For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be part of an online summit called Midlife Mastery, featuring interviews with women about what it means to find your purpose and passion in midlife.
I love this topic because so many important and priceless changes have come about for me since midlife. This can be a deeply satisfying time of life, as long as you live according to your inner guidance, not the limiting messages of the world.
That’s why I want to share something I did that helped me immensely, and I think it will help you too. I did this years ago as a visualization, but you can do it as a writing exercise. The important thing is to create some quiet time and space where you won’t be interrupted.
Once you’re in that quiet space, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Now, on a piece of paper, list as many myths as you can—messages that limit who you are at midlife and what’s possible for you. For instance…
- Women after 40 have as much chance of getting married as they have of being struck by lightning.
- Women over 40 can fly under the radar because they’re no longer sexually attractive.
- You’d be crazy to start a family after 40.
- You’re too old to go back to school.
- You’re too old to start a second career.
- If you don’t have a nest egg by the time you’re 50, you’ll never be able to retire.
- Once you hit 50, you’ll never be able to lose weight.
You get the idea. We absorb these messages from the world around us, but none of them has to be true for you. In fact, the photo here is from my wedding reception—when I was 44 years old. I got a master’s degree when I was 46, and all of my books have been published since I was in my mid forties, too.
I’m not saying this because I think I’m exceptional. I’m saying it because I’m just like you. We all have gifts and graces to share, adventures to explore, new goals to achieve.
So after you’ve listed as many myths as you can, cross out each one and replace it with a statement of what’s true for you. Let yourself daydream. What do you want to create in this generative stage of life?
Remember: There are no limits. No rules. And, by the way, no guilt about the past or worry about the future. Just pure intention and desire that comes from what you truly want, and who you truly are.
Write it down. Write it all down. This is your roadmap. Your blueprint. Your life. Love it, take good care of it, and most of all, enjoy every moment.
Midlife is not the end. It’s just the beginning. As a friend of mine says, “The best is yet to come.”
Blessings,
Deb
