In S3E8 of The Latitude Adjustment, Erica and Rusty take you straight into a rainy surf lesson in Bocas del Toro, Panama—panga boat, deep water, no beach, and a nervous system that would like to speak to the manager. Using surfing as the metaphor, they unpack why fear often spikes right after you make a healthy choice—setting a boundary, resting, quitting numbing, telling the truth—not because you did it wrong, but because your brain is leaving a familiar pattern and treating “new” like danger. You’ll get practical positive psychology and strengths insight, plus the official Aging Heroes Challenge: Three Breaths in the Channel—name the moment, name the wave, breathe, and choose from clarity instead of panic—so you can ride the wobble, build self-trust, and keep paddling toward a second half that actually feels like yours.

When life takes one ordinary curve and everything spills, the storm is loud… but the aftermath is sneakier.

In this episode of The Latitude Adjustment: An Aging Heroes Podcast, Erica and Rusty use a painfully real metaphor—fish stew in the trunk—to talk about what happens after the crisis “ends,” but your body and brain are still living like it’s happening. We unpack the coping strategies that feel productive but don’t actually heal (aka “Febreze for the soul”), why avoidance works in the short term and traps you in the long term, and what “vinegar moves” look like when you’re renegotiating identity after loss, diagnosis, disruption, or a life chapter you didn’t audition for.

If you’re in the “after,” this one’s for you. And if you’re not… save it. Life has curves.

When life blows up your perfectly planned day, you don’t need a personality upgrade—you need a storm plan built around who you already are.

In this episode, Erica and Randolph “Rusty” take you into a Caribbean airport meltdown (complete with weather chaos and a toddler discovering new octaves) to unpack a practical truth: in a storm, the goal isn’t to do everything—it’s to do the right things.

You’ll learn how to identify your “storm role,” divide the hard stuff by strengths, contain the habits that turn stress into a shipwreck, and build a simple Strengths & Nonsense Storm Map you can use before the next crisis hits.

Because you’re not meant to white-knuckle storms alone. You’re meant to run them like a crew.

In this episode, we head to Tanzania—Moshi at sunrise, the Kilimanjaro Marathon, and the Ngorongoro Crater—and pull a surprisingly practical framework out of a cheap spiral notebook.

Using The Crater (perspective), The Marathon (pacing), and The Cheap Notebook (simple structure), Erica and Rusty show how to design days that actually match your values in this season—without turning your life into a hostage negotiation with a “perfect routine.”

Plus, try this week’s “Cheap Notebook Day” challenge: write a one-sentence purpose for tomorrow, choose three anchors (care, focus, connection), and end the day with a two-minute reality check.

Ever feel like the moment you stop overgiving, people don’t clap… they panic? In this episode, we dock in Bocas del Toro and walk into Ruperto’s open-air house on the water—beautiful, honest, and absolutely not built for pretending. And that’s the point: when you start living more truthfully, the old crew can suddenly feel… incompatible.

We talk about the social wake your boundaries create, why “familiar” isn’t the same as “safe,” and how to build a new support crew that respects your limits without turning your life into lonely island exile.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why boundaries aren’t walls—they’re shutters (because open-air living still needs wisdom)

• The 3 shutters that protect your peace: time access, emotional labor, values alignment

• How to meet new people without making it a second job (or joining a book club you secretly hate)

• How new friendships actually form in adulthood: small “paddle trips,” repeated over time (like building a pagoda one load at a time)

Ever feel like the moment you stop overgiving, people don’t clap… they panic? In this episode, we dock in Bocas del Toro and walk into Ruperto’s open-air house on the water—beautiful, honest, and absolutely not built for pretending. And that’s the point: when you start living more truthfully, the old crew can suddenly feel… incompatible.

We talk about the social wake your boundaries create, why “familiar” isn’t the same as “safe,” and how to build a new support crew that respects your limits without turning your life into lonely island exile.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why boundaries aren’t walls—they’re shutters (because open-air living still needs wisdom)

• The 3 shutters that protect your peace: time access, emotional labor, values alignment

• How to meet new people without making it a second job (or joining a book club you secretly hate)

• How new friendships actually form in adulthood: small “paddle trips,” repeated over time (like building a pagoda one load at a time)

What if your gut never got the memo that you’re retired, the kids are grown, and the old job title is gone—but it’s still acting like you’re on call 24/7? In New Days New Directions – When the Old Map Doesn’t Fit, Erica and Randolph talk about what happens when your roles change but your insides keep running the “busy = worthy” script, even in the middle of a slow island morning.

They’ll unpack why calm can feel “wrong,” how to upgrade your gut from dictator to advisor, and how to design new days built around mind, body, and real connection—not old crisis schedules. Plus, an Aging Heroes Challenge to help you reclaim one small block of time and start drawing a map that actually fits who you are now.

Belonging isn’t just a zip code—it’s something you build, carry, and choose. In this episode, Erica and Rusty start on a sandy Caribbean road and unpack what it really means to feel wanted as your real self, not as a performance. From inner mindsets (curiosity, inclusion, flexibility, presence) to the tiny “threshold moments” that turn strangers into family, you’ll get practical ideas for finding your people—whether you’re abroad, relocating, or simply craving deeper community in the same town you’ve lived in for decades.