Ep 096. Exploring the “What’s Next?” Phase of Life: Marissa’s Story (Inside the Adventurous Reinvention Experience)

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Marissa, a past student of the Adventurous Reinvention Experience, to talk about what it looked like for her to navigate that really common (but rarely talked about) season of life… The “what’s next?” phase.

Marissa wasn’t unhappy with her life. She had a solid career, a stable path, and had checked a lot of the boxes she thought she was supposed to check.

But underneath that, there was this growing sense of curiosity… mixed with a lot of overthinking… about what she actually wanted her life to look like moving forward.

And instead of waiting for clarity to magically appear… she chose to step into the process anyway.

Inside this conversation, we talk about:

• What it actually feels like to be in the “what’s next?” phase of life
• How overthinking can keep you stuck (and how to start moving through it)
• The power of giving yourself space to explore new possibilities—without needing a perfect plan
• What she learned through the coaching process inside ARE
• Building confidence and competence in the outdoors (even without growing up with it)
• How surrounding yourself with the right community can completely shift your perspective
• And what it looks like to start taking aligned action… even when things still feel uncertain

This episode is such a real, honest look at what it means to feel the pull for something more—and to start exploring that, even before you have it all figured out.

💛 If You’re Craving Something More…

If you’ve been feeling the pull for more connection, more adventure, or a different kind of summer… The Adventurous Reinvention Experience is exactly where we explore that.

It’s a 4-month experience where we blend:

• Personal growth + reinvention coaching
• Outdoor skills + physical training
• Deep community with other women
• And a life-changing backpacking adventure to bring it all together

👉 Learn more at shedreamsofalpine.com/are

Connect with Marissa:

• You can follow Marissa along her JMT adventures (and MORE) on her Substack: https://lifeofmarchi.substack.com/

Where to learn more about Allison:

• She Dreams of Alpine Blog (shedreamsofalpine.com)
• Instagram @shedreamsofalpine