Oct 8, 2026 · 19 min · 8 segments
**How to Thrive in the In-Between: Finding Yourself in Midlife Between What Was and What Can Be** You’ve made the decision. Taken the leap. Left something behind. But you don’t quite know what comes…
Wendy BattlesHost
Now, lest you think every one of these experiments results in some magical Philadelphia experience, let me tell you about my coffee.

I was dying for a cup of coffee recently 'cause, you know, like so many of us, I love good coffee, and I decided to try a coffee shop in my neighborhood that I hadn't been to before.

The barista made this beautiful little leaf on top of my latte, and it also really wasn't for me.

And you know what? That's okay, because apparently reinvention can be as small as figuring out where you do and don't want to buy a latte.

We're only doing things we already know we like, and isn't that part of what reinvention asks of us? To try, to notice, to learn.

Maybe you try something and think, "Yes, more of that." Maybe you try something else and think, "Well, that didn't pan out the way I expected." But both give us information.

Sometimes the things that don't work out teach us just as much as the things that do.

And I think that's where we can put so much unnecessary pressure on ourselves when we're reinventing.

We took the leap and changed something, and now somewhere in the back of our minds, we think we're supposed to prove that we made the right decision by creating that perfect next chapter.

What if we give ourselves permission to experiment? What if we're allowed to change our minds? What if we're allowed to say, "I thought I wanted that, but now that I've tried, I don't," or, "I never imagined I'd like this, and look at me." That isn't failure.

Now, lest you think every one of these experiments results in some magical Philadelphia experience, let me tell you about my coffee.

I was dying for a cup of coffee recently 'cause, you know, like so many of us, I love good coffee, and I decided to try a coffee shop in my neighborhood that I hadn't been to before.

The barista made this beautiful little leaf on top of my latte, and it also really wasn't for me.

And you know what? That's okay, because apparently reinvention can be as small as figuring out where you do and don't want to buy a latte.

We're only doing things we already know we like, and isn't that part of what reinvention asks of us? To try, to notice, to learn.

Maybe you try something and think, "Yes, more of that." Maybe you try something else and think, "Well, that didn't pan out the way I expected." But both give us information.

Sometimes the things that don't work out teach us just as much as the things that do.

And I think that's where we can put so much unnecessary pressure on ourselves when we're reinventing.

We took the leap and changed something, and now somewhere in the back of our minds, we think we're supposed to prove that we made the right decision by creating that perfect next chapter.

What if we give ourselves permission to experiment? What if we're allowed to change our minds? What if we're allowed to say, "I thought I wanted that, but now that I've tried, I don't," or, "I never imagined I'd like this, and look at me." That isn't failure.
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