We all feel it eventually. The stiffness in the morning. The slower recovery after exercise. The mirror reflecting back a face that has lived more years than we sometimes realize. These signs of aging can feel like losses, and many people slip into thinking life is winding down.
But what if these signals weren’t reminders of decline—what if they were invitations to build something new?
That’s the perspective orthopedic surgeon and researcher Dr. Vonda Wright champions in her book Unbreakable: A Woman’s Guide to Aging with Power. She argues that aging isn’t about shrinking into frailty but about stepping into strength, resilience, and renewed purpose.
Her words resonate with me deeply because they echo the very heart of my work. Through my upcoming course Your Retirement, Your Way: Thriving, Dreaming and Reinventing Life in Your 60s and Beyond, I help people see that aging and retirement aren’t endpoints. They’re design projects. They’re chances to reimagine, reinvent, and thrive in ways you may not have allowed yourself before.
Mindset is everything
Dr. Wright reminds us that our brains will believe the stories we tell them. If you think of aging as a slow slide into decline, your mind and body will follow. But if you see it as a chapter of growth, strength, and possibility, your brain—and your choices—start to align with that future.
This is one of the biggest shifts I see. At first, many approach retirement with a sense of loss—loss of role, status, or purpose. But as they work through the reflective exercises, they realize retirement isn’t a void to be filled. It’s a canvas. And mindset is the brush you paint with.
Neuroscience supports this. Repeated thoughts and actions literally rewire our brains. When you practice seeing aging as opportunity, you carve out new pathways that make it easier to stay motivated, optimistic, and engaged.
Confidence grows from what you’ve already achieved
One of Dr. Wright’s most powerful insights is that we often forget just how resilient and capable we’ve already been. Every career pivot, every family challenge, every setback survived is a testament to your ability to handle what’s ahead.
The science is clear: our sense of confidence is built on our memory of past successes. That means your future self can stand taller simply by remembering the strength you’ve already shown.
In Your Retirement, Your Way, I encourage people to reflect not just on what they want next, but on what they’ve already proven to themselves. That memory bank of successes becomes a resource. It’s like a reservoir of resilience you can draw on when you hit the inevitable bumps in the road.
Small daily actions that change the trajectory
Of course, mindset is only half of the equation. Aging well requires action. Dr. Wright highlights three powerful habits anyone can start today:
- Move after meals. A short walk after your biggest meal each day helps digestion, lowers blood sugar, and boosts circulation.
- Protect your muscles. Reducing sugar and increasing protein keeps inflammation in check and builds strength where it matters most.
- Lift something heavy. Resistance training and impact exercise aren’t optional as we age—they’re the foundation of staying strong and independent.
I love her message that it’s never too late to start. Your body will always respond to the stresses you put on it, whether you’re 35 or 75. Every time you choose to move, you’re sending a powerful signal to your body: Stay strong. Stay alive. Stay ready.
In my own work, I also emphasize the value of simple daily rituals—sunlight in the morning to reset your body clock, short bursts of movement during the day to keep energy high, and calming routines at night to help your brain let go. None of these take hours, but together they build a scaffolding of strength around your life.
Resilience isn’t just physical—it’s emotional
What I admire most about Dr. Wright’s approach is that she doesn’t just focus on bones and muscles. She talks about resilience in its broadest sense—the mental and emotional stamina we need to navigate change.
And this is where my course picks up the baton. Retirement is one of the biggest transitions of our lives, and with it comes a mix of emotions: excitement, fear, relief, and sometimes even grief. Without tools to navigate those emotions, it’s easy to feel stuck or adrift.
That’s why one of the central pillars of Your Retirement, Your Way is emotional agility. It’s the ability to notice and name your emotions without being swept away by them, then choose actions that align with your values. This is the secret to moving forward with clarity, even when life feels messy.
Retirement as reinvention, not retreat
Too often, retirement is framed as an ending—the winding down of work, energy, and possibility. But the truth is, it can be the most creative stage of your life if you choose to see it that way.
Dr. Wright says her goal is to help women avoid becoming frail. My goal is to help people avoid becoming aimless. Because frailty doesn’t just happen in the body—it can happen in the spirit if you let life shrink around you.
Through Your Retirement, Your Way, I guide people to shift from thinking about what they’re retiring from to what they’re retiring into. That shift—from an absence to a presence—creates a sense of purpose, connection, and joy.
And here’s the beautiful part: purpose doesn’t have to be grand. It might be nurturing your garden, mentoring younger people, deepening your spiritual practice, or exploring creativity you never had time for before. Purpose is what gets you out of bed with energy.
Taking ownership of your health and your future
Another message from Unbreakable that stuck with me is Dr. Wright’s call to be your own advocate. If something isn’t working for you—whether it’s a doctor who doesn’t listen, or a routine that leaves you drained—you have every right to change it.
The same is true of retirement. Too many people drift into it on autopilot, following old scripts written by society or by other people. But this is your time. This is your life. And you get to decide what it looks like.
The unbreakable path forward
Here’s the truth: aging well doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by design. It happens when you combine the right mindset with consistent daily actions, and when you take the time to define what thriving looks like for you.
Dr. Vonda Wright’s book reminds us that we can age with power. My work reminds you that you can retire with purpose. Put the two together, and you have a recipe for decades of vitality ahead.
So ask yourself:
- What story am I telling myself about aging?
- What’s one small daily habit I could start this week to strengthen my body or mind?
- What am I retiring into?
This is the work we do inside Your Retirement, Your Way. Over six modules, I’ll guide you to create a personal blueprint for a thriving retirement. You’ll uncover your values, set meaningful goals, and learn the science-backed habits that build both resilience and joy. You’ll finish with a vision that excites you and a plan that carries you forward.
If you want to find out when the course is launched, make sure you subscribe to The Vessel.
Because the truth is this: aging isn’t something to fear. It’s something to step into with intention. It’s not about being unbreakable in the sense of never struggling. It’s about knowing you have the tools, the strength, and the purpose to live the years ahead with confidence.
