December 28th, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Rather than just expecting to grow older with your partner, plan to grow closer. Planning meaningful projects with your partner is a powerful bonding experience. Where you give back doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are giving back together. Giving is connecting. Planning joint generative pursuits can bring couples closerSource: Marcus Aurelius for PexelsWhen […]
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December 27th, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Whatever happened to candy stripers? Of course, I’m talking about the teen volunteers who donned red and white stripes (hence the name “candy striper”) in hospitals who would chat with the patients and help make them comfortable. Candy Stripers Volunteering Source: Florida Memory/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Civic engagement todayVolunteerism and community activities were common school requirements […]
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December 26th, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Most people think of aging as physical decline, frailty, infirmed states, and navigating a slow cognitive failure and death. There is so much we have to look forward to as we age. Emotional growth continues throughout life.What is the first thing you think of when someone says “old age”? Most people think of aging as […]
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December 25th, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Intrinsic motivation helps us to get engaged and stay engaged. We have control over our motivation. Harnessing our intrinsic motivation is important—and simple. What is it you enjoy most? Think of something that no one needs to urge you to do, remind you to do, or that you put off because you’d really rather be […]
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December 24th, 2025
Deborah Heiser
It’s the Giving Season! Did you know the saying “Tis better to give than to receive” is actually true? We are built to have the desire to give back without expecting anything in return by the time we hit midlife. This is called generativity, a term coined by developmental psychologist Erik Erikson. Many midlifers believe […]
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December 23rd, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Tom skipped college and went straight to work. Just like so many of us, he lived in the moment, focusing on the grind of family, and work. He didn’t have time for anything else. But, in his 50s, he decided to take a leap and take a stab at being a radio show host. He’d […]
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December 22nd, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Key points Read more Originally Published on https://deborahheiserphd.substack.com/
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December 22nd, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Guidance Is Rare And That’s Why It Matters Intelligence is common. Hard work is common. Potential is common. The missing piece for so many people isn’t ability or effort. It’s guidance. Guidance is what turns raw potential into real progress. A mentor who asks the right question. A manager who shows you how to navigate […]
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December 22nd, 2025
Deborah Heiser
Midlife gets a bad rap. But why? After all, we know that happiness is a U shape, with our satisfaction rising by the time we turn 50 (Blanchflower, 2020). We also know that when we reach older adulthood we will recall our midlife years as better than other periods of our lives (Galambos, 2020). So, […]
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December 21st, 2025
Deborah Heiser
How many times have you heard “Go find a mentor”? There are so many ways we can reach out to an expert in the field we are entering, or a senior level person who has the ability to open doors for us. But have you ever thought of all of the mentors you’ve had and […]
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