Don't believe your first thought!

Weeks 27 & 28, Midlife Journal Guide

Are you for real?

As women today - be you in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and beyond - you are part of the unique generations redefining midlife. Redefining women’s lives actually. We are the generations in transitions, from patriarchy to equity. Society is slowly moving away from the structure built on the idea that men do, and women support. There are opportunities, choices and chances no generations before us had. We can not get married or have kids, we can do that and have careers, we can travel. Alone. We can learn and create, we can research and build, we can lead and practise careers previously denied to us lest our hysterical tendencies broke the controls.

We’re slowly dragging society by its ankles towards a more equitable state (for genders, ages, races, abilities and backgrounds), but we’re not there yet. Which means we still live under the crushing conditioning, and the repressive role-modelling that women must be “good”, we must be caring and kind, never angry or too ambitious, and most certainly we should never put ourselves first.

It’s changing, but the change is slow…. in large part because the conditioning has created thought patterns in our brain that run on default. I call this the Triad of Turmoil - perfectionism, imposter syndrome and people pleasing. They keep women with a foot in each camp - one in the outdated patriarchal view with haarmful and unrealistic expectations on women, and one in the new potential of possibility when equity runs throughout our workplaces, our homes, our healthcare (including research) and society at large.

Which is why you should never believe the first thought in your head.

If it’s guilt, perfectionism, people pleasing, fear of being “too”, fear of not being enough, imposter syndrome, and any of myriad of thoughts that hold us back from stepping closer to the equitable world where we are seen as women first, and our roles and responsibilities second (as per men), chances are your first thought isn’t yours.

Your thoughts are just thoughts. They’re not facts. So in this journalling adventure, challenging your thoughts will change your life and bring you (and all of us) one step closer to the world we want our daughters to live in.

For those of you newly following me on Your Midlife Matters (thank you for being here!) I’ve already explained how this year-long Midlife, redefined Daily Journal Guide adventure with yourself will work in Power is in Your Hand. You can start this journalling guide at any time of the year because it’s not date related: The daily prompts from Weeks 1 to 26 are here.

In this year long adventure with yourself, this opportunity to spend a few minutes every day (or as many days a week as you can) thinking about yourself will transform your relationship with yourself and to matter more in your own midlife and to build self-knowledge and empower yourself to live life for you.

For ALL my lovely subscribers there is my free Midlife Daily Journal Template in my previous post here which you can use as a guide each day - and what I personally use every day.

For just €5 per month, this Midlife Daily Journal Guide (and lots of other content and discounts on coaching) is for my paid subscribers.

So let’s get into the prompts for Week 27 and 28 of your journaling journey.