Episode 67: Susan Heinrich, The Midlife Globetrotter

Susan Heinrich began her career as a newspaper journalist and has written about business, travel, and parenting.   Her current favorite topic is midlife! She has had a wanderlust for as long as she can remember and her passion is traveling and helping women in midlife gain the confidence to explore and reap the benefits of traveling!  Susan supports her community with her website, Midlife Globetrotter where you can find inspiring articles for women in midlife and inspiration for that future trip!  

Despite the year starting off slow with the ongoing pandemic, we are optimistic that this year we may be able to do more international travel!  Now is the best time for us to be dreaming and researching those dream trips! 

Like a lot of women, Susan jumped off the career track when her children were young. Finding it hard to juggle everything she made some hard choices and decided to continue doing some freelance writing.  In her late forties, she felt that something needed to change in her life.  Feeling a bit confused not knowing that next step she refers to this as her “midlife upheaval”.  Susan says that this period of time turned out to be a blessing because she took the time to do some self-exploration and realized that she had put a lot of her own interests and passions aside to focus on her family.  Which isn’t bad but she felt it wasn’t working for her anymore. 

Susan started thinking about what she loved to do, what she was interested in, and how she wanted to be spending her days.   It was at that moment that she decided to return to writing. Travel had also always been a passion so she eventually blended the two together!  

In 2017 Susan had the opportunity to take a trip to  India with some friends.  Having some hesitation about leaving her family behind for three weeks, she decided to go anyways and was glad she took that first step!  She learned that so often things that are at first glance something we can’t do that for whatever reason turn out to be not true.  The is a way to make these things happen when they are important enough to us. 

  It was on this trip that Susan was reminded about all the things she had forgotten about herself.  For her, it was an inspiring experience, and wanted to share the opportunity of travel for midlife women.   Starting the website seemed like the next best step! 

In the process of setting up the website, she learned that there were going to be a lot of technical things to learn and may present a challenge but the joy of connecting with other midlife women and sharing her passion for travel far outweighed the learning curve associated with the challenges!

Susan shares that we often sell ourselves short and we think that it’s too late to learn something new or to pivot into a new direction. We may give up on a dream before we ever start which is a shame. But once a midlife woman decides she is going to do something then anything is possible!  

When traveling there is the opportunity of having a sense of more freedom in our lives.  For Susan that comes when she travels solo and she feels that’s because when we travel with our family, our identities and rules are such a part of our daily life that we still carry that with us when we are traveling.  When we are able to have enough physical and mental distance from our lives,  we remember things about ourselves that we have forgotten.  Also, when we travel we are putting ourselves out of our comfort zone and we are forced to try new things and experiences!  The best part of that is that we see that we are capable of more than we thought!  It’s a great way to boost our self-confidence and who doesn’t love that?  

Susan shared and I’ve always believed that when we expose ourselves to something new then that helps us to spark that creativity and you feel more alive and in the present moment!  Susan shares that travel can be a bridge back to parts of yourself that you’ve forgotten. Travel can enrich our lives in so many ways!  

Susan shares some of her memorable trips she has taken around the world and how she’s done some trips within groups and solo traveling!  She has had some amazing experiences and may inspire you to consider going somewhere you’ve never imagined yourself. Susan is hoping to go to Africa in 2022.

During our conversation, Susan shares some tips on getting around solo and the benefits of hiring a local guide to get you acquainted with the area and at the same time develop a relationship with a local! She also shares some tips on how to get over your fear of getting out there solo on your first trip!  A great recommendation is to research a small group tour that specializes in a new interest or current hobby. There are so many options out there now to explore!   There may be people of all ages and from various countries which adds a new dimension to the experience.  

Susan shares about the resources on her website and how she is supporting her community.  She certainly covers the topic of travel but also shares some of her own personal experiences so that others can learn and grow once they learn from her lessons.  Susan also provides a monthly newsletter for you to keep in touch.