Tag Archives: the good life

What is your story?

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This week I enjoyed a visit with my neighbor, who saw me sitting on my front porch and stopped by for a chat.  Porch sitting feels like a thing of the past, but impromptu chats with neighbors seems even more rare.  She told me that lately she has been curious about people’s stories.  

Everyone has one.  What is your story?

She wondered if anyone takes the time to ask people to share their story.  Recently a local business owner even seemed surprised when she asked about her story.  

Has anyone asked about your story?

What would you share? 

Would you only tell the expected chapters, or would you delve into the nitty gritty?  

After being on the planet around five decades, there are too many chapters to choose from.  

Where would you begin?  

Storyworth

My daughter gifted me a Storyworth subscription for Christmas.  Every Monday for a whole year I will be emailed a question about my life.  At the end of the year they will put it all together in a book I can purchase. 

I was touched that my daughter was interested in knowing more about me.  

{insert ugly cry}

I’m not an affiliate for this company, but I think this is an excellent idea!

Here are some of the questions I’ve been asked:

What is your favorite childhood story?

What was your Mom/Dad like?  Grandparents?  First Boss?  

What would you save if your house was on fire?  – EEKS THIS WAS HARD!

What do you consider your motto?

Favorite subject in high school?

Best job you ever had?

Today’s question is.. are you a regular at any of your local restaurants or cafes? What is that relationship like?”

Heartbreaking realization

It feels a bit sad to me that as a society we’ve lost the connection of neighbors, but what is even more heartbreaking is that many women have lost a connection to their story.  

A Harvard Business Review article on human potential said that the #1 reason you don’t reach your potential is that you don’t know yourself. 

You many not even know how to connect to your story, to make peace with it or to move forward to create the story you’ve always wanted. 

What the world needs is more porch sitting

Maybe my neighbor is onto something by making a point of stopping to visit a neighbor sitting on her front porch, and to care enough to wonder about her story.

Everyone has one.  What is your story?

I love having the opportunity to listen to women’s stories, and help them make peace with their numerous chapters. 

My intention is that you believe your best years are ahead.  

Do you feel stuck, unheard or maybe you just feel lonely? Are you afraid that your best years are in the past? Where are you in your story, and where would you like to be?

I invite you to schedule a chat with me using my calendar link, then choose a date/time that works for you. The very best part of my role as a life coach is to help you create a life you’ve always wanted.  

Here’s to connecting to your story and believing your best days are ahead!

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!

Can we skip to the good part?

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Can we skip to the good part? What if this is the good part. Tiffany Eckhardt helps women make it through midlife without a crisis.

Skip to the good part

As I walk through my garden bursting with signs of new life, one thing I know for sure is that you can’t rush spring, or skip to the good part. 

I want to plant a seed and then skip to harvesting a beautiful array of cutting flowers, fruits and vegetables.  I want to feel accomplished and enjoy the rewards of my hard work, without doing the work.

In what areas of your life are you rushing? Have you found yourself wishing, “can we skip to the good part?”  

We’ve spent our lives skipping to the good part

In high school you were most likely in a hurry to graduate, then off to college.  After high school or college, you might have been in a hurry to get married, and then the house and kids.  

Most parents rush their children’s milestones, in a hurry for their precious baby to crawl, walk and talk.  And then spend the rest of their lives telling them to sit down and hush.  

How many seasons did you rush?  In hindsight, every season was the good part! 

This song by AJR eloquently explains it all… The Good Part.

Will I know I’ve made it?

Although 20 years of raising a family seems like a long time, in the end it went too fast.  

Are you considering these nagging questions…

Have you made it?  Was this always the goal?  Now what?  

Did you skip the good part?

The danger for empty nesters is the temptation to habitually look to the past for your identity.

Can you skip the unwanted feelings?   

One of the latest trends for Instagram REELS is using the song by AJR to show how people want to skip to the good part.  My favorite one is a husband who is digging a trench.  The wife asks, can we skip to the good part?  He answers, NO!  Jeff and I relate to that REEL as he just trenched our back yard for a water line, a couple months before our son’s wedding that we are hosting.  

I’m the screaming wife… Check out the REEL!

Are you the screaming midlife woman with an empty nest, who just wants to skip to feeling certain of the future? Your empty nest feels lonely.  You’re not sure where you’ll skip to, but you’d like to skip the heaviness of unwanted feelings.  

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. You can’t skip the work involved in cultivating a new life, but it’s work wether you stay stuck or dig in.

The resistance

It’s natural to avoid the discomfort of new growth, but when you resist it you suffer.  

The best part of an empty nest is that you have plenty of time to dig into what makes you tick and cultivate something new. You can grow stronger as you learn to dance with resistance, acceptance, grief and resilience.

As a recent client testified…

“She has helped me, not only course my way through past and ongoing grief, but major life changes.  She has directed me and given me hope to dream about a fun future for ME.  I can finally feel free to step into the next chapter.” 

Suffering is optional.  You can be resilient and live a fun life that is full of purpose.

If this is resonating with you, let’s schedule a short chat to learn how I can help you navigate what you’re actually trying to skip and identify where you’d like to skip to.

Here’s to a life you don’t need to skip.

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!