In early October, Marcia and I were one of seventeen couples sitting in a circle at the Modern Elder Academy in Baja. The air was warm, the sea roared with the energy of twin hurricanes, and the room was filled with curiosity, courage, and just a hint of shared anxiety about what might surface in the week ahead.
Everyone there had lived enough life to have both stories and scars. We came from different paths—executives, educators, entrepreneurs, and creatives—and we shared the same quiet question: What’s next?
Crisis is not the key to growth; clarity is. |
Our guides, Carolyn Buck Luce and Rob Evans, introduced The Decade Game, a framework to intentionally design your next ten years instead of drifting through them.
In an early exercise, Carolyn asked a question that changed the tone of the room:
What's your Why?
During the workshop, Carolyn and Rob introduced the idea of taking a Stand—the truth you live from. It’s not a goal or a position to defend; it’s a declaration of how the world is better because you’re in it.
It begins with three words that turn intention into action:
“I stand for…”
Those words move your Why from something you think about to something you live.
It didn’t take me long to find mine:
I stand for a world where everyone knows they have the freedom to change their story and begin again… as many times as they need to.
When I read it back, I realized it was a message I’d carried for decades. It wasn’t about fixing the past—it was about rewriting your future.
Most of us spend years chasing progress. We climb, produce, and achieve without pausing to ask if the direction still fits.
We wait for a crisis to grant us permission to change.
I believe the freedom to begin again doesn’t have to come from pain; it can come from clarity.
Clarity begins when you tell yourself the truth. |
Once we had written our Stands, Carolyn and Rob guided us to the next step—creating a new job description for the decade ahead. It’s not about a title or resume. It’s about naming who we’re becoming; a living expression of our Stand.
Mine became:
Modern-day guide empowering people to find the power and strengths in their story to create the life they want.
That line feels like the next chapter of my work.
It's a reminder that everything I’ve done—counseling, business, coaching—has always pointed toward the same purpose: helping people remember their freedom to begin again… and giving myself permission to do the same.
Over the week, I listened as others shared their Stands and job descriptions. Each was an act of courage—a way of saying, This is who I am and why I’m here.
Together they formed a chorus of what renewal sounds like when people stop waiting for permission.
What struck me most was this: every person there already knew what mattered most. The Decade Game didn’t tell us—it simply helped us remember.
Clarity isn’t about reinvention—it’s about remembering who you’ve always been. |
That week in Baja reminded me that clarity doesn’t come from reinventing yourself—it comes from remembering who you’ve always been, beneath the noise.
Midlife often gets framed as a crisis, but it’s really an invitation. A chance to pause, look ahead, and take ownership of your next chapter with intention.
So let me ask you:
- What’s your why?
- Where is it leading you now?
- If you built your next decade with intention—what would it stand for?
If those questions stirred something, that’s worth listening to. You don’t need every answer to begin—just the courage to pick up the pen.
If this feels like your moment to begin again, reply to this note or schedule a call. Your next chapter starts with one decision: to stop waiting.
Mark Wigginton, MS, Certified Professional Coach
Personal Coach | Midlife Guide | Next Chapter Navigator
📬 MarkW@FocusingOnResults.com
🌐 www.focusingonresults.com
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn
P.S. If this message resonated with you, it might speak to someone else too. Forward it to a friend who’s ready for their next chapter—you never know what kind of shift a few words of encouragement can spark.
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