One Life to Love – How to Enjoy Life in Midlife Years (After 40 and 50)
Our article on ‘One Life to Love’ is written to show women over 40 how to enjoy their midlife years — to be more aware of their happiness and development as they advance in age.
We are all guilty of getting in the mode of survival and having a more rewarding life. It is not good when we get caught up in the routine of it, ignoring what really matters. Some of us take it even further to neglect our health in the process. How can we actively live our lives, travel and do what makes us happy, and be responsible at the same time? It is done with consciousness and balance. This will help to keep you on track as you move through the other half of your life.
When we get to midlife (after 40), something happens – something that tries to take away the joy that we have grown accustom to. Part of it is life itself. It gets a little more serious because this is the time when we take notice of our achievements, relationships with others, and progress. How we feel we are being perceived by others (society, family, etc.) is also included. And depending on what our concept is on all of this, midlife crisis can kick in. Self-realization, as vaguely mentioned above, is important here because it gives us the tools needed to handle all of these negative energies. If you are not equipped in this area, this stuff can really take a toll. More often, it can force us to seek an outlet to help us cope. For some, that could mean drugs and alcohol — to the point of destruction. And this is all done to artificially reinstate the joy we once had.
When I turned 40, I embraced it. I don’t remember having any negative symptoms. It was at 50, that I found myself thinking ‘okay, what’s next’. I was divorced for a few years by then and had switched professions more than once to find my comfort zone. These changes took an impact, causing great setbacks, and I was left with just me. This was my time to take a closer look at my life. Rather than panic or fall apart with feelings of inadequacy, I began to evaluate myself to see how I could reinvent the wheel to line up with what I felt I needed to stay happy and maintain a sense of self-worth.
We are at the age of being experienced at life. Where it gets a little tricky is ‘we are supposed to be learning from these experiences – achieving wisdom’. Unfortunately, a lot of us are not doing that. We are not taking the responsibility to mature as we grow. Instead, we are busy giving in to negative emotions (anger, rage) rather than focus on the good ones (joy, hope, etc.). The end result is depression, anxiety, anger and resentment. These emotions are dangerous to our system and this is why I believe sickness is so rampant among us.
I am 56 years of age now (thank God), and I am enjoying everything as I did when I was in my 20’s. How am I doing it? I try to live a simple life of gratitude and contentment; I am conscious about my health; and I watch how I treat others. Taking time to be aware of these simple principles are extremely important. I also spend a lot of time alone so that I can pay attention to who I am inside. These important steps afford us the space we need to grow from within. With this disposition we can press on, focusing on things that enhance our well-being and keep us happy. When we understand this part of it, we come to the realization that life is here for us to enjoy to the fullest and that we only have one shot at it.
MLR
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