It was great to see another story like this one (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1265235/Drinking-Feeling-worthless-Obsessively-shopping-You-having-FEMALE-midlife-crisis.html) addressing the issues of midlife crises in women and particularly noting that many women are able to turn their frustrations into positive experiences, as they move from putting everyone else before them, to realising that they do need some ‘me time’ to find themselves again and learn about who they really are and what they want from the rest of their lives.
I must admit that a couple of years ago I too was stuck in this stereotype of thinking that all women had to go through this ‘midlife crisis’ before they were able to make changes in their lives and embark on personal development programmes to help them achieve these goals. But creating the ‘Age with Attitude’ programme has introduced me to so many women for which this isn’t the case at all and has highlighted that sometimes we forget that it doesn’t always take a crisis to put out lives on a different track and make positive steps towards happiness and fulfilment.
Most of the women on the current Age with Attitude programme aren’t depressed, or stuck in a rut, or experiencing a midlife crisis. Most are in fact, in senior positions at work or run their own business and are very happy with their current relationship status, whether single or in a relationship. They were very happy with where their lives were and wanted to develop themselves further and stretch themselves. Some saw it as a way of creating some valuable and much needed ‘me time’, where they could just focus on themselves and on making new friends.
When speaking to these women, some really despised the tags of ‘midlife women’, ‘midlife crisis’ etc as they felt that it in some way took away some of their power, energy and inherent happiness with their lives to date. It suggested that women of a certain age can’t be happy and fulfilled without therapy! They much preferred to be called ‘women in their forties’ and wanted the media to portray the brilliance of this time of life, when they kids are grown up, financial burdens are likely to be less, life experiences are plentiful and the future is a blank canvas.
Whilst personal development courses are very good for overcoming blockages and helping those feeling stuck in a rut to move onto the next stage in their lives, it is important to remember that they aren’t just for those feeling trapped and that there are a huge army of positive thinking, confident and happy women in their forties and fifties for whom these courses just serve to empower them further!
The Official Age With Attitude Blog 