My Midlife Mindset
In my mid-40s, I started to feel unsettled. A little voice inside of me was getting louder. It said I was running out of time, and the dreams I had for myself as a young adult were no longer possible. I did my best to ignore it, but I couldn't for long. When I decided to listen, I realized the message wasn't about what I had missed. It was about evaluating where I was, what I wanted out of the rest of my years, and taking action to make it happen.
Fast forward to now, my 53rd year, and I'm in a very different place in life. In that time, I made job changes, moved from Nebraska to Arizona, remodeled a home, became an empty-nester, reconnected with old friends, and made new ones. I started a health & wellness business. I now own and manage a 5-star Airbnb property with my husband. As I'm writing it, it all sounds incredible! The best part is, I know I'm not done yet.
How was I able to make all of this happen? What keeps me wanting to learn, see, and do more? The answer is the mental shift I made over seven years ago. When I stopped dismissing my inner voice and misinterpreting its message, I found my midlife mindset.
My midlife mindset has gotten me where I am and will take me where I am supposed to go. It helped me realize I am the only person that can make me happy and fulfilled. I know my choices and actions lead to the life I want to live. It's pretty freakin' powerful!
The key ingredients to my midlife mindset are:
Courage: to trust my instincts, move forward without all the answers and purposefully step out of my comfort zone
Confidence: to recognize only I know what is best for me, to be self-aware, and to believe I deserve happiness and success
Perspective: to understand my values and priorities
Resilience: to adjust and recover after setbacks and hardships
I am not immune to feeling fear, self-doubt, and anxiety. My mindset does help me recognize, rationalize, and work through those thoughts and feelings, however. I know I'd rather face my emotions than regret not moving forward because of them.
Each of us has a unique midlife mindset. Sure, some of the ingredients may be the same, but how we interpret and use them are not. Finding mine was life-changing.
I think midlife is a beautiful place to be!
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