It’s time to wake up to your midlife power and start taking charge of your life
Midlife for so many of us is a huge wake-up call. This wake-up call may have come in the form of a significant birthday, the death of someone close, your children leaving home, or seeing an old photo and realising how much you've aged. For me, it was an illness, a migraine that went on for days that had me terrified that I had something really serious.
For others it might simply be an uncomfortable niggling feeling that something needs to change, that our life needs to be different in some way.
It doesn't matter what has brought us to this point but what I think is really vital is that we don't allow the significance of this message to fade no matter how harsh it feels to us.
The truth of midlife
Change is happening whether we like it or not. Our body is changing, our looks are changing and no matter how young or old we feel inside or try to fight it, time is working it's magic. How society views us is changing, our role in our families is changing as our children grow and move on.
Time passes very, very quickly. Think about how little time seems to have passed since you were 20, 30. I don't know about you but it seems minutes ago I was that age. Your life is limited - sorry folks but it's not going to go on for ever and I think at midlife this hits us to varying degrees.
Are you up for the challenge and the opportunity?
Midlife and society
It's fair to say that western culture, doesn't view this time of life (and beyond for that matter) with any great enthusiasm. Think of all the jokes about men buying huge bikes and having their midlife crisis. Think about women past their menopause who are seen as dried up, used up and invisible.
Think of all the talented actresses who bemoan the fact that their are no juicy roles for women past their 40s although that is starting to change.
Put it bluntly and women of our age are seen as past their sell by date. This age, the age we're at is not seen as a wildly positive time. It's seen as a time of loss of letting go of becoming less than we were.
Your opportunity for midlife
If you're reading this it's because you know inside you that something in your life needs to change and that in some way that change starts with you. Something in you needs to be bigger, more magnificent, more joyous and you need to be a fuller, brighter expression of who you really are.
There is another way. There are signs that many of us are starting to challenge this view. There are examples of older women who are challenging assumptions about age and who look vibrant, fantastic and full of life.
Midlife can be a time of upheaval, letting go of our youth and the assumptions we had about ourselves when we were younger and embracing the new.
And it can also be a time of rejuvenation, of letting go that which no longer serves us and forging ahead with a new version of ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to transform this stage of life and make of it something inspiring, empowering and world-changing huge.
Big hint - these years could be the best of your years. Are you up for the challenge and the opportunity?
This could be the time when you..
Let go of fear because as we get older, what other people think of becomes far less relevant.
Stand tall and proud You celebrate how far you've come, who you are.
Start using all of your gifts - no excuses
Make the most of every single moment, every single day
Tap into the wisdom and guidance that's in you
What have women our age got to offer?
We know ourselves - we've seen life so we're got a far better understanding of who we are, our values. We've got life experience and skills sets galore. We've raised families, kept down careers, kept ourselves together physically and mentally. I want women our age to start standing up and speaking up for more wisdom and light in this world. We're not broken and we don't need fixing, yes we may need healing whether that's emotionally, spiritually or physically but who and what we are is perfect.
If you have an urge to contribute more to life, to use your skills, now is the time to start doing that now. You know how quickly life passes but there is time to make your life a shining light for yourself and others.
All you have to do is find that passion, that spark that ignites you and follow it step by step.I can't wait to see what you create and become in your midlife.