The Fourth Quarter Podcast
Living the last quarter of your life with intention around health, fitness, nutrition and joy! Learning from others and tuning in to hear live one on one coaching that educates, inspires and motivates you to move!
The Fourth Quarter Podcast
EP007: Redefining Aging: From Fear To Forever Young
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What if the fourth quarter isn’t winding down but gearing up? We sit with Betty, 82, who calls this stage “overtime” and proves every second still counts. Once a self-described non-athlete, she found hiking in her late 40s, learned to climb, and discovered that fear is a signal to proceed with care, not a command to quit. From Shasta and Rainier practice to steep local summits and annual snowshoe trips, Betty shows how ordinary choices compound into an extraordinary life.
We go deep on mindset, motivation, and the mechanics of aging well. Betty breaks down her weekly rhythm—yoga for flexibility and balance, strength training for durability, hiking for stamina—and why moving every joint daily is non-negotiable. She shares smart ways to adapt through injury without losing momentum, including modifying movements and exploring options like Pilates or Tai Chi. Her simple rule: don’t stop, just adjust. We also talk about the power of community—surrounding yourself with people who “see the light in you”—and how that support keeps goals alive when courage runs thin.
This conversation lands where it matters most: purpose. Fitness is freedom to travel, keep up with younger adventurers, and celebrate family milestones. Nature becomes therapy and perspective, a place to breathe amid noise. Betty’s humor and hard-won wisdom—“too old to die young”—linger long after the outro. If you’re ready to shift from fear to action, from convenience to intention, and from aging to living, this one is a compass you can carry.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review so more people can find these stories. What’s the one small move you’ll make today?
Welcome And Fourth Quarter Mindset
SPEAKER_02Wake up, wake up, and listen up. Welcome to the fourth quarter podcast with your hosts, Doug Talmet, and Ed Emia. Tune in as we dive into living your best life in the fourth quarter of your life. Hear from Health and Lifestyle Experts, inspirational stories, learn simple steps to keep you motivated or to help get you started. Finally, join us as we coach others live on air who want to begin a healthy lifestyle or just might be stuck and need a breakthrough. Remember, it's never too late to decide to be great. Momentum keeps you motivated, so take a deep breath. Let it and let's go. Welcome back to the fourth quarter podcast with Doug and Ted. Ted, I am just going to stop right there and turn it over to you because I can't wait to get this interview started. Not just for the listeners, but for my own sake. As someone who is just about to enter into his fourth quarter, I'll be turning 60 in May. I am excited to glean some wisdom from this young lady who is going to share a little bit of her story, her life, how she does what she does. So without further ado, let me just turn it on over to you.
Meet Betty: Redefining Overtime
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. I'm I'm looking forward to it as well. Our guest today is Betty Stanfield. She is the stepmom of a good friend of mine. Known each other for years and years. Her granddaughter and my daughter played soccer together. I I will say this: it is nice to not be the oldest person on the uh the podcast this week, which I I usually am. Betty is 82, and I have to say she was the first one that called me out about the fourth quarter and what defined the fourth quarter. You know, she made it very clear that she has just entered the fourth quarter. Uh, she she defines it as between 75 and 100, which is great mindset, and she is absolutely living it. So welcome to the podcast, Betty.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Tell us a little bit about your backstory. Uh, have you always been as active as you are now, or did that come later in life? Give us your story.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'll get there, but I want to say I'm thrilled. I'm sorry for my voice suddenly is cracking, that I'm not in the fourth quarter. I'm in overtime. And I think overtime means you're still in the game and every second counts. And I think that's so important to, you know, it's what you guys are doing in your fourth quarter, is what's going to determine what you look like in overtime if you're even in overtime.
SPEAKER_02So you know, Betty, I want I want to comment on the overtime comment because you know, in sports, like let's take a football game or a basketball game, when they go into overtime, it simply means that neither team has given up. It means that they are swinging, they are digging deep, and they are fighting and grinding it out. And when you just said that, that's what came to my mind. And God bless you for showing us that at 82 you still got it in you to keep on swinging, sister. So that is awesome.
From Non‑Athlete To Mountain Climber
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. So, you know, I know Greg kind of laughs at me. I am not an athlete, and I wasn't. And as a family, we, you know, I was always the, you know, did it all, but wait for Betty. You know, I never saw myself. I'm not a very big person. I grew up in a totally non-competitive, I went to parochial schools. My dad was a gentle, kind, non-competitive person, you know, and so here I am trying to keep up. And it's always, well, you know, here comes Betty. So I'm gonna refer to Greg on one comment. We actually were climbing Mount Shasta, you know, and I'm trudging along. And he goes, gosh, Betty, you're doing better than dad. And I thought, me? Little me? And I think that kind of stayed with me. Years later, I ended up meeting, I was divorced, meeting people, and I got into hiking. They didn't know I was a wimp. They didn't know I was afraid to get up on a rock, and that I saw myself as just this kind of, you know, I exercise, keep up with the family and all that, but for looks. And all of a sudden they inspired me to take me rock climbing. They go, You're good at this, you know, you're strong. You're I do yoga. And I ended up climbing mountains. I did Shasta twice right here, and then in Europe at the dome. And I really found I could do that, and it was such a shock. So, yeah, I I think it's important to recognize that, you know, necessarily we don't have to be an athlete in order to achieve some personal goals there and feel good about ourselves.
Facing Fear And Finding Courage
SPEAKER_02Wow, I love that. So, how how old were you when all that started taking place when you connected with the hiking club, let's say, so to speak?
SPEAKER_00I was in my late 40s.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00And so, you know, if I had started earlier, I really loved mountain climbing. But yeah, I was in my late 40s, and you know, I just found I did the five-day expedition training up on Rainier, and that's when I think I learned this moment about fear. I have a thing about women and fear, you know, being the baby in the family, being little. Oh, if you're afraid, don't do it. Don't do it if you're afraid, back off. And I learned that my whole life, and I think many women my age, hopefully the young ones, don't feel that way. And I think it's I was up on Rainier doing an ice wall, climbing up a wall. They were practicing. All of a sudden I thought, I am terrified of heights. What am I doing here? But guess what? I'm secure, I have a rope, I have a harness, I've got metal crampons. I can do this. And I learned that you can be scared to death and go on and do it. And that is where you get the feeling of confidence when you do something you're terrified of, and yet you do it.
SPEAKER_01Wow. You know, you you actually sent me a text a couple of weeks ago regarding that. I I just looked at it today and wrote it down and it said, We want to honor our fears and continue rather than stop and go back because we are afraid. Wow.
SPEAKER_00It took that moment to all of a sudden in my head to figure out what was wrong with me. And so now I think if I'm scared, that means I'm doing something new. That means I'm doing something exciting. And you know, I I love that, you know, because I think so many women we're afraid and we're afraid to go on. And I I've learned that, and that's what kind of just turned my whole life around.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that's amazing. So, Betty, looking back with what you just shared and when you started, it's it's been a uh process over decades, and here you are. Oh, yeah, here you are at 82 years old. What if you were to sum up the secret of what keeps you active and energized, what would that secret be?
SPEAKER_00Find people who support you. I think in Nepal they have the Namaste. Doesn't mean hello, goodbye. It says, My light in me sees the light in you. Surround yourself with people who see that light in you and encourage you and go forth and say, This is something new, I can do this.
SPEAKER_02I love that Ted man, you better be writing this stuff down. This is good. I'm taking notes. Yeah, good, good. Well, thank God this is being recorded.
Mindset, Quotes, And Daily Training
SPEAKER_01Well, and and going back to your point about fear and just the the whole mindset is you looked at fear, and instead of being afraid of it, you're looking at it as I'm doing something new. That's what what scares me, but I'm still gonna, I'm still going to do it. It's it's the mindset of it. It's am I am I going to let that defeat me or am I going to just go and accomplish something new that's in front of me? And I just think mindset is so important in anything we do, you know, that's definitely defines it.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. I think your perception, and I think Virginia said too said that best, you know, your perception of the event is the important thing. It's not the event. I have my little quote here that I have, I literally have it over my desk. The trick wasn't necessarily having less fear, it was finding more courage. And I think that's the the answer to part of that journey. And so, yeah, I I found I loved mountain climbing and I did it. I hired a guide in Switzerland on my own to go up, and it was just something I felt it was singular, it wasn't competitive. And it the thing with having goals is you have to get in shape. So you have to go to the gym, you have to run, you have to do these things in order to really enjoy it. And that continues at 82. You know, I do yoga three times a week, I hike twice a week, I go to the gym twice a week because you know, you've got to keep up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So how let's you just mentioned your routine at 82. How has it changed from when you were 40 when you first started climbing mountains? What what has changed in your routine?
SPEAKER_00Not a whole lot. Um I'm you know, I'm not running, I'm not running 10Ks anymore. You know, in my 50s I did mountain climbing, running 10 Ks. My 60s, I did trekking like Tour de Mount Blanc, three tread times to Nepal, you know, your hard, you know, Patagonia, your hard trekking. You know, the secret, if I mean, you know, I'm 22 years older than you, is to keep doing, you have to do more, not less, as you get older. Welcome the challenge to go further. You know, you can't slow down, you have to keep going, but you have to be safe. And so I'm I'm not climbing mountains. I wish I was, but I'm speaking I'm keeping up with life, and so I can enjoy it.
Routines At 82 And Doing More
SPEAKER_01Yes. Wow. And you say you go out you go out for hikes. You're not going out for two mile hikes in the hills. You're you're still going out for seven, eight, ten miles.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. Yeah, we are we have two groups, the Brisk Group, which is part of a group that I'm always like, oh my God, can I keep up? But I'm okay. Yeah, but we were doing 10 to 12, even 14 mile, and now we're doing more, you know, eight, but we do steep ones. We, you know, did Mount Burdell, we do some hard up sugarloaf, bald mountain. I mean, we do some steep stuff. My Friday group is my women friends, and they're you know, what I surround myself with is amazing people. I mean, my yoga class has a guy 83 years old doing handstands and headstands. Keep people around you that inspire you.
SPEAKER_01You know, I did I did get scolded yesterday, Doug, because she said she's missing her yoga class to do this podcast. So oh my good Ted, this is this is serious business right now.
SPEAKER_02We better ask some good questions, Ted. Hey Betty, so being as active as you are, and I love that you said you're not, you know, as you get older, you're not doing less, you're doing more. It's okay to absolutely might just be a little different more, but it's still more. So, how do you prioritize self-care and uh for your health? Like, how do you stay because recovery is important, right? And and how you oh yeah, so what how do you prioritize that? What does that look like in your life?
Steep Hikes, Strong Community
SPEAKER_00Well, I think the three things you have to do, you know, as you're aging is flexibility, strength, and balance. We have to so you have to incorporate that. So, you know, you get flexibility and balance in yoga, you get strength from the gym, you get strength from hiking. And so I kind of I feel like I have to be balanced in what I'm doing. Fortunately, being retired is a good time in life because you need to do more so you have more time.
SPEAKER_01Yes, love that. There, she told me a story yesterday, uh something about a washing machine, which actually struck a chord. I really, I really like that. Why don't you go ahead and share that?
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's so silly. My friends will kill me. But you know, I have several friends saying, you know, I think I'll buy a new washer and dryer because I hate bending down to get in my washer, front loading moisture. I need one. They have them now up high. And I'm like, no, no, no, you need to bend down. It's bending every single joint, every single day. Do do squats when you bend down, you know, and look forward to, yeah, I'm in the parking lot. I'm gonna park way over here because I get more exercise in by parking out here than close by. We welcome it, we need it.
SPEAKER_02Wow, Ted, you know, I'm big into intentional living, and that is the epitome. I mean, if I looked up intentional living, it would have Betty's words right there that you don't just that you can take everyday moments and movements and make them intentional. Like they actually serve a purpose. You know, doing the laundry, picking up your laundry serves a purpose, especially as we age. Well said, I love that.
SPEAKER_01And we tend to, as we age, we tend to try and make things easier on ourselves. That's why that struck a chord with me yesterday when you said it was I thought, you know, that that really makes sense. Why make it easier? Why not, why not use that to benefit yourself? And like you said, whether it's going to the grocery store and and shopping and parking further away or whatever it is, those small things, they just add up and they just continue to keep us healthy.
Self‑Care: Flexibility, Strength, Balance
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Like I have stairs in my house and I couldn't stay downstairs. People go, oh, you know, I'm afraid I might fall. I think I'm moving downstairs. I go, no, no, no, you've got to be doing those stairs every day because they're keeping you healthy. You know, it's it's funny how the little things, but it, I mean, I have a I have other life than just exercising, but it's important to me because if in your 80s you can still travel and enjoy life, that's a miracle. You're grateful.
SPEAKER_02I love that. Betty, you've been you've mentioned that you've you've climbed many mountains, you've been all over and taken on many challenges. What's one of the biggest challenges you've faced and how did you overcome it?
SPEAKER_00Being scared all the time. No.
SPEAKER_02Hey, that is a challenge. I get you.
SPEAKER_00I think you know, the most difficult was doing the north face of San Jaco. It was a winter climb and going up, no ropes, just with a guy, getting up at dawn and going up the north face in March up to the summit of uh San Jacintal. It's uh nobody even knows where that is or anything, but that was the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. And hanging on with an ice axe and crampons all the way up was pretty scary, but I did it.
SPEAKER_02Where? So I you're right, I've never heard of it. Where is that?
SPEAKER_00And what it's out of Palm Springs. It's 10,000 foot 10-5 down in out of Palm Spring Springs. You start on the desert floor and you go to the top.
SPEAKER_02And it requires ice peaks and clamp ons, is what you're saying.
SPEAKER_00Well, a winter climb, but it's illegal, so don't tell anybody you're supposed to do that.
SPEAKER_02All right. This was all just said for uh entertainment people. It wasn't really exactly just entertaining.
SPEAKER_00No, I think it's I've just gotten used to it. Even when I start a hike, you know, like doing Whitney or something, you just go, Oh my god, can I keep up? Can I do this? I think it's not having a huge end goal. You don't do it for the goal. You just each foot you move along and say one foot in front of the other, and whatever happens will happen.
SPEAKER_01And if I'm not mistaken, didn't you just do something recently, like a week-long snowshoeing trip or something?
Intentional Movement In Everyday Life
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. Oh, I do that every year. We've been doing it. I belong to California Alpine Club, and we have a lodge up at Eccle Summit, 7300. So yeah, I'm one of the organizers of our annual snowshoe trip. So yeah, it was good. We snowshoot out to uh Lake Winnemucca from Carson Pass. I don't know if you know that. Yep, it's about six miles or seven snowshoeing, and yeah, I do I love my snowshoe tripping. I used to ski, then I did cross country, and now I snowshoe.
SPEAKER_01And that was a week, week-long trip. Yeah, we were up to the house. You weren't camping outside though.
SPEAKER_00No, we were in the lodge.
SPEAKER_02I'd be in the lodge too, Betty.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you gotta have some comfort.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Do the work during the day.
SPEAKER_02You burned the lodge, trust me. You have earned the lodge. What's on the radar now, Betty? What's your next biggest adventure?
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, we won't even get into it. I'm heading for Greece in May for uh nearly a month.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_00You know, I love being in shape and I love you know all that, but my real love is passion, is traveling.
SPEAKER_02Are you gonna do any uh hiking or anything while you're over in Greece?
SPEAKER_00You know, I go with an adventure company where we have young people. My one to the Balkans last fall far, you know, 23, and we age from 23 to me. And so I have to keep up. So it gives me motivation to stay in shape. But yeah, we're gonna be on Isle of Greek, Crete, and uh, we do hiking into a gorge, and then up in Santorini, we do a hike around the volcano. So it's not per se a hiking trip. I travel with intrepid adventure travel, and it's as long as that gives me motivation to be able to keep up.
SPEAKER_02Yes, you know, Ted, I I have a feeling, you know, she's going over there with the mindset of I have to keep up, but I have a feeling on the trip, the 23-year-olds are saying we can keep up. That's right.
SPEAKER_00That is actually kind of funny because some of the younger ones just really can't.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_02I bet I I can hear it already.
SPEAKER_01I can hear it already. So you said the the biggest challenge was fear. You said that kind of jokingly. But have you have you had any injuries, anything like that that you had to overcome over the years?
Hardest Climbs And Snowshoe Adventures
SPEAKER_00We won't go into that. Of course I have. You don't do all this without having, you know, and I don't have the quote in front of me, but there's a wonderful quote about the beauty of adversity, it teaches you your real strength. Yeah, I've had, um, yeah, I was injured in Nepal and hiked a long ways. Yeah, I won't go into that, but yeah, no, I've had injuries, and I define to my acupuncturist about 20 years ago, said, Why me? Why is this happening? He said, If you've learned when you're younger that you can come back from an injury, then you're gonna be prepared for old age. So here I am, and I'm not threatened. I've had shoulder surgery, knee, I've you know, had things, but you know that you can come back and you're stronger.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Wow. Incredible. Yeah, I know Doug and I have had that conversation over the years, as we've both gone through some injuries, and you know, he kept telling me you have to learn patience, you have to know when to take a step back. And it's tough when you you're active and you want to remain active. You know, when I got some crazy guy running over me with his bike, I'm kidding, that was Greg. And it was my fault. It was my fault, but it's tough, it's tough. And you know, you you do need to learn patience and know when to when to take that step back.
SPEAKER_00But you have to know how to modify because I think you guys being athletes have a harder time with an injury than somebody like me who doesn't consider herself an athlete. You know, I can go to yoga and do a one-arm this, or I can modify by doing this, or I, you know, you ahead use a headstand bench. But I think men who consider themselves athletes, it's really humbling. And I haven't, they haven't learned how to modify and have that patience. So I think it's a challenge, but I think it's important because you will, if you're out there doing stuff, you're gonna have an injury.
Travel Goals And Keeping Up
SPEAKER_02So you are so, so right. It is, it is extreme. I'm in the season right now of recovering. I got some issues going on with both of my feet. I love, love running, and I've had to make a very hard decision in my mind to give myself some long-term rest. And it's hard. It is, but you're right. You know what I where I'm finding solace is pivoting, pivoting, adapting, and adjusting. So it doesn't mean I stop, it just means I'm doing things. I'm just doing don't stop. Yes, yes. Why do you say don't stop, Betty?
SPEAKER_00Well, because you your body, if you think about it, every single joint needs to be moved every day. So if you can't run and can't walk, but you could do yoga, you could do Pilates, you could do Tai Chi, you could do Shigong. I mean, there's things that you can work your whole body. Yoga, you in good class, you can work up a sweat and develop strength. You can still go to the gym. You might be able to do. So I think it's learning to modify and still get, don't just say, oh, I can't do that and give up.
SPEAKER_01And that's been one of the points we've been making on this podcast when we coach people is don't be comparing yourself to the younger version of you. Compare yourself to where you are now and try and be the healthiest version of you. Make make those adjustments and don't get down on yourself because you can't do some of the things you used to be able to do. You can still be, I mean, you're you're living proof of it of you're not climbing mountains like you used to, but you're still as active as you've ever been and still moving on a daily basis.
Injuries, Patience, And Modifying
SPEAKER_00Well, it's important because my feeling is I want to enjoy my life right up until. I don't have to throw in one little story. I have to honor my father, who was a very small, gentle, non-athletic man. But he, as he got older, he did exercises every day. He lived to be 97. He was very active. He did 30 minutes of exercises with weights on his ankles and wrists every day, up until two days before he died. Every morning he did his exercises in bed. And then he sat in his chair and went to sleep at 97. So to me, that's inspiring. You can don't say you can't exercise.
SPEAKER_02Man, we have Betty. I mean, this was Ted, this was really uh power-packed information. And we've gotten so much wisdom in this short time span. It's I can't wait for people to listen to this. And I and I am gonna go back personally and just re-listen to this every once in a while to remind me, you know, what where my compass should be pointed. Hey, Betty, at this time in your life, what what is what what would you consider the best part of your day? What do you look forward to the most?
SPEAKER_00I think, you know, hearing from grandkids and uh uh and family, but I think in nature, I love going to the beach, being in nature. We live in a chaotic world, and to be able to look at the beauty of nature, the death, the dying, the uh struggles in nature, and being out in the green and the ocean, I love is to me just it makes everything worthwhile.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I think it was the Japanese who wrote the term or coined the term nature bathing. Have you ever heard of that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_02Ted, I think we're at the part of our show, unless you have another question where we introduce a song and well, I will in just a second.
SPEAKER_01One of the things I I wanted to mention though is, you know, I there's a quote around that uh that just says, I'm not exercising so I can wear a bikini. I'm exercising so I can take my son on a trip for his 50th birthday, or I can dance at my grandkids' weddings. And in September, that's what she's going to be doing. She's got granddaughter getting married in September.
SPEAKER_00We've got a hey Ted, we've got a great year. We've got a second great great, I have a great granddaughter being born in May, so I'm excited about that. I've got a granddaughter getting married in September, whom I'm very close with and adore. And I have a another grandson who's just announced an engagement. So hey, I've got to stay acting.
SPEAKER_02Yes, you do. That's awesome. What a great full life. So, Betty, this is uh the part of the show where Ted without, and he never tells me what the song's gonna be, and neither do the guests know, but he finds a song that thinks will be fitting to the interview, and then he plays it, and then myself and you get to comment on the song what it what it brought to our hearts, to our minds in the moment. So Ted, if you want to go ahead and start.
SPEAKER_01And I have to say this one was easy. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I can't wait.
SPEAKER_01You're you're the epitome of this one.
SPEAKER_04And in my heart always Forever Yang.
SPEAKER_02Wow, well, Ted, I can see clearly why you chose this song, and man, does it fit absolutely perfectly? Betty, you have given us the recipe to be forever young, and I am forever grateful and just thank you so much for saying yes and joining us today, not just for myself and for Ted, but for our listeners all across the globe who are going to learn, you know, the secret to being forever young if they choose, if they choose. What did this uh song bring to your mind, to your heart, Betty?
Purpose For Fitness And Family Milestones
SPEAKER_00It made me want to cry. And uh, it made me think I'm too old to die young.
SPEAKER_02So there you go. I love I'm too old to die young. Come on, I love that. Ted, I think you have a you have competition with Betty. Ted comes up with a lot of good quotes, and uh Betty, I gotta tell you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you guys.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm gonna start writing these down. I gotta start quoting Betty moving forward.
SPEAKER_02Go back and uh and write some of these down, re-listen to this one for sure. For sure.
SPEAKER_00This was fun. Yes, I was so terrified. I was terrified of this, frankly. I'm not a skin-the spot like person, so thank you guys. You're great.
SPEAKER_02Keep doing what you're doing. Yeah, well, you know what? You are a testament to what you just proclaimed to do it scared, anyways. You just said you were terrified of doing this, but you showed up and you did it. And so, ladies and gentlemen, she doesn't just say it right here live, she's living it. She is living it. Thank you, Betty. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00Thank you guys absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Ted, anything you want to close with?
SPEAKER_01Uh we have a guest next week, Ann Afinito, who is women's health and fitness coach. I I am really looking forward to hearing what she has to say. She coaches women over 50 and just has a great positive attitude and brings strength to them. So we're looking forward to hearing hearing her story and yes, getting some more wisdom from another strong woman.
Song Moment: Forever Young
SPEAKER_02Amen. I love that. I love that. And I have got nothing else to say. I just want to soak all this interview in and just let it resonate with every fiber of my being and and just sink and soak into my soul. Thanks again, buddy. I'm gonna go ahead and just sign off like we always do and say, God bless and peace out. If you like what you heard, be sure to subscribe, follow, share an episode. If you want to leave a comment, go to the show notes. There's a text link there. We will receive an anonymous text from you with any comments or suggestions. Thanks again for tuning in, and most importantly, keep on coming back.