Growing older is one of the greatest gifts in life. Let’s seize this remarkable opportunity to live as our healthiest, most vibrant selves—for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for future generations. You just may find you have a more radiant life.

Right now, you may feel that this is some kind of pipe dream. But I’m here to assure you that this is not just for other people. It’s possible for you, too. It’s all about how you want to feel and how you choose to be.

Read on to discover four keys to a life filled with joy and, ultimately, a sense of freedom.

To enjoy the life you’re worthy of, choose to be…WISE.

Willing

Inspired

Supported

Energized

WILLING

Stay open and curious. Have a growth mindset.

One summer a few years ago, a psychic friend told me I was going to write a book. No way, I never want to write a book! I don’t know what to write about, I’m too old, I don’t have time.

One morning six months later, I walked into my office, set my cup of tea on the desk and flipped open my laptop. Maybe it was the blinking cursor on my screen that hypnotized me? I went into a kind of trance as my fingers danced across the keyboard. Two hours later I “came to” and when I read through eleven pages, I knew it was the beginning of a book.

The road to a finished manuscript was marked by potholes, roadblocks, and U-turns as my inner gremlins kept trying to stop me. Yet my inner guidance kept telling me, “It’s time to speak to the women’s hearts.” And so, every time I felt bogged down by resistance, I remembered something a wise elder told me: you can suffer or you can surrender to something greater than yourself and live a more radiant life.

Because we’re alive, we’ve all had hard things happen. The breakup, the divorce, the bankruptcy, the diagnosis. Our layers of resistance get peeled back through suffering and hardship.

I went through dark passages, one in particular in my 30’s when I had a falling apart, complete with full-tilt disordered eating and anxiety out the wazoo. You don’t know if you’re going to come through it and you don’t know when it’s going to end. Like the caterpillar-to-butterfly experience, it really is that soupy chrysalis place.

How things work for most of us is that our radiance comes from going through those dark nights.

Wow, I’m more connected than I thought I was.

I’m way more resilient than I thought I was.

I’m more loved than I thought I was.

We go through the stages of peeling and healing. When we get to the other side, we see. Our wounds are the doorway to our wisdom.

INSPIRED

Who and what brings you more alive?

So many people think they are looking for meaning as a way to . I did, too, but I’ve learned that what we’re also looking for is ALIVENESS.

A sense of being plugged into life, feeling a sense of adventure.

Connection to our inner lives and expressing our joy for life.

So it’s not either/or. It’s really living with purpose and play.

Myth #1 about aging is that the best years of your life are over when you reach menopause. The runway is short and you’re near the end. Sand running out of the hourglass.

The truth? You can choose to turn over the hourglass.

Be like my friend Nancy who is in her 70’s. She told me, “I don’t want to be carried across the finish line feet first. I want to cross it on a boogie board with my arms up, squealing whee!”

What brings YOU more alive? Is it…

• Playing music
• Dancing
• Traveling to new places
• Your pets, grandchildren, growing flowers
• Deep conversation
• Prayer
• Singing out loud

For more inspiration, get a free download at www.leesirwin.com

Myth #2: Youthfulness happens in our teens and twenties.

The truth? You can inhabit a form of youthfulness that doesn’t have anything to do with your age or how your body looks—when you’re in your 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond.

It’s the sense of surprise at what is being revealed. And it has more to do with what you’ll pass on–the legacy you’re leaving.

The poet David Whyte calls this the shape of your own absence.

What are you making way for? The world needs us to show up, real and inspired. Can we get our hands dirty, risk being called one of the crazy ones, and join the dance together?

SUPPORTED

Being supported can mean everything from wearing a “MagicLift” support bra to having friends who pick you up when you stumble and celebrate with you when you win.

Susie is a champion boxer and highly successful sales director in the competitive pharmaceutical industry. She was forty-five when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctor recommended a mastectomy, chemo and radiation and because her mom had died from the disease, she agreed.

She took time off from her busy job to focus on self-care and accept help from her women friends. When she was too weak to cook for herself during chemo, they put tasty meals in a cooler outside her door each day, along with flowers from their garden or a funny card.

What are the pillars that hold you up?

From a very young age, I was focused on striving to please everyone and get approval. My game plan was to check all the boxes: Make straight A’s, go to college, find a great job and a man who loved me.

When I reached my late 40’s I noticed that I was getting tired…just kind of energetically tired. I would get in the car to run errands and think, is this all there is?

You know, if we’ve been on a mission to please everyone else, our suck-it-up muscles can start to go slack. We just can’t keep doing the same thing anymore.

It can be very disorienting, but it is an invitation.

I looked at my life and thought, Well, things are pretty good, but it’s time to chuck the checklist of life that’s all about achieving and acquiring.

This is list I wrote with 4 pillars that focused on presence and pleasure.

Physical: Walk in the forest

Emotional: Dump the “doom and gloomers”. Reach out to people who are open to new experiences.

Mental: Wean myself off the news. Play uplifting music in home and car.

Spiritual: Each morning, ask for divine guidance: “What would you have me know today?” and write down what comes through.

If you’ve been feeling bored or you need better support, you may want to start your own “Four Pillars” list. And if you find you need help breaking some bad habits and building good ones, I recommend this book for an easy and proven method to live a more radiant life:

Atomic Habits

The fourth secret to enjoying a radiant life, yet arguably the most important one, is to feel…

ENERGIZED

Because without energy, life becomes a struggle.

How can you boost your energy?

TAP INTO YOUR POWER CENTER

Find your thymus gland. Move your fingers down 1-2 inches below your collarbones. Using the fingertips of both hands, tap firmly for 20-30 seconds. You can do this as many times each day as you like. You’ll get a quick energy lift and boost your immunity, too!

FEED YOUR BODY WELL

Essential fatty acids are important for hormone balance and energy. Learn to love fish high in Omega-3’s, such as salmon, or supplement daily with a high-quality fish oil or flax seed oil. Swap “white stuff” (sugar, white bread, milk) for fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts & eggs.

GET MORE “D”

If you shun the sun and feel tired and unmotivated, it could be you’re one of the 85% of post-menopausal women who are Vitamin D deficient. Are you taking a daily “D” supplement?

NO MORE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Use an app to help you relax and stay asleep

• Calm.com     
• Insight Timer or Meditative Story: free stories to help you sleep
• Headspace.com     

Let’s Wrap it Up

Did you realize that all you have to be is WISE to live a more radiant life?

I shared my favorite tips and the best part is that you can start implementing them today. They seem simple, but when combined, these tips can actually transform your life.

Do you have additional tips to live a more radiant life? I’d love to read all about them in the comments below!