Step into September curious and excited to learn something new
- 5 Days
- 5 Questions
- 4 Ten-Minute Videos
- 1 Live Half Hour
Remember Who You Were Before You Knew Everything?
Fresh notebook. New shoes. Stiff jeans. And absolutely no idea what was coming.
You know that feeling. The excitement and the nervousness over who you'd get as a teacher, whether your friends would be in your class, whether the work ahead would challenge you or overwhelm you.
The year ahead was a blank slate, and so were you. The world hadn’t told you what you were bad at, or who you were supposed to become, and the future stretched in front of you, wide open.
That way of looking at things is still available to you.
As you get older, your decades of lived experience tend to get in the way. Experience makes you good at your job, and it makes you slow to ask questions. You already know what works, so you don't take as many chances, and you're not as willing to be bad at something, or to make mistakes where people can see.
But taking chances and making mistakes is how we learn and grow.
That's what this five-day reset is all about: reconnecting with your “inner student” and cultivating a curious and open beginner’s mindset that makes it easier for you to learn or do something worth celebrating before the end of the year.
Here's how it works
The Back to School Mindset Reset starts on Monday, August 17th. Every morning you'll get an email with a video that's ten minutes or less, and one simple question to answer.
Watch the video with your coffee. Then do some journaling around your question, or think about it on a walk, or share it with a loved one and see what happens. There's no homework and nobody's grading you.
Then on Friday we all meet for a live half-hour session to close out the week and talk about how you can carry what you’ve learned into the fall.
Meet your host
Back to School for Midlifers is led by Kari Cardinale, MEA Partner and Chief Content Officer, whose work sits at the center of MEA’s online learning experience.
Kari has spent nearly three decades helping people move through meaningful life transitions, build community, and turn reflection into something useful in daily life.
She has developed MEA’s online programs, worked with hundreds of thought leaders in longevity and wisdom, and guided thousands of midlifers through conversations about purpose, change, aging, identity, and what comes next.
Each week, Kari helps you take the teaching and apply it to the questions you’re living.
“You are kind, funny, organized, and great to work with. You have been a truly wonderful facilitator. Thank you for creating a wonderful course and being the glue for an amazing community.”
“This course and the previous course (Navigating Transitions) have been life-changing for me… they have definitely changed me in a way that nothing else has before. Thank you for providing this wonderful space and all of the juicy 'stuff' inside that allows all of us to dive in and reflect on midlife.”
About MEA
MEA is a midlife wisdom school that runs science-backed workshops in Baja and Santa Fe for people figuring out what's next in their career, relationships, and life. Over 8,000+ alumni from 60 countries with 60 regional chapters around the world have attended our destination workshops and online programs to reimagine aging and create their meaningful next chapter.
Our curriculum has been designed in collaboration with academics from Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Yale, who have dedicated themselves to understanding modern midlife. Together we have developed and refined experiential tools and practices that combine the social science of longevity and the art of intentional living to help people thrive in midlife and beyond.
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MEA CEO
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What people are saying
"My experience with MEA was amazing in many respects. The program, Navigating Transitions, was funny, engaging, insightful and inspiring. I am still absorbing new insights from my time there. It gave me the opportunity to create new ideas and visions for my next chapter, and new supportive friends… I highly recommend enrolling in an MEA program-it will invite change in the best way."
“The experiences helped me realize that the professional identity I held for decades was just one chapter, allowing me to let go of parts of my past with gratitude. I gained a new set of tools to navigate the "messy middle" of life's transitions, turning what felt like a stressful gap into a time of purposeful growth. The community and workshop team provided a safe space to move from a place of burnout to a renewed sense of curiosity about my next chapter.”
“I arrived at MEA with a big question. Hungry for an answer. "What form should my next decade take? What was the name of my next "container" of creation?" What actually happened in this masterful, magical week---is that a new, bigger, "container" found and blessed and welcomed me. Her name is "Life Herself." I'm so glad I said yes! I'm so glad I invested in MEA in this season in my precious life!
“Finding yourself - this is what happens, among a group of other souls who are also finding themselves. The experience has given me the ability - and capacity - to allow myself to see further, feel more and understand more completely - in very real ways.”
“I left MEA with tools to navigate the next phase of my life with clarity and a commitment to maintaining a growth mindset. I learned that self compassion is non-negotiable and that kindness is a super power! I am now implementing small steps for greater joy in my day to day life, setting goals and holding myself accountable. I am so grateful for the magnitude of this experience.”