Those of us women who are experiencing midlife and menopause have spent so many years caring about other things - our children, our spouse, even our job - that our zest for life and passion for our creative interests has become buried.
We don’t know who we are anymore.
The good news is that we have an opportunity to dig that passion and creativity out of the hole that it’s been buried in for so many years.
To do that, though, we have to break our old habits and ways of thinking. We have to stop waiting for an adventure to fall in our lap, and instead, step outside of our comfort zone and try new things.
We know that taking this step can be scary, especially if you’ve never done it before. To help you along your way, here are 5 tips for how to be brave after 50 and try something new.
- Tip #1: Get Out Of The Habit Of Not Pursuing Your Interests
Most women who are navigating their new life after 50 realize that it’s been a long time since they pursued any of their personal interests. You may be into writing, baking, or sewing, but because of your family life or your career, you’ve gotten into the habit of shoving these desires under the rug.
Our first tip is to get out of this habit of not pursuing your interests! You’ve given years to your kids and other people. Now you can’t waste any more time. Start a new habit: if something interests you, learn more about it and try it out as soon as you can.
- Tip #2: Give Yourself Permission To Change Interests If You Get Bored
When you’re pursuing things that interest you or have always interested you, you’re likely to find that not everything is as exciting as you anticipated. You may start embroidery, for example, only to find that it bores you out of your mind.
Give yourself permission to change your interests if you get bored. Remember, the point is for you to try new things. You’re not signing a contract that says you have to do the skill you just learned for the rest of your life!
- Tip #3: Give Yourself Permission To Make Mistakes
Making mistakes is part of learning. You’re not going to make an apron perfectly the first go-round. Know that as you try new things, you will make mistakes, but it’s okay. What’s more important is that you were brave enough to try.
- Tip #4: Be Your Own Motivator
We’re not little kids or teenagers anymore. Most of the time, we can’t rely on our parents to encourage us in learning something new or to stick to something even if we made a mistake. You must be your own motivator!
- Tip #5: Find Your Tribe
Even though most of the time, you’ll need to motivate yourself, it always helps to have a tribe of people behind you, cheering you on.
This tribe can be your spouse or your best friend. It can also be a community of women with similar interests, like the one we have on the Visible Podcast.
How do you discover other women whose midlife creativity goals align with yours? You can go to retreats, workshops, and classes. You can join a Facebook group. It doesn’t matter if you interact with your tribe in-person or strictly online, so much as it does that you have a support network to turn to.
Still want to learn more about having no fear after 50 and creative living? Click here to listen to the podcast episode of Visible where we discuss these very topics!
