Summary of Learning to Love Midlife by Chip Conley: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age

By Justin Reese

DISCLAIMER

 

This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

Summary of Learning to Love Midlife by Chip Conley: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age

IN THIS SUMMARIZED BOOK, YOU WILL GET:

• Chapter astute outline of the main contents.
• Fast & simple understanding of the content analysis.
• Exceptionally summarized content that you may skip in the original book

Chip Conley's book, Learning to Love Midlife, offers a new perspective on the natural transition of midlife. Conley suggests that it's a chrysalis, a time when profound awakenings occur. He reveals 12 reasons why life gets better with age, including the relief of not defining oneself, stepping off the treadmill, letting go of emotional baggage, and growing whole. This perspective-shifting guide encourages readers to find joy, purpose, and success in their midlife journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: jUSTIN REESE
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224592036

Book preview

Introduction

A Tale of Two Midlifes

Midlife is a time of worry and uncertainty, often characterized by lost opportunities, frustration, and a sense of being sold out. However, it can also be a transformative opportunity, with life getting better with age. Society often misunderstands the upside of midlife, viewing it as an endless sand trap. The term midlife has a branding problem, as it was once seen as a state of life rather than a trait. However, the Greek word krinein means to make a decision based upon one's judgment, suggesting that midlife is a life stage that happens for you, unlocking a new world of choices.

Dr. Becca Levy's research shows that shifting our perspective on aging from negative to positive can improve health outcomes, including better balance, openness to new experiences, better cognitive functioning, and more satisfying sex life. Reframing our mindset on aging can grant us seven and a half years of additional life, more than if we stop smoking or start exercising at age 50.

Midlife, typically defined as the years 40 to 65, has been growing in recent years due to the rise of artificial intelligence and longer work hours. A study on midlife development in the United States, MIDUS, studied people 25 to 74 years old. In a world with more centenarians, midlife may last from 35 to 75. There are three stages of midlife: early midlife (35 to 50), which involves challenging physical and emotional transitions, the core of midlife (50s), later midlife (60 to 75), and the third stage (63), when the body reminds us it doesn't want to be forgotten.

Midlife is less of an age than a feeling, and your mileage may vary. Taffy Brodesser-Akner experienced her midlife crisis earlier than most, while her dad's midlife lasted through his mid-70s. For many, life begins at 50, and the term chrysalis refers to a transitional state where the incessant accumulating must come to an end. This is a time for introspection and a journey through stillness into freedom.

Midlife is a time of massive transitions, disappointments, financial struggles, and changes in jobs, spouses, and relationships. Author Brené Brown calls this era the midlife unraveling. The author experienced this unraveling and anxiety in their midto-late 40s, feeling like a failure on many levels. They lost five male midlife friends to suicide, and their friend, Chip Hankins, was their mirror.

The author felt trapped by the momentum and monotony of their life and yearned for an escape. Less than two months after Chip's memorial service, the author experienced a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic, leading to multiple deaths onstage.

After experiencing the dark side of early midlife, the author found themselves in the light around age 50. Within two years of their NDE, they sold their company, ended their problematic romantic partnership, and got their foster son exonerated and freed from prison. They realized that their suicidal ideation was based on the prison of their own constricting identities.

With newfound time affluence, the author studied topics such as emotions, festivals, and geophysics. They got in the best shape of their life partly because they were in dating mode again, but also started wondering whether they were irrelevant in the working world.

Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky asked the author to help him and his cofounders democratize hospitality. Initially, the author thought home sharing was a terrible idea, but after a