I don’t about you but I reached my 50s in a bit of a blur. I’d spent the previous 15 years focusing on raising my kids, with some work and other commitments thrown in, to create a whirlwind of a time where my needs were always at the bottom of the list.
I woke up one day wondering where the time had gone and who I was. To be honest, at times, I’m still trying to work this all out.
Who was I now as my body and mind started transitioning into post menopause. A whole new stage of life, a whole new body and I was literally flailing as I struggled to come to terms with all that change.
However, one thing I have established over the last few years since that time, is that as women entering this new era, it’s time to love ourselves – more. For many years or decades, we may have put everyone else ahead of our own needs and maybe lost our sense of self along the way. I definitely did.
But, now is our time. It’s time to look at ourselves differently. It’s time to prioritise our health and our needs. It’s time to put ourselves first, for perhaps the first time since we were teenagers. And, its time to truly love ourselves.
Not so easy you may say, when you look in the mirror wondering where that carefree, young woman went in what felt like a minute and the person staring back at you is kind of depleted, droopy, wrinkly and perhaps even a bit lost. Perhaps even somewhat, dare I say it, ‘invisible’?
What I can tell you is that all is not lost.
Yes, you are going to be different – it’s inevitable. We are ageing and changing from the day we are born and you have no control over that. However, you do have control over how you age. You have control over both your lifestyle and your attitude. Regardless of where you are now, it’s possible to reinvent yourself and live this next part of your life vibrantly and beautifully.
What’s required? All the things we hear about regularly – moving daily, eating mostly nutritious foods and managing stress etc. However, the most important thing I think for midlife women to focus on – is learning or re-learning to love ourselves.
When we love ourselves enough to acknowledge our worth, acknowledge our story and acknowledge that there is no way we would be here today without overcoming many challenges, then we can begin to see ourselves in a different light. We can begin to prioritise ourselves again. It’s time to love ourselves enough to prioritise both our health and our overall wellbeing.
Midlife women are strong, resilient, wise and very important. This is not a time to shrink back and disappear. The best days of our life are not over. This is a time for us to claim our power. A time to share our experience and knowledge and skills with the world.
And, when we truly see ourselves as the beautiful women we have become and love ourselves more than ever before, then we realise that this new stage of life is pretty amazing and really just getting started.
This Valentine’s day and for the rest of your life, make sure you give yourself the love your deserve. Your health and wellness, body and mind, will love you back.
Tania