The Recalibration Years: Finding Yourself on the Other Side of Achievement

Each person, and more specifically each woman, is a born achiever. We are each born with a dream that evolves into a set of goals. Those goals set us on a mission, and we strive to attain them.

The pursuit might be as complex, such as building a career in business, medicine, industry, and education. Or it might be deeply human: becoming a loving parter, raising children, or creating a nurturing home.  Regardless of the vision, achievement is not for the faint of heart.

We spend years striving, struggling, and maintaining the life we have built. But my question is about the other side, once you begin reaping the fruits of your labor?

Why does life feel like a series of recalibrations?  Why, like Reba McEntire once asked, do we wonder, “Is there life out there?” 

Why would one of the most successful basketball players of all time take up golf. Why do you rise to the top of your profession to start clothing lines, coffee shops, bakeries?

Are we never content?  Why is success never enough?

Or maybe it wasn’t you at all. Maybe it was life. 

 The kids grew up. A longtime relationship changed. The marketplace evolved and demanded something different. Maybe you began to outgrow expectations that were never truly yours to begin with.

Perhaps you were told a career was safe, that you couldn’t survive without a spouse, or that motherhood required constant sacrifice. 

The person you are now can begin to feel like your old high school jeans: familiar, but no longer a perfect fit.

Life becomes autopilot. You haven’t felt truly present in a long time, even the emergencies of life seem a bit routine.

 The kid forgot their notebook. Again.

 The dog is sick. Again.

The office is restructuring. Again. 

The things that used to do to distract you no longer work. It takes more than a new fitness class, a recipe, or spring catalog to wake you up. 

Elizabeth Gilbert became something of a guide for many people navigating life recalibration.  When Eat, Pray, Love became popular, I was in a life recalibration of my own. I was finishing massage school and ending my first marriage.

I remember envying the idea of rediscovering yourself in places that nurture both body and spirit. Many of us lack the time, if not the money, to spend traveling the world.

 But what if it doesn’t need to be a year?

What could you sacrifice?

 A season?

 A few weeks?

 Even for one week? 

Your travel archetype can also offer clues.

Your archetype asks: Who are you in the story of your life?

Are you the Sovereign, marking milestones and celebrating life’s victories? 

Are you the Mystic, seeking transformation and deeper meaning beneath the surface of everyday life? 

Are you the architect, someone who needs thoughtful planning and logistical harmony to feel safe enough to explore?

Are you the explorer, drawn to landscapes, cultures, and experiences that challenge and expand you?

Or are you a restorative, someone whose life is so full that travel must first offer rest, deep sleep, nourishment, and simplicity?

When we talk about recalibration, when was the last time you encountered a story that made you pause and think?  When was the last time you felt the desire to write, make art, or simply sit among the people who do?  

Maybe every movie set in Paris feels like a world waiting for you.  Maybe you are a travel curator, gathering the finest experiences of life and collecting them like works of art.

You may not be an author, but your life becomes a collection of stories. The sweet cafe with late-night jazz. The way the sunlight hit the Thames just right. The market where you spoke with the woman at the flower stand and you felt like you could talk for hours.

Maybe none of these things quite fit you. Maybe it isn’t the time or place that matters most. Maybe it’s the people.

 Gather your people for your transformation. Make your list together. Then choose the place. Is it Cape May, NJ? Lake Placid, NY?  Yellowstone? Flagstaff, AZ?

You don’t need the itinerary. You need opportunities for connections.  

When it comes to travel, you’re the connector.

Knowing who you are in relation to travel can offer clues to the kind of recalibration you need. Travel can expand your perspective and open you to a life of new possibilities.

Like Elizabeth Gilbert, perhaps the first step is to identify your three guiding words. Combine that with understanding your travel archetype type, and endless options begin to narrow into something meaningful.

My best suggestion is to keep your mind as open as the horizon.

Allow inspiration to arrive without rushing it.

There can be as many versions of you as there are destinations.

This is the work I now help people do through wellness travel and archetype-based journeys. Sometimes the next chapter of your life begins with a single destination. Explore more here.