Why do midlife women stop trying things? Not the big rebellious things — the small ones. The new café, the different route home, the conversation with the woman next to you on the plane.

This episode is the final part of the SPACE method — a five-step framework Monique developed for midlife women drowning in everyone else's needs. E is for Explore: how to put novelty back into a brain that has stopped expecting it.

You'll hear:

• Why life satisfaction follows a U-shaped curve through your forties and fifties (and why the curve rises again) • Neuroscientist Dr David Eagleman's Novelty Rule and how it changes the way your brain experiences time • The 52 Yes List — one new thing a week for a year — and how to actually start

Plus a Dear Blokes note for the men who love us, and what listeners wrote in when asked: where do you escape when you need a moment?

If this is your first episode, welcome. Start anywhere. Stay for the conversation about what comes next.

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

This episode was recorded before the current fuel crisis. Please check current travel advisories and official government advice before booking or travelling.

You’ve simplified. Planned. Acted. Connected.

Now — what if you actually went somewhere?

Did something?

Said yes to the thing that’s been quietly calling you?

In this episode, Monique explores why solo travel over 50 can be so much more than a holiday. Research suggests novelty changes how we experience time, which means the antidote to feeling life rush past may not be a mid-life crisis. It might just be a Tuesday afternoon somewhere you’ve never been.

Less Eat Pray Love. More Shirley Valentine. Minus the Greek love affair.

Reader stories, the 52 Yeses concept, running away lite, why a tiny trip counts just as much as a plane ticket, and why the U-curve of life satisfaction suggests many of us are already climbing the good side.

For women who have done everything for everyone else and are starting to wonder, very reasonably:

What about my life?

Season Four is coming.

But first — go explore something. Anything.

Rebecca Kaye:

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

If you've ever felt drawn to Japan - its quiet beauty, its rituals, its unhurried way of moving through the world - this conversation is for you.

Today I'm speaking with Hiroko Yoda, Tokyo-based author, translator, folklorist, and certified kimono consultant. Her book Eight Million Ways to Happiness is the culmination of more than a decade of research, exploration, and living in Japan. It's a cultural history of the Japanese spiritual landscape - and a roadmap for anyone questing for meaning in the modern world, without locking themselves into any specific faith or belief system.

And I am thrilled to say this is her first Australian podcast interview.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What Japan's eight million gods and spirits tell us about finding meaning in the everyday
• How Japanese spiritual traditions - from shrine visits to seasonal rituals - can help us feel more grounded and present
• The concept of awe and why seeking wonder in ordinary life changes everything
• What Japan's elders have taught Hiroko about what really matters in the second half of life
• How to reconnect with nature and the seasons as a doorway to something deeper
• Whether Japan's quiet everyday spirituality translates to our busy Western lives - or whether it's a simplistic outsider fantasy
• How to weave a meaningful experience into a trip to Japan without it feeling like a tourist checklist

This is a conversation about slowing down, finding hidden meaning in the everyday, and what an ancient culture might offer a modern world that is moving very, very fast.

Episode Resources:

• Hiroko's website: hirokoyoda.com
• Hiroko's Newsletter: blog.hirokoyoda.com
• Instagram: @hi_yoda_1

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

Loneliness has been shown to have a health impact comparable to smoking many cigarettes a day. Not a typo.

In this episode — part of Monique van Tulder’s SPACE framework series — she explores why community and connection are critical to healthy ageing, wellbeing and longevity, particularly for midlife women.

She talks about being an introvert masquerading as someone who loves people, why building your tribe now requires deliberate effort in a world that no longer provides it automatically, and what the Okinawan moai can teach us about ageing well.

Also in this episode: the architecture of connection, navigating family relationships that don’t always fill your cup, and why your future self will thank you for making the call you’ve been putting off.

One action. One person. One date. That’s it.

For women navigating the Sandwich Generation — and anyone who keeps meaning to reach out once life “calms down”.

Friends really do make the world go round.

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

What if midlife isn’t the beginning of the end, but the start of your 2nd act?
In this episode of A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Podcast, Monique sits down with Michelle Parsonage, host of the Your 2nd Act podcast and community for women navigating mid-life change and reinvention. Michelle’s message is all about “the power and beauty of women in their middle years” and the real stories of what happens when women pause, get curious and choose what’s next.

Together they talk about what it’s really like to be the capable one who copes – running the domestic corporation, holding the mental load, doing all the invisible work – and then suddenly find yourself asking, *“What now? What about me?”*

You’ll hear:

• how Michelle knew she was ready for her own 2nd act – and why she started a podcast in her 50s
• why everyday women’s stories are such powerful fuel for courage and change
• the difference between blowing everything up and making small, brave moves in your actual life
• practical ways to create space for your own next chapter when you’re still busy and needed

This isn’t about becoming a different person. It’s about living a little louder as the woman you already are – with more agency, more curiosity, and a 2nd act that actually feels like yours.

Episode Resources:

YOUR 2ND ACT: INSTAGRAM

Events & Website: joamor.com

Additional Resources:

Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
Free Weekly Newsletter
Dear Blokes Downloadable
Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

You've made the plan. You can feel what you're chasing. But you still can't quite see the shape of what comes next - and that fog is exactly what's keeping you stuck.

This episode is about closing the gap between knowing and doing - and why the clarity you're waiting for won't arrive until you actually start moving.

In this episode, Monique van Tulder walks you through the ACT stage of the SPACE roadmap - the part where you stop waiting for the perfect moment (spoiler: it doesn't exist) and start designing your next act in real life.

You'll discover:

• Why action creates clarity - not the other way around
• The Atomic Habits framework that makes new habits stupidly easy to stick
• Why your 15-minute walk is more powerful than a ten-step plan
• The "running away from home account" trick that one listener used to fund her airfare
• Why "I'm too old" is the most expensive story you're telling yourself
• How to stop living passively and start living actively - even in small ways

Plus: the "Dear Blokes" segment - what to say to your partner when you're suddenly just... doing things.

Clarity doesn't come before action. It comes because of it. And your next act is not a someday dream. It's a decision you're making today.

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

Have you ever had a head full of ideas about what comes next, and absolutely no idea how to turn any of them into something visible?

Last week we introduced our P is for PLAN episode — treating yourself like a project worth designing, and getting clear on feelings before actions. This week I wanted to bring you someone who has made it her life's work to help women do exactly that, out loud, visibly, and on their own terms. Own Your Lane!

My guest today is Michelle B. Griffin, a personal brand and visibility strategist who works with smart humans who know they're ready for a next chapter but don't want another cookie-cutter "build your brand in 7 days" plan. She helps people turn the fog in their head into something clear on paper, and then into small, visible steps in real life. What I love about Michelle is that she's lived this herself. She's had her own "what am I doing with this next bit of life?" moment, and she's done the sometimes very unglamorous work of changing it.

In this episode we talk personal brand, LinkedIn, owning your lane, and what it really means to make yourself visible on your own terms. And the big takeaway? Clarity doesn't come before you start. It comes because you start.

Michelle is also a contributor to A Grown Up's Gap Year and a friend, proof that meaningful connections made later in life, across continents and entirely online, can genuinely change everything.

You'll find Michelle's brilliant thinking across two podcasts; 'Own Your Lane™' and 'The LinkedIn® Branding Show' . All in the show notes.

So if you've ever thought, "I don't need another vision board; I need a plan that fits my actual life", this conversation is for you.

Episode Resources:

• Michelle's website: michellebgriffin.com
• Michelle's Book: Position Yourself
• Podcasts: Own Your Lane & The LinkedIn Branding Show

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram

If you've cleared the decks, simplified your life, and still have no clue what comes next - this episode is for you.

Most planning advice gets it wrong. It starts with "what do you want to DO?" - jobs, trips, projects, hobbies. But that's putting the cart before the horse.

The better question? How do you want to FEEL?

In this episode, Monique van Tulder walks you through the PLAN stage of the SPACE framework - the essential Winter work that most women skip in their rush to get to the good bit.

You'll discover:

• Why planning is an act of self-respect, not control
• How to identify the three feelings that will shape your next chapter
• Why one picture on your mirror is more powerful than a ten-step plan
• The Dolly Parton quote that will change, how you think about change
• How to write your own version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

Plus: the "Dear Blokes" segment - what to say to your partner when you're suddenly talking about "purpose" and "your next act."

This is Winter work. Foundation work. The kind that doesn't look flashy but makes everything else possible.

Additional Resources:

• Your SPACE Prescription - Anti Guilt Calculator
• Free Weekly Newsletter
• Dear Blokes Downloadable
• Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist
• 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year

📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year.

• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram