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After a long, tough week, I was thinking back on a recent American Airlines flight that I was on with my husband, Shelly. We were on our way to sunny California.

I waved goodbye to my beautiful Chicago, with its vitality and energy, as I listened to the plane roar up into the sky over Lake Michigan and into the white fluffy clouds. I was off to my tranquil life; to my home away from home, Rancho Mirage, California.

A Little About Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage is by no means a tranquil community. When I use the term “tranquil,” I am referring to a suburban lifestyle. I walk outside my beautiful home, and I can hear a pin drop. I don’t like the feeling because I don’t feel enthusiastic.

When I walk outside the doors of my condo in my beautiful Chicago, I hear all types of sounds, and I cannot help but feel the music of life. In Chicago, I experience a rush of enthusiasm as I soak up the energy of this cosmopolitan city.

The word enthusiasm piques my fancy because I view it as an eagerness to live a thriving life.

And so, I challenge you to ask yourself, “Am I living my life enthusiastically or do I lack the motivation to pick myself up and start all over again with something stimulating as I enter my new lifestyle after 50?”

Does This Sound Like You?

If you are feeling blah and unenthusiastic, it is time to get yourself back into the game with a plan.

Unfortunately, many women lack motivation as they enter this passage of life. Why? Because adjusting to change can be difficult.

We know our feeling of enthusiasm is missing; we find ourselves out of sync with our circumstances. This is a common state of affairs, so please don’t panic! You have no choice but to motivate yourself into action.

True Stories of Rejuvenated Enthusiasm

Story One

I want to share the true stories of three enthusiastic and motivated people: A girlfriend, a Monk and me, Susan “Honey” Good.

Each made huge and positive life changes. How? They brought enthusiasm back into their lives.

The story of my older girlfriend is remarkable. I met her when I was in my 40s, and to this day, she is one of my role models.

This particular friend created an enthusiastic lifestyle that required a move across the United States, from New York to Rancho Mirage, when she was in her 70s! Talk about enthusiasm and motivation.

Years later, her story helped give me the fortitude to leap into the unknown when I felt my enthusiasm faltering.

My girlfriend is and has always been, a vibrant, warm and wise woman. However, while in her 70s, she began to feel invisible as she walked down Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

She was determined not to grow old before her time, and she knew why she was beginning to feel invisible in New York. It was age-related.

However, she came to terms with her emotional side and realized she stopped feeling enthusiastic about life. She wanted to continue to kindle what she had always felt during other chapters of her life, such as enthusiasm, vitality, visibility and a strong sense of relevancy.

She made a dynamic plan, to move with her husband to a smaller community where she would feel visible and enthusiastic. And that is the path my girlfriend took.

She and her husband sold their home in New York and went West to California! This was a courageous move, and her life changed overnight. She soon became visible, vibrant and enthusiastic once again.

In fact, she became a jewelry designer and is now in her upper 80s; her clear blue eyes sparkle and she is still going strong. She is filled with enthusiasm.

Story Two

The second story was told to me by a close girlfriend who spends a lot of her time in Greece. She loves to hike. One day she hiked up to a famous monastery where five monks make their home. There, she met Simon the Monk.

Simon grew up in Athens, spent his college years at NYU and then returned to Greece. He opened several restaurants in the city and found success at a young age, but then became critically ill with colon cancer. After being told he only had a short while to live, he changed his diet, stopped drinking, sold his restaurants and moved into the monastery high in the Greek mountains to dedicate his remaining life to being a monk.

14 years later, Simon the Monk is cancer-free, happy and enthusiastic about life and loves his lifestyle. He motivated himself into action and often speaks by phone to my girlfriend and even came to visit her in Chicago.

And now, my own story… the story of HoneyGood.com.

Before HoneyGood.com, my life was filled to the brim. I was grateful and appreciative of my blessings: a devoted husband, a fruitful family, my mom and a beautiful lifestyle.

I played golf, was involved in charity work, played cards, read, needle pointed and on and on. However, as I entered a new passage in my life, I began to feel somewhat bored with my extra-curricular activities.

As most of you know, I met a writer who encouraged me to keep a journal for three months. I was challenged to no end but decided to go for it and see where it would lead me.

I was motivated to test the waters because I did not want to lose my enthusiastic nature or fall into a rut. Rather, I wanted to continue to grow. My enthusiasm for life led to a writing career and the creation of a booming dot com… all accomplished in my 60s!

It’s Important to Recognize We’re All Different

Not all of you are like my girlfriend, Simon the Monk or me.  Some of you have hurdles to scale that are sapping your strength, some of you are ill, and others of you are afraid. Some of you don’t or can’t try. I understand. I have compassion. But I beseech you to give it a whirl.

The lesson for today: Without motivation, you cannot achieve an enthusiastic lifestyle. Without a feeling of enthusiasm, you are not happy. The two go hand in hand. Hold hands with these two words, dear readers of mine.

Let Me Leave You With This

In the wise words of another great man, Charles Kingsley, “All that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”

Where do you find enthusiasm? Do tell! I would so love to hear from you either in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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