Achieving Midlife Fulfillment: The Power of Small Wins and Daily Micro-Goals

In this episode of The Power Life Podcast, host Sabine Schopke shares insights on how simplifying tasks into manageable steps can lead to achieving personal goals and finding fulfillment, especially in midlife. Sabine reflects on her own experience of uprooting her life, moving to Europe, and starting anew, likening it to facing a blank canvas filled with both possibilities and challenges. She emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for one's life and happiness by breaking down overwhelming goals into small, achievable micro-goals.

Sabine discusses the common feelings of being stuck, unfulfilled, or disconnected from one's authentic self, which many people experience in their late 30s to early 60s. She addresses various life transitions, such as unhappy relationships, unattainable dreams, post-divorce fears, or health struggles, and highlights the necessity of aligning one's life with core values and true desires. She argues that societal standards of success often lead to emptiness and that true fulfillment comes from aligning one's life with evolving core values.

To overcome the daunting feeling of starting anew, Sabine advises against trying to leap towards big goals. Instead, she recommends focusing on small, manageable tasks that build momentum and lead to significant achievements over time. She shares her personal strategy of setting specific, realistic micro-goals that eliminate excuses and foster a sense of accomplishment.

Using her own fitness journey as an example, Sabine illustrates how setting clear, achievable goals—such as daily exercise routines and dietary changes—can lead to long-term success. She encourages listeners to apply this approach to any area of their lives, suggesting that the accumulation of small wins can create a domino effect of motivation and confidence.

Sabine concludes by urging listeners to tackle daunting tasks with small, intentional steps, celebrating each small victory along the way. She believes that this method not only helps achieve goals but also brings alignment with one's core values, leading to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Power Life Podcast. I’m your host Sabine Schoepke. Today, we're diving into a topic that has been absolutely pertinent for me and it’s something that I have recently been revisiting, kind of like an old friend, as I am in the process of designing and getting settled into my new life.
For anybody who has not listened to my previous episodes: 6 months ago, I completely uprooted myself – after I had sold and given away everything I owned – I got on a plane and started a new adventure. And with that, a brand-new life in Europe. I am on my own and it’s like facing a brand new empty canvas. There’s the freedom of making it into anything you want, but then there’s also the overwhelm of making it into ANYTHING you want.
And you don’t have to leave the continent for that. If you are being honest with yourself and if you are ready to take responsibility for your life and your happiness, you know that every day we wake up and we face the freedom and the challenge of designing our lives. This perspective is incredibly powerful for anyone feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or disconnected from their authentic self or true purpose.
So, how do you do it?
How do you feel when you are facing a big challenge? An existential decision?
It’s overwhelming, it’s scary, we feel helpless because we often feel confined and limited by our circumstances and then what do you do?
Many of us, we put our heads in the sand for a while. We hope for things to change on their own. We procrastinate. We use excuses like “Well, you are so lucky, because …(fill in the blanks) but I can’t do that.” But, we also suffer. We’re unhappy. We waste precious time. We eventually we start collecting regrets.
The old friend I mentioned earlier, who has been so invaluable to me, is the approach or the importance of simplifying tasks into easy, achievable no excuses micro-goals and creating daily small wins that are the game-changer you need, to achieve any goal in the long run.
So, if you're in midlife and you feel like something's missing or something is different than you would want it to be — which can be a daunting feeling – and you don’t know how to change it, this episode is for you.
You're in your late 30s to early 60s, possibly experiencing a significant life transition, you're seeking deeper meaning and authentic living.
You feel like you have lost yourself.
You feel like you are stuck in a marriage or relationship that is holding you back from living the life that you want to live.
Maybe you have dreams and goals that seem unachievable.
Or you are recently divorced, and you are longing for a new partner to share your life with, but you are scared to put yourself out there again.
You are unhappy in your body and want to lose that midlife or menopausal weight.
It does not matter what it is. It can be one of those things or it can be all of them.
It’s all possible.
So let’s get started.
Reality is: many of us measure success by societal standards. Actually, let me take this a step further: don’t you ever feel like you have lost part of ourself by aspiring to societal expectations or norms—big houses, fancy cars, and a hefty bank account. But, what happens even when we have achieved some of these things and still feel empty? I can tell you, but you know it too. It is a horrible void, isn’t it?
The problem is not with the achievements themselves. They are amazing. But the problem is with the lack of fulfillment they bring. It’s an endless loop of this feeling that we need to achieve more and more and more. Constantly setting the bar higher and higher. I am sure you have experienced it: let’s say you wanted this job. And you got it. That felt good for a day and a half. And then what happened? You aimed higher from there. More pressure on yourself. More achieving to do.
But there is no finish line where you are TADAHH now I am happy. There is no arriving to inner peace.
So, how can we ever feel content and happy with where we are at? Good question. It happens when you align your life with your core values and true desires. Which, by the way, change and evolve over time. You might have been aligned in your twenties. But with the years, your core values evolve and if you don’t realize that and don’t adjust your life to that, then there is no alignment anymore and we arrive at a dead-end called midlife crisis.
So, let’s say that that’s where we are at right now. Congratulations, you have the awareness that you are stuck in that dead end. And I mean it, because many live in denial because it’s too much to deal with the next logical question, which is: What do you do?
You won’t achieve happiness by aligning your values and your core with your life or your life’s circumstances. Happiness doesn’t happen that way. Again, happiness only happens when your life is aligned with your values.
So again: What to do?
From my own experience, that question causes sleepless nights. Because now we are facing that empty canvas. It all seems too much. Overwhelming. We don’t even know where to begin. And all we see is limitations. Sometimes it seems hopeless. There is no way out of this. We try a bunch of things, but I think we can all identify with that feeling of ‘being stuck’. Or to me, it felt like being lost in the middle of a gigantic ocean. Not knowing which direction to swim to in order to reach land.
Now, if you were sitting in front of me, I would ask you: “Tell me how you’ve been approaching getting unstuck.” And what I have noticed over the years is that most of the people behave like superman or wonderwoman.
Let’s work on shifting that perspective on how to approach big tasks or big challenges. Let me ask you: How do you run a marathon? Let’s just assume you did. Not by taking one big leap, but by taking 55,000 God damn steps. And the same principle applies to achieving your goals and finding fulfillment. It's about breaking down the big picture into small, manageable steps. Unless of course you have super human abilities and you could just soar up and finish the marathon in one big leap, but, then you wouldn’t be listening to me.
The problem is, too few, including many coaches and leaders and high achievers understand the importance of daily ‘small wins’. They're so focused on the big goals that they forget the power of incremental progress.
So, what stands in the way of overcoming discomfort and preventing procrastination and frustration and actually achieving any of your goals? It's simplifying major challenges into daily, easy, achievable micro-goals.
So, now that we understand the difference between taking small steps versus impossible big leaps, how do we do that in a practical way?
How about creating daily or weekly goals that are so well-defined, easily achievable that there are absolutely NO wiggle room for excuses? How does that sound? And guess what? These small wins not only build momentum, but they add up to solid results in the end. And those two things are the goal: building momentum to keep it sustainable so you can achieve your goals.
And here’s the thing. When you simplify and structure your tasks, you reduce the mental load and eliminate the overwhelm that often paralyzes us. You’re not staring up at the summit of the mountain, wondering how you'll ever reach the top. Instead, you’re focused on taking the next step, and then the next, and so on. And you feel good doing it. I get excited about achieving my daily goals. I feel good. I feel accomplished.
And the other big thing with this approach is that it eliminates the pressure of needing to have all the answers. Because that’s why a lot of people don’t get started. They feel like they need to figure it all out ahead of time. Not true. It’s bullshit. What’s much more effective is figuring things out while you are doing them. It’s magical: you take one step and with that, the next step presents itself. It’s often something surprising. Something you could have never anticipated. It’s beautiful. It becomes a true journey that’s invigorating and exciting.
So, how do you get shit done?
Start by identifying a core value or a goal you want to tackle. Let's say it's getting back in shape. That’s a challenging task in midlife, right? Those pounds are way more stubborn than they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago. Now, break it down. What’s the first small step you can take? Maybe it’s finding a trainer or a nutrition coach by the end of the week. Or it’s dedicating 30 minutes a day to walking. The next step could be reducing your calorie intake, or cutting out alcohol during the week, or replacing refined sugar with honey, or doing two days a week with 1 hour of weight training each one of those days. These small, consistent and clearly defined actions will give you structure and guidance and they will definitely lead to getting into better shape over time.
And the beauty of this approach is that it builds momentum. Remember, that was goal number 1. Each small win boosts your confidence and motivation. It's like a domino effect—one small success leads to another, and before you know it, you’ve accomplished something amazing. And that’s when you have reached goal number 2.
While I was training in bodybuilding, people often asked me how I was so disciplined. It wasn’t discipline that made me show up every day. Discipline alone isn’t going to sustain any journey. The hardest part is getting started and creating that momentum. That’s key. Because with that comes motivation and that’s way more important, because it’s sustainable. It isn’t discipline.
I am doing it again right now. I stopped training hard last year in August when I faced more cancer and had to reassess how I was treating my body. Then menopause hit and now I am ready to get back into shape. I have a few too many pounds around my midsection – which is driving me absolutely crazy. It’s hard. Here in the mountains, there is no big badass gyms, no hard-core trainers. There is nobody to motivate me, go train with me, or take me by the hand. As you can see, I have lots of excuses ready. But at the end, nobody is going to do it for me and I wanna feel good about my body. So,…, I’ve got to make this happen on my own. So here it is: I set small easy and well defined goals. No more alcohol, sodas or refined sugars. Max 1200 calories a day. 1.5 hours of weight lifting 4 days a week. 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week with a minimum of 6000 steps. As you can see, I am super specific and for me, each one of these is absolutely realistic and achievable. And I get excited like a little kid when I can check it off my daily to do list. Seriously!!
But know, your goals will look different than mine and that’s ok. This approach is very personal and individualistic. And if you need help, go get it. There is no shame in that.
I want you to try it this week. Think about something you’ve been putting off, or a goal that seems too daunting. Break it down into the smallest possible tasks and tackle one each day. Celebrate each small win, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Over time, you’ll see the cumulative effect of these micro-goals. One day it will seem like “Oh wow…how did I this happen?”
Remember, it’s not about making one giant leap. It’s about taking consistent, intentional, well-defined steps every day and enjoy the achievements. That’s how you run a marathon. That’s how you achieve your goals. And that’s how you find true fulfillment and alignment with your core values.
Thank you for joining me today. If you found this episode helpful, share it with someone who might need to hear it. Let’s spread the power of small wins together. Until next time, keep taking those steps, keep celebrating those small wins, and keep striving for a life that truly fulfills you. Take care!