You don’t get to this age without the odd look around to see how successful you are in comparison to others.

But wait!

Should we really be measuring our life’s success in monetary value and volume of possessions?

Even if you think you should have been more ‘successful’ in life by now (whatever that means), there is still plenty of time for some personal bests…

PART ONE: Getting Your Timing Right

From talking to teenagers, sliding doors moments and bank robberies. Adulting is all about timing. And that’s not sexy. Or fun.

While this episode started off under the guise of being about GCSEs and real-life work experience, it ended up using the phrase ‘faecal chatter’ more than once.

We all chase a dream – the dream life, the dream bod, the dream relationship, the dream bank balance! And in pursuit of these goals, we invest HEAVILY. We invest our money, our energy and our time. But sometimes the goal shifts or it just gets trickier to attain, and the amount we have already invested becomes a dead weight, anchoring us to the spot, to the dream.

“If you stop now you’ll have lost all that time / money / energy…”

News flash! It’s already gone regardless of whether you hit your target. The two occasions I called time on my investment were ultimately the most liberating and saved me money and my sanity. You gotta know when enough is enough…

There’s a saying - "What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while". But sometimes, what you do once in a while can have a profound effect on what you do every day.

It can be hard to reset yourself but if you’re lucky enough, you might have a Factory Reset Friend who comes along and pushes the right buttons to get you back to what was normal before normal was this.

Make sense? It will. 

Moments of disconnect happen to everyone, right?

Join Maria as she takes on a little exercise to identify why she can’t create a vision for her life and what the biggest barrier to discovering her purpose is.

The 5 why’s exercise: https://www.oakland.edu/Assets/upload/docs/Pawley/Lean-Enrichment-Activities/LEA---5-Whys.pdf

Good ol’ Bob Proctor for a bit of woo woo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=3w4OIypyneo&t=0s

Once the journey into midlife gets underway, one town you might visit is Crisis-ville. It’s situated somewhere near Parent Village and Invisibility Central.

Navigating your way through Crisis-ville isn’t as tricky as you might think though.

Just remember, that YOU are your map. And if you change yourself entirely en route, you are 100% bound to get lost.

Show name change! Why?

Because I refuse to talk to myself, or a wall.

Because actually, this is just Life on B Side.

And some B sides have been known to be better than the A sides.

Not sure if you’re on the B Side? Well, if you know what a B Side is then tag, you’re it.

But just in case, here’s 5 subtle clues to help you recognise your B Side status.

You’re welcome :) 

There’s not much I don’t feeling guilty about.

Being a sh*tty daughter is near the top of the list though.

I’m not always sh*tty. Only when it matters.

And just when I learned to live with the weird warmth of accepting that I could have done better, my Dads diligent note-taking came back to haunt me...

ME: Valentine’s Day is utter horseshit, yes? Can we agree on that?

THEM: OK, so what’s really important in a long-term relationship?

ME: Earplugs, distance, a good solicitor?

THEM: *unimpressed*

ME: OK, so after 20 years of marriage, here’s what I think…