The Mid-Life Paradox

You’ve reached this stage called midlife. You’ve lived - experienced the joys, conquered the obstacles and carried important life lessons forward. You are vibrant and energetic. You definitely don’t feel your age (or how you’ve imagined this age would feel). You’re more comfortable in who you are; you care less about what people think, and you’ve figured out what’s important in life.

Sure, you have fears and insecurities about ageing. We all do. After constant pummeling with negative messages about ageing, how could we not? We are in ourselves a bit of a paradox, as we manage two sides of the same coin – feeling powerful, confident and insecure all at the same time. Nonetheless, for the most part, you feel like you’ve got your sh*t together more than you ever have.

Just as you arrive at this new-found place of comfort and confidence, you begin to feel overlooked, invisible, and even ignored. Nowhere do you see positive representations of your age or stage? In a culture obsessed with youth, it's like you don’t really exist. It can begin to mess with your strong sense of self. You feel misunderstood. What you’re feeling on the inside is not reflected anywhere in the outside world. It may cause you to question yourself and your abilities or even start to buy into the limiting beliefs and stereotypes about this stage of life. It’s a bit of a cruel joke, actually. In so many respects, you are the best you’ve ever been at a time when it is least recognized.

Can you relate? Agree or disagree? I would love to know your thoughts.