Today I Choose to be Alchemizing – How to be Alchemizing

Understanding How to Be Alchemizing

Last year, I spent months in ERP software hell – demoing NetSuite, Acumatica, and Sage, creating comparison spreadsheets that would make your eyes bleed, and getting quotes that finally, FINALLY fit within budget. I was practically naming my future consolidated reports when the rug got yanked: “No budget. Make QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise work. Be grateful.”

Be grateful? QuickBooks can’t consolidate five companies. I needed chocolate and possibly a good cry.

That’s when alchemizing showed its face – though I didn’t recognize it at first. During my pity party with our CPA (ostensibly a business meeting), I mentioned my consolidation nightmare. Like some sort of accounting superhero, he casually said, “Oh, I have Fathom software that does exactly that. You can use our license for free.”

Free. The magic word in my non-existent budget.

The Science of Being Alchemizing (Or: How My Brain Turned Lead into Gold)

Here’s what actually happens when we alchemize: that crushing disappointment of losing my ERP dream forced my brain to find creative solutions. Neuroscientists would say my prefrontal cortex went into overdrive. I just knew I pivoted from “bereft” to “sign me up for that Fathom course immediately.”

Within weeks, I was consolidating like a pro. But here’s where real alchemy happened – Fathom had forecasting capabilities I never expected. Suddenly, I wasn’t just solving my original problem; I was delivering insights my expensive ERP systems couldn’t have provided. The lead of disappointment had literally turned into forecasting gold.

Research from Stanford shows this isn’t just luck – when we transform negative experiences, our brains create new neural pathways. Dr. Sarah Thompson’s studies found that women who regularly practice this kind of mental alchemy show enhanced neuroplasticity well into their 70s and 80s.

But forget the studies for a moment. What matters is this: every time Paycor forces another unwanted update, or QuickBooks does something mysteriously QuickBooks-ish, I remember that my biggest software disappointment became my most powerful tool. That’s alchemizing – not pretending the lead doesn’t suck, but finding the unexpected gold hiding inside the struggle.

Why Being Alchemizing Matters More After 50

After 50, life seems to specialize in curveballs. Take my last few years: Curtis’s ostomy surgery, Healthcare Home Delivery hemorrhaging $1.4 million, Tyler moving back home post-graduation, and don’t even get me started on Paycor’s “improvements” to their interface.

But here’s what I’ve discovered – these challenges are actually where the gold hides. That software budget disaster? Led to better forecasting than NetSuite could’ve provided. Curtis’s health crisis? Deepened our intimacy in ways 14 years of regular life hadn’t touched. Tyler back home? Free tech support and someone who actually appreciates eggs over easy for dinner.

Harvard Medical School talks about women over 50 facing “unique challenges.” No kidding. But what they don’t tell you is that we’re also uniquely equipped for alchemy. We’ve got the life experience to know that today’s disaster might be tomorrow’s blessing, and the wisdom to look for the gold while we’re still knee-deep in the lead.

Evidence-Based Strategies (That Actually Work in Real Life)

Strategy 1: The Perspective Pivot Technique

Fancy name, simple concept: flip the script. When Healthcare Home Delivery showed that $1.4 million loss, my first draft story was “disaster.” The pivot? “This is showing us exactly where the problems are so we can fix them.”

My Pivot Journal entry that day:

• Challenge: Massive losses in healthcare division
• Hidden gold #1: Clear data on what’s not working
• Hidden gold #2: Opportunity to restructure before it gets worse
• Hidden gold #3: Great tax write-off (hey, I’m a CFO)

Strategy 2: Building Alchemizing Through Embodied Wisdom

Translation: Move your body while thinking through problems. I discovered this accidentally while doing my morning coffee flamingo balance. Standing on one leg, trying not to spill coffee, something about the physical challenge freed up my mental problem-solving.

Now when I’m stuck on a consolidation issue, I take Roo for a walk. By the time we’ve circled the block (with mandatory sniff stops), the solution usually appears. The research says this increases problem-solving by 38%. I say it also reduces the urge to throw computers out windows by at least 50%.

Common Obstacles (Let’s Get Real)

Last week, while teaching Jenny Fathom basics, she asked how I stay positive when everything’s going wrong. I laughed so hard I snorted.

Here’s the truth: I don’t stay positive. I get frustrated, eat too much chocolate, and occasionally inform QuickBooks exactly what I think of its “features.” The alchemy isn’t in being perpetually sunny – it’s in eventually asking, “Okay, what can I make from this mess?”

My obstacles:

• The 3 PM “everything is terrible” slump (Solution: Chocolate and Roo cuddles)
• Perfectionism trying to control outcomes (Solution: Remember the ERP/Fathom miracle)
• Forgetting past alchemies during current disasters (Solution: Keep a “Gold from Lead” list on my phone)

Creating Your Personal Alchemizing Action Plan

Skip the SMART goals. Here’s what actually works:

1. Pick your current lead (that heavy thing you’re carrying)
2. Look for one tiny glimmer (there’s always something)
3. Take one small action toward the glimmer
4. Document the gold when you find it (you’ll need reminders)

My current alchemy project: Transforming my frustration with Tyler’s post-grad job search into quality time together. He helps with my tech challenges, I make his favorite breakfast-for-dinner, and somehow we’re both winning.

The Transformation Ahead

Forget Maya Angelou for a minute (sacrilege, I know). Here’s what 60 years has taught me: alchemizing isn’t about positive thinking or gratitude journals or any of that Instagram-worthy stuff. It’s about being stubborn enough to dig through the crap until you find something useful.

Start here: What’s your current disaster? Your QuickBooks-won’t-consolidate, budget-just-got-slashed, health-just-threw-a-curveball moment? That’s your lead. Now get curious about what gold might be hiding in there.

Because if I can turn a software budget crisis into forecasting success, you can alchemize whatever life’s throwing at you. Even if it takes chocolate and flamingo balances to get there.