OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a total podcast junkie.
Doesn’t matter if I’m driving across town. Or folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, or cooking dinner.
Whenever I have the time, I’m listening to podcasts.
But not just any podcasts.
I don’t do true crime!! 😨
Like EVER!
(Unlike Ava Bartlett who’s obsessed with it on Based On A True Story!)
(but hey, to each their own, right?)
Me? I enjoy listening to inspiring podcasts…
Ones that help me learn and grow.
And become a wiser woman.
Which is why I wanted to share my new fav binge-worthy podcast with you…
(in case you haven’t heard about it)…
Wiser Than Me, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
(aka “Elaine” on Seinfeld)
OMG.
LOVE. IT.
LOVE. HER.❤️
(I imagine the two of us meeting for coffee one day and laughing til our sides hurt! Yup, totally obsessed with JLD! )
In Wiser Than Me, Julia (now 62), interviews incredible women of our time –> authors, designers, singers, actresses, artists, poets, activists, you name it!
Iconic women like Jane Fonda, Amy Tan, Carol Burnett, Rhea Purlman, Darlene Love…and the list goes on.
Women who are all older (and wiser) than her!
And Julia proves to be an amazing host.
She’s funny (in an endearing, self-deprecating kind of way), as well as smart, authentic, and surprisingly vulnerable with her guests.
She even she calls her mom at the end of each episode to have a heartfelt conversation with her. About what she learned from these unforgettable women. It’s one of my fav parts of the show.
(I’d probably do the same if my own mom was still alive: “Mom, you’re not gonna believe who I just interviewed!!”).
So why am I telling you about Wiser Than Me? Especially if you’re NOT a podcast listener?
Something I wanted to share with you (even if you never listen to this podcast).
Diane (72) said something so profound about getting older…I had to stop what I was doing and search frantically for a piece of scrap paper to scribble her words down:
“I would change the word ‘aging’ to ‘living.’ Instead of ‘how old are you?’ we should say ‘how long have you lived?’ Age is not a decay. It’s a continuation of life.”
I’ve thought about Diane’s words a lot since then.
About the value of the years we’ve lived.
And how easy it can be to discount them.
Or to lose faith that the years in front of us are just as valuable as the ones behind us.
As though we are ONLY worthy in our youth.
As an empowerment coach for women in midlife, I’ve heard these self-doubts expressed often by my clients. They’ve said things like:
“My worth was tied to my beauty and as I got older I thought ‘I’m done.'”
“I’m 59 and starting to feel so invisible.”
“I’m afraid of falling flat on my face at my age. It feels like I’m too old to jump into something different.”
“I used to be strong, able, witty, and brave…but now I’m slowly fading.”
I get it!
It ain’t always easy to embrace your age!
(Especially in this youth-obsessed culture we live in.)
But listening to Julia’s interviews with these wise older women has helped me shift my own perspective.
By making me realize I’m part of something MUCH bigger…a circle of smart, strong, very capable women.
Women who’ve seen so much. Done so much. Given so much.
And who’ve weathered countless storms throughout the years.
Women I look up to. And want to emulate.
Women who have so much more life to live.
Women just like YOU!
So whether you listen to the Wiser Than Me podcast or not (if you do, I’d love to hear what you think)…
My point is this…
No matter what your chronological age is…
YOUR stories are important. 💫
So tell them.
YOUR experiences are unique. 💫
So share them.
YOUR age makes you…YOU. 💫
So embrace it.
YOUR life matters. 💫
So live it.
Kerry xo
P.S. You can listen to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s inspiring podcast Wiser Than Me here on: Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
P.P.S. Ready to discover your midlife mission and move forward with more ease? Click here to take my FREE quiz: Women Over 50, What’s Your Prime-of-Life Purpose? Learn to value your own unique strengths and talents in the second act of life!