless you do.
[12:05] Christina Donovan: Yeah.
[12:06] Tara Bansal: The harder it can be, and it's hard to change it.
[12:10] Christina Donovan: I mean, I think we've had really good examples. Both our parents, our mother and our father exercise daily and always have. I mean, like, that's something we grew up watching them do. I mean, our father, he was active in sports, but, I mean, he would run every morning. Like, he just got up and did it. And he didn't run super far, he didn't run super fast, but, like, he did it every day of his routine. Yeah. And, I mean, our mother is the same way. You know, she. She had her own workouts, but, you know, she. I think from around when she turned 40, and then, I mean, she continued, they both still regularly exercise. So I think it helps when you've had a role model like that, because I do think all of the siblings are very active in our family, but, I mean, one of the things that they have stressed, and I have seen that here, at least where I live in our community, is that doing something physical with other people is a huge thing. It's like you kill two birds with 1 st. You know, if you're a. If you walk with a group or with another person, you get that social connection. Connection as well. As the physical. I mean, I know in our neighborhood, there's. You just see them. There's like these groups. They're like three, four, five people. Sometimes they're all female, sometimes they're a mix, sometimes they're all male. I mean, just, you see people out walking regularly. You can set your clock by them. And. And I know for me, I mean, I started biking with a group of women. I don't even want to think about how long ago, but it's the same idea. I mean, when I started doing it, it wasn't even as much for the exercise as it was for the social connection. And I think to be able to do both of those things is such a. And I think studies have shown that, too.
[14:11] Tara Bansal: I agree.
[14:12] Christina Donovan: You know, I know our father is a big pickleball player, and for him, I think he admits it's as much social as it is physical.
[14:21] Tara Bansal: And I feel like our dad did sports, softball and other things growing up.
[14:29] Christina Donovan: Yeah.
[14:30] Tara Bansal: And I think for him it was always almost more social than anything else. But I agree. I try to walk three times a week, and if I can walk with someone else, it does feel like a double, you know, a good use of time in multiple ways because I'm with someone and catching up with them, and time can feel so precious. So that's nice. Yeah. So I feel like instead of doing coffee dates or even lunches, my mom, friends, we now walk more than anything else, instead of that.
[15:06] Christina Donovan: And we're the same. I know. Here. Yes, we're the same way. Yeah.
[15:11] Tara Bansal: So besides moving your body and getting exercise, the next is sleep. And we've talked about sleep a fair amount. On the podcast, they recommend seven to 8 hours and going back to tranquility by Tuesday. Her first habit was around sleep was to give yourself a bedtime and try to get seven or 8 hours of sleep. And the benefits of sleep, it's like a miracle drug. I mean, it helps you reset, clears out stressors, accelerates your learning and process what you have learned. You have a stronger immune system. You're three times more likely to get a cold if you get less than 7 hours of sleep. You can concentrate better. I know for me you're less irritable. I'm just so fragile and I. Quick off the handle if I haven't gotten enough sleep. You make better decisions and it actually curbs your appetite to help. So they show that people don't get enough sleep. That's part of why you like crave food. That's not good for you. And most of my sleep issues are not getting to bed on time. It's staying asleep and. But it is a foundation to focus on and try to make sure you are getting enough sleep. Any comments, Tina, on that?
[16:44] Christina Donovan: No, I just. We've talked about. I shouldn't I say no? And then I started down a road, but yes. I mean, I think this time of life, I think sleep is just hard. I don't know, it's. It's a topic of conversation with every woman I know my age. And, I mean, obviously, just from the people we've interviewed, men, too. It's not just women. I think definitely the hormonal changes that are going on don't help with women, but I don't think they're the sole reason. It's just. Yeah, I don't know if it's stressors or, you know, worries or just. I don't know what it is. It is funny, though, how I just don't know anybody that sleeps well.
[17:31] Tara Bansal: Part of me feels like, I wonder how much of it is just the changes. And I'm not talking hormonal, but just, like, the changes in your life, this is such a time of transition. And I wonder if sleep does get better. I don't know the answer to that. If I wish we had asked dad, does he feel like sleep got better? And it varies person to person, too. Next, for physical wellbeing, is just eating well. So buying healthy, natural foods from the store that are rich in color, especially red, green and blue, and they see benefits from this. Decreased medication, more energy once again, better concentration, decreased rates of diseases like cancers and diabetes, just less inflammation and better immunity once again. I don't know. I feel like generally I eat pretty well, but I know I could eat a lot less sugar, I could eat a lot. I could eat healthier. And it's almost trying to find a balance. So I still enjoy get enough of the sweets I want. And that's something that's changed for me. I don't feel like I used to love sweets as much as I do now. And I don't know if, like, I had gestational diabetes and if that changed something or just being told I can't have what I want.
[19:14] Christina Donovan: They made it human nature.
[19:16] Tara Bansal: Yeah, but any comments on eating? Well?
[19:22] Christina Donovan: I just know amongst the community of women, whether it's my college friends or friends here, I hear the same thing over and over. It's not even like people have stopped eating things because they're unhealthy or I just hear more and more people say it doesn't make me feel good when I eat that. I feel like around this age, people just. They start to tune in a little bit more. Their bodies are more sensitive. I don't know. But, yeah, it's not like I can't eat that.
[19:56] Tara Bansal: It's.
[19:57] Christina Donovan: I don't want to eat that because it's going to make me feel not good or I don't like the way I feel when I eat that. And I just hear that over and over. And I think that that's actually a really good way to approach diet. You know what I mean? Eat what feels good. And I think just naturally fruits, vegetables, high fiber things like lean proteins, they do make you feel good.
[20:24] Tara Bansal: Yeah. And the other is like, the blue zone talks about not overeating. So part of this is to know to stop before you get overly full.
[20:36] Christina Donovan: Yeah.
[20:37] Tara Bansal: And I think, I know for me, sometimes I do better with that than others, but, um. Yeah. Uh, to try to pay attention to that and hearing you say that, Tina, I. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I used to always have french toast or waffles or something, and now when I have french toast, it just doesn't make me feel good. And it's so sad because I loved it and looked forward to it, but it's not worth it anymore. I'll do it once in a blue moon. And every time I do, I'm like, oh, this doesn't feel good. So it's nice that you pointed that out. And I do wonder if we're paying more attention to our body or our bodies are more sensitive or it's a combination of both.
[21:28] Christina Donovan: Probably a combination, but I. Yeah.
[21:33] Tara Bansal: The last one for physical wellbeing is meditation. So they recommend at least 15 minutes every day. And the benefits, once again, are pretty similar. Reduces stress, improves concentration, encourages a healthy lifestyle, increases self awareness, increases happiness, increases acceptance of both yourself and others. It slows aging and has both immunity and cardiovascular benefits. Do you meditate, Tina?
[22:08] Christina Donovan: Not regularly.
[22:10] Tara Bansal: So you have tried it?
[22:12] Christina Donovan: I have tried it, yeah. And.
[22:16] Tara Bansal: Do you feel like it helps?
[22:18] Christina Donovan: No. I mean, that's why you don't.
[22:20] Tara Bansal: Yeah, it's funny, I do it, but I don't really feel like it helps, but I just like being the personality that I am. It's like I'm going to do it just in case it is helping in some way.
[22:35] Christina Donovan: It seems like most of your family meditates, though.
[22:40] Tara Bansal: No, just Alex. Alex loves to meditate and will go off and meditate. I don't know that he does it every day, but he really feels like it makes him feel better and I can't. I don't. Nimit has meditated. His father is really strongly into SRF's self realization, and so Nimit has done it. I know, but he doesn't do it regularly either. So I don't know, it's just I. Once again, I feel like, pay attention. If it works for you, then do it. If it doesn't, then. But if you haven't tried it, you may want to try it. Moving on from physical. I mean, I guess I feel like all of these were around physical. Well, but they also help mental.
[23:40] Christina Donovan: Mental, yes.
[23:41] Tara Bansal: And each of those go together. Do you have certain things you do to help you when you feel like you're mentally struggling? Teenage exercise?
[23:50] Christina Donovan: Yeah, I mean, it's. If I'm stressed out, I don't know, it's that it's a release of energy, like negative energy that, I mean, I can physically feel happen and it's. For me, it's. Yeah. If I'm. If I'm mentally not doing well, I know I either need to go walk or run or. And usually I will feel somewhat better.
[24:16] Tara Bansal: Yeah.
[24:17] Christina Donovan: I'm not saying it's cure all, but it definitely helps put my mind back in the right place.
[24:23] Tara Bansal: One other thing I do is journal. I don't journal every day, but especially if I'm upset, I will journal just to help get some of the thoughts out of my head and onto the paper. But yeah, the mental is as important as the physical, and I think they both relate to each other to think of that, moving on to social well being. So I can't think of the book, but the study they did tracking the Harvard graduates for over 50 years, basically what it came down to. Yeah. Is that what the name of the.
[25:12] Christina Donovan: Book, I think it's called? The happiness?
[25:13] Tara Bansal: Yeah.
[25:14] Christina Donovan: Yeah.
[25:16] Tara Bansal: What matters more than anything else is the quality of your relationships. And it sounds so simple, yet for me, it's like prioritizing that and making sure you're paying attention to the relationships that you have and you want this book talked about. They recommend 6 hours per day socializing with others, and that includes work, home phone, email, texting. I feel like that sounds like so much. I mean, maybe if I'm at work I can see I get it, but I don't know, I guess it's.
[26:03] Christina Donovan: I mean, I guess too, you know, if you're a family that eats together, like, that could be 3 hours right there. You know what I mean? Like, if you, I don't know, a lot of families that eat all three meals together.
[26:14] Tara Bansal: Yeah.
[26:14] Christina Donovan: Um, you know, um, I think, or I know in our household, there's usually help around preparing a meal. So, like, it's not just you're with someone there, too. It's the cleaning up. Yeah. And the prep. So, I mean, I think that's an easy way to get an hour and a half or so.
[26:34] Tara Bansal: There was this study around loneliness, and that loneliness is worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. And I think I feel like I take for granted I live with people. I have a family, but those who live by themselves, how hard and challenging, especially, I think as you get older, it can become more and more. You become more and more isolated. And to be aware of that, I think, is just something to keep in mind and prioritize the relationships you have and the ones you want. Community, well being. So this is like feeling safe and secure where you live, and living where it feels good for you, so where it's a good fit. And I do think a lot of times, as we move into our next phase, people think about moving for various reasons. One, to downsize, to find us cheaper costs of living, to be closer to family. I think to try to find a good fit and keep that in mind for what you want. And also, when you pick up and leave a community, it can be really hard. I think a lot of my clients, I think they underestimated leaving where they've lived for so long and going somewhere new. How hard that was because they lost their network and they lost all these people that were their neighbors and part of the community. So just noticing that, I've heard from people that making this move was a lot harder than I expected, even though they did it to be near family or for other specific reasons. I think I take community for granted, and yet I think it is an important thing to keep in mind.
[28:53] Christina Donovan: I do think people with children have a built in community. Not always, but around the school, like, it's easy to get involved or you kind of get to know people because you all have a similar interest. And I think when that goes away or if you don't have that, it can be a lot more difficult. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen. I'm just saying it can be a little more challenging.
[29:24] Tara Bansal: I tried to think. I just read often people don't make as many friends as they age.
[29:34] Christina Donovan: I've read that, too. I also just know there are certain times of your life. Well, I guess it's a little different. But I know when my children went to school, they walked to school. I saw, like the same people every day. And sometimes it was just a hello, or how are you? But I mean, over the course of years, like, you have umpteen conversations and I don't know, like, it's a way to gradually get to know people. And then when you stop taking your kids to school and they take the bus or they drive themselves, or it's like you really have to work to keep those relationships going. Like, some of the easiness, I think goes away.
[30:18] Tara Bansal: And even those smaller interactions, to your point of, like, and I think as a society, right, like, if you don't go to the food store and you have your groceries delivered and you don't, you work from home, and all of these are smaller interactions can get harder because we're trying to be so efficient. And yet I think that can take a toll long term also, it's lost there. Yeah, those were, you know, the basis for the class was the five essential elements of well being. And the intention for this class was to help people prepare for their next phase and have it be more fulfilling and joy filled. A big part of it was, I think, trying to think of and get more clear on what do you really want so much? I feel like of our lives are we may not feel like we have as many choices, and I hope, like middle essence and your next phase, you have more freedom to make the choices you really want. And that can feel overwhelming and intimidating because often you're just taking care of what needs to be taken care of. I feel like up until this point, and so it's like this wide open change of what would feel good and what excites you. And so this class was. We've said it a million times, but just to get started and to get you to start thinking of what you want, I don't feel like you have to be approaching retirement. It can be just you want to make some changes in your life to get you closer to what you really want. So it doesn't have to be this huge jumping off the cliff. It can just be a one degree turn of trying something new and seeing what it's like. So that was the intention for the class. I would love to hear what people liked or didn't like. Tina, what stood out for you as either something that was valuable that you learned, or if you had a favorite part.
[33:05] Christina Donovan: I really liked the exercise. About the 30 things you want to do, you want to have, and you want to be. I mean, we did that. I want to say it was the.
[33:17] Tara Bansal: First or second that was the home play after the first.
[33:20] Christina Donovan: So a little while ago, and it's kind of stayed with me. I think it's a great exercise to do has nothing to do with retirement, like, you know, and I think especially if you are married or have a partner to do it with them and.
[33:38] Tara Bansal: Kind of see.
[33:41] Christina Donovan: What you have in common and then what you don't like things, dreams that they have that you have no desire to go do. I don't know. I found it. Like I said, it has stayed with me and it's something I continue to think about.
[33:58] Tara Bansal: And do you think about adding things.
[34:00] Christina Donovan: To your list all the time? Yes.
[34:03] Tara Bansal: That's great. Anything else that you've, like, surprised you.
[34:11] Christina Donovan: Or, I mean, definitely some of the statistics that you talked about. And, like, I think it was the first class, too. Just, you know, it doesn't take long for people to be bored in retirement and that everybody has the same reaction before retirement. You know, I have so many things I want to do and, you know, I can't wait. And then two years in there, they've read all the books they can and they played all the golf they can, and they're ready for something new. And I think, yeah, I think that's a really a good reminder to approach it with, you know, more than just I want to read, play golf and travel, you know? Yeah.
[35:02] Tara Bansal: I mean, I've enjoyed doing the class. I mean, for me, I feel like I did the exercises more so than I did when I was teaching the class. And it's been, I think, at least five years since I taught the class. And when I did the class, part of what I enjoyed was getting to know the people and hear and even having the class create their own community of sharing, you know, some of their struggles or their thoughts. And that was something, you know, we haven't got to do here. But I do feel like I've learned a lot from you, even for where, you know, where you are and what you're thinking, Tina, and I feel like I know you pretty well. So that was nice. So just in conclusion, a big part and the point to this podcast and the class is to start planning ahead. Start thinking about what you want and think of the five different elements of well being, not just one contribution, social, financial, health and community. Keep your antenna out of things that interest you and what you get excited about. If you heard about a class that, you know, a watercolor class for me, you know, or what are certain things you would like to try and you can start making that list. A big one is, and this isn't just around retirement, but make the time. And I have to schedule it for the people and things that are important to you. So put the big rocks in first. And some of it's, you may need to remind yourself, what are your big rocks? What do? Because it's so easy to get bogged down on the small details that take up too much time. A big one. And as our father said, be patient. Like, you have to be patient in figuring this out. It's going to take some time and be kind to yourself. It's going to, things are going to keep changing. But no, you don't have to figure it all out at one time. And so just keep trying, keep tweaking, trying new things, and try to set up healthy and happy defaults as much as possible. We talked about that around the finances, but also try to have a walking date with a friend or have join a book club. Yeah, or the things you enjoy and that's help make them happen. And a little bit that goes back to making the time and scheduling it for what will add more joy to your life. I know we've spent a lot of time on this on the podcast, but I hope it was worthwhile and we would love your comments. I would love to know how you think we could make it better, both the class and the podcast. Anything else, Tina?
[38:35] Christina Donovan: I guess, also, just let us know if there was something that you thought should have been covered in the endless. Yeah, happiness. Timeless happiness that we didn't discuss.
[38:47] Tara Bansal: I agree. So this is our last podcast for a little while. We're going to take a break for the rest of the summer, and then we will start season two of messy middle essence in the fall, and we hope you enjoy your time. Thank you so much.
[39:07] Christina Donovan: Yes. Happy summer, everyone. This concludes both our Timeless happiness series and our first season of the Messy Middle Lessons podcast. Many of the goals of the Timeless Happiness series align with the goals of our podcast, so this is a timely conclusion. We hope the topics we discussed and the people we interviewed inspired you to reflect, plan and change your life during these difficult transitional years and to help you find more joy in your life and to help you create the life that makes you happiest. We also hope you have enjoyed listening to our podcast as much as we have enjoyed making it. We want to thank once again all our messy middle lessons guests. We appreciate you opening up and sharing your experiences with us. As we mentioned, we will be taking a break over the summer and will return for season number two in September. Please contact us with comments and suggestions on ways to improve our podcast, as well as any topics you are interested in for our next season. Thank you so much for listening.
[40:15] Tara Bansal: For show notes and other information about our podcast, please go to our website, messymiddlescence.com dot. If you enjoyed listening, please share with others and come back for more.
Today's quote is from Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. “You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
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Class 4 Timeless Happiness Slides
Class 5 Timeless Happiness Slides
Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath and James K. Harter
Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Mattersby Laura Vanderkam
SRF = Self-Realization Fellowship
The reference to "Big Rocks" is from this analogy