As I reached my late 40s I became very unsettled. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis. Maybe it was a growing intolerance for not living according to my purpose and ethics. Regardless, I knew I had to make a big change.
I began defining my purpose and dreams more precisely and started to explore things that I always wanted to do. For me this was massage therapy training and yoga teacher training. I also delved back into my original passion in college and graduate school – nutrition.
I saved money and made a rough plan as to when and how I would make the transition to a new life. This plan included starting a business of my own that focused on helping others get healthier and happier.
Then one day at work, my managers presented me with a new ‘opportunity for growth and development’, which really meant they wanted to double my workload with no additional compensation. It was clear I did not really have any choice or voice in the matter. Though I was still a few years out from my planned leap to a new career, I knew I was done. I quit my safe and financially lucrative job then and there.
There have been a lot of ups and downs since then, especially in the time of covid. But I have never once regretted my decision and I am still excited for the journey.
I don’t think quitting your job to start your own business is everyone’s menopause journey or even most people’s journey, but menopause can be an amazing time of personal growth for all women.
This is a time when many women finally work through blocks and traumas in their life. This is also an age when many women become senior leaders in their profession or find themselves producing their most creative work.
I love this quote by Christine Northrup, author of Women’s Body, Women’s Wisdom. “Menopause, which coincides with the well-known midlife crisis, is a biologically and psychologically supported opportunity for total rebirth and rejuvenation of body, mind and spirit, one that results from addressing and healing the unfinished business of the first half of our lives.”
What is your story? What is your journey? What will the second half of your life be?
