Life after 40 doesn’t have to suck. If you’re feeling a bit unfulfilled and searching for more out of midlife, it’s time for you to go on more side quests.

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One of the biggest challenges of midlife is navigating the slog of suck.

We have an endless array of boring tasks coupled with the intensity of high stakes projects that make the day to day feel quite monotonous with a heavy dose of anxiety.

If life is a game, we are locked in and focused on our main quest:

• Parenting
• Navigating our careers
• Grinding away to our next objective

It’s all important, of course.

But it just leads to life feeling like an endless cycle of one thing to another.

Nothing to explore outside of this linear path.

Part of our midlife crisis is realizing this pattern and wanting to unlock a more open world where we are free to explore our own interests.

Having fun.

Experiencing new things.

If you’re feeling like this slog through life is just not that awesome right now, then you need to go on more side quests, my friend.

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Life is more than the main quest

We get so caught up in career and parenting and adulting (our main questline) that it sucks up all of our time and energy.

Weeks, months, years go by and you settle.

Never taking time for yourself. Grinding away. Eventually you burn out. Game over.

The answer isn’t to always rest and do less.

Sometimes the way out of this unfulfilled burned out stage is to be intentional about how you do more.

Enter the personal side quest.

A way to bring more joy, excitement, spontaneity into your life.

What is a side quest?

In the gaming world, a side quest is simply an adventure that is separate from the main story of the game.

They are typically not required to complete that main quest, but usually provide deeper character development that can enhance the overall experience.

Sometimes, you earn new skills, gain rewards, treasures, new weapons. Or it’s just fun.

You can do the same in real life.

The side quest is new and novel.

It’s out of the ordinary of your usual routine.

But it’s also different from a hobby (which is more like something you might already do regularly).

You get a sense of accomplishment and confidence for trying something new and seeing it through.

It also leads to an increase in curiosity to do even more interesting things.

As you explore new interests, you can develop new skills, maybe even meet new people with different perspectives or cultures.

Side quests can spark new ideas and solutions for the day to day challenges you face in the main storyline.

They might even lead to new hobbies or even business ideas.

At minimum, these little mini adventures just make life more interesting. More fun.

And that leads to reduced stress and anxiety and increased creativity.

You. Need. More. Side. Quests.

How to develop your own side quests

Start by thinking about your interests and passions.

What are some things that you are drawn to? Things that you maybe want to dive deeper into, or have always been curious about?

A skill you wanted to develop; a place you wanted to visit; a topic you’ve always wanted to learn more about.

Instead of just talking about the Roman Empire, I recently decided to actually learn more about it by taking a few weeks to read and study historical books and texts about Rome—its many emperors and its eventual downfall.

Take a class. Try cooking, art, or a coding course.

I love taking cooking classes—especially if I’m traveling to get a sense of the local cuisine and culture.

My wife and I took a pastry-making class when we recently visited Montreal. So much fun.

Be open to opportunities that pop up.

Volunteer.

Find a cause you care about and offer your time.

Maybe there’s a local event or community opportunity for more involvement.

I recently started volunteering at my kids’ school and it’s really cool to be more involved and hands-on within our little community.

Instead of shying away or defaulting to “no.” Maybe get out of your comfort zone and try it out for once.

Remember: it doesn’t have to be a grand adventure.

Some of the best side quests can be small in nature, and they don’t even have to ladder back to your main quest.

You don’t always have to build skill sets that are transferable to your career. No need to stress over KPIs if you don’t want to.

It can just be a one-off because it’s simply interesting.

Here are some other side quest ideas to get you inspired:

• Take a weekend and explore a new area in your city or region: wander through a different neighborhood in your city or a local park.
• Cook a new and adventurous dish.
• Pursue a creative project: Write, paint, play an instrument or start a blog.
• Learn a new skill: Take an online course, learn a new language, or try a new sport.
• Start a sketchbook.
• Go on a nature trail.
• Get a library card. And actually use it.
• Take a solo overnight trip … or even just a solo day trip.
• Start a sewing project.
• Go to a comedy show.
• Eat at a restaurant solo.
• Try working from a new coffee shop.

Going on more side quests will
Level UP your life

Helping you find and go on more side quests is a core part of my new community, the LevelUP Life (formerly “Midlife Mastery”).

You’ll get immediate access to list of 50-plus side quests to encourage you to have more fun, better fulfillment, improved health and attainable personal growth.

It’s time to find your tribe of fellow midlifers that are ready to lift one another up.

Each week, you’ll get short essays from me on everything you received here, but in more depth.

And members receive mini-courses with my frameworks for better health/fitness … productivity/time management … habit building and consistency …. And you’ll be challenged to grow as a person.

Small measures meant to unlock massive results.

With fellow 40+ year olds ready to do the same.

Stay tuned. We get started on the greatest side quest of your life in a few weeks.

Until then, I hope you found this useful. If so, I’d appreciate it if you sent this newsletter to one person you think would benefit from my writing today.

And if you’re new here and enjoyed this newsletter, I’d be honored if you subscribed for more at this link.

And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “go on more side quests” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Until next time,
Pete