Feisty ladies, do you ever feel invisible?
As I get older, I sometimes feel invisible. I hear those words a lot from my feisty, middle-aged friends. It seems that the younger women seem to get all of the attention, advice books, fashion tips, romance advice, etc. in the media today. Even though women aged 50-64 are the top consumers in all purchasing categories, we feel that we are often overlooked.
One of the reasons that I wrote my book was to give a voice to feisty middle-aged, divorced, separated, or unengaged women who are seeking advice based on shared experiences. Because we are older, our needs, experiences, and life goals are different.
As we age, our passions and purposes in our lives are different from younger women. I have chatted with many 55+ year old women about this and below are the comments they shared with me. All the women I interviewed are naturally feisty, and they did not hold back in their comments.
Focus on what WE want in life. Too many years were spent focusing on the needs of others. It is our turn to think of our selves and do things for ourselves. Right on.
Make new friends everyday. We all value the new people we meet or the people that we have, until recently, ignored. What new things they can bring to your life. Never forgo an opportunity to chat with a new person. My book is full of those stories from new acquaintances. Thanks for speaking to me, ladies.
No matter what, maintain a positive attitude everyday. Some days just suck, so expect one of those now and then. With a positive attitude, studies show that you will live 7.5 years longer. I am up for that. Find positive people to hang out with and let go of the negative folks in your life. They will not miss you anyway because they spend all their days complaining. You will see lots of smiling and beaming women at the holistic fairs that I attend. Guess that we are on to something ladies.
Keep evolving. Seems that our lives evolve every 7 years according to some studies. Yes, I am counting that right now in my life. Seven years with Mr. Wonderful, three years to get rid of him. Sounds about right. The present years I am living on my terms; writing my book, promoting my book, being a success. Seven years will work. The sooner the better, actually. Better yet, I can and will make it work.
Re-kindle the interests of our earlier years. I always enjoyed writing and so now I am now an author of a book, a blogger, and am now learning about promoting my writing on social media. This new venture has not been without challenges but I am giving it my best shot. I always enjoyed taking long walks and now am accompanied by great-nieces and nephews, complete with a stop for the required slushie. My first employment was more like volunteering based on the pay that I received; I continue to volunteer today. My interest list is long. Some of the feisty women that I have met are embarking on new careers such as: a healer, meditation coach, jewelry designer, life coach, and soap maker. Seems like we have never lost our passion for learning and now is our time to do whatever passion we have a knack for. Sounds great to me. Keep your brain active or it will become mushy!
Keep discovering new purposes in life. Be inspired to get out of bed everyday and work on the ideas and issues that really inspire you. I have met feisty ladies who are involved in voter registration drives, caring for the homeless, serving meals to the hungry, maintaining and organizing thrift shops, and so much more. We step up all the time where our help is needed. We feel part of that force that is making our world a better place. Feisty ladies make a real difference. Isn’t that what we are here for anyway?
Acknowledge your inner self. Stay healthy physically. Stay emotionally healthy. Gather your thoughts daily, keep a journal, meditate, pray. Walk or exercise every day. Know that it is okay just to sit and relax. I struggle with sitting still, but am working on it.
Know that your time on this earth is limited. None of us will live forever. Appreciate the blessing that you have. Life can be mean. Celebrate your feistiness every day. The world needs you to remind everyone that being feisty is being alive.
We are really invisible, feisty ladies, only if we allow ourselves to be invisible. Stand up and do your part even if no one notices. As long as you notice, that is all that really matters.
What will you do to become less invisible? Stay feisty and find out.