What would happen if you said YES, to you?

I am noticing a theme in the incredible midlife women I am surrounded by these days. We are picking our heads up, scanning our lives and wondering ‘how did we get here’? The years have gone quickly, and there is so much more for me, I know there is.  But how do I figure that out? And where to from here? 

As women in midlife, we have an opportunity to step into the unfamiliar space of saying YES to ourselves. This feeling of prioritizing our own needs feels foreign and uncomfortable after decades of showing up for partners, children, parents, colleagues and even our friends.  We are socially conditioned to scan our environment and make sure everyone else’s needs are met, before we allow ourselves to exhale and look inward. 

This is not working. 

It is contributing to more women experiencing burnout, leaving the workforce, and an unrelenting inner narrative that there is something wrong with us because we just can’t keep up with life. We are exhausted all of the time.  And then sprinkle in the hormone chaos of perimenopause and menopause, and you become lost and adrift in your own life, and no longer recognize yourself. You have become deeply disconnected from the essence of who you truly are. 

But there is HOPE!  There is a juncture in our midlife years, an opening, a shift in how life is unfolding. Things start to happen in our worlds; kids are launching, parents are passing, health may wobble and professionally we might be ready for a change or finally go after that promotion. 

It is at this critical juncture when we need to exercise our “yes” muscles, and finally ask ourselves the question “What do I want?” Or we might be asking ourselves “Who am I, now?” Life molds us, and at the same time there is that core essence of who we are that may have been ignored or cast aside to make other people happy, comfortable or taken care of.  You may be curious to get to know her again. 

I have spent the past three years focused on truly getting to know myself and investing in coaching, counseling and communities where I feel like I am finally peeling back some layers and giving my true self the space to resurface and be seen. It is vulnerable, uncomfortable and so incredibly freeing at the same time. At 57 years of age, I am coming home to myself, and realizing that my purpose here in the world is to create that space for other midlife women to come home to themselves also. When we say yes to that journey, we are going to become the most powerful women in our worlds, because we will be grounded in our worthiness and clear on our strengths and values. And from this place……anything is possible! 

If there was ever a time when the world needed us to step into our power, it is now. Let us become the leaders the world needs, by leading ourselves into a journey of yes that starts with yes to me. 

(I am on a mission to unleash the potential and power of midlife women. Sign up for the wait list and get early-bird pricing for the next cohort of our brand new program Inspiring Midlife Leadership. Registration will open in February and program begins April 4th).