I have to be honest, I’m new to blogging and I’ve been staring at the blank computer screen for over an hour, hands poised above the keyboard…diligently not typing.
To distract myself from the discomfort of not having a clue where to begin, I played with “Blog Post Headline Analyzer,” an online tool that grades your blog headline. I rationalized this was a better use of my time than watching YouTube videos of dogs who were crazed because a cat stole their bed. Ten Analyzer spins later, with a solid B+ in headlining, I still hadn’t written a single word. What is it about doing something new that paralyzes us?
And what is retirement and the next chapter of our lives if not the continual learning and adjusting to something new? Whether it’s an unwanted move, a divorce, the death of someone we love, new health issues or empty-nesting, the changes that often accompany midlife can be overwhelming and leave us not knowing which way to turn. In fact, with all we need to redefine and adjust to in midlife, I’m shocked that more of us aren’t sitting transfixed at red lights, unable to move while impatient twenty-somethings honk their horns all around us.
Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.
When you top off the whole midlife mix with retirement, the real hum-dinger of adjustments for career women, you have the perfect recipe for a midlife meltdown.
For the first time in history, millions of career women are facing retirement and the questions that come with it. What do we do after spending the past 30-40 years defining ourselves by our work and roles in life? Who will we be now? How will we stay relevant? And of course the biggie, is it really ok to read a book at 3pm in the afternoon and watch Ellen every day?
As working women, we achieved—we showed up, were seen and were as brave as anyone required to wear pantyhose could be. We held positions of authority and influence, delegating and multi-tasking like we were on fire. We took care of homes, spouses, children, other people’s children, aging parents and some unfortunate houseplants. We rocked our world. And now, our dues paid and duties done, we reach for the reward of retirement only to realize it doesn’t quite live up to the grand hype. By week three, the allure of sleeping in has worn off for most of us and we may find ourselves staring down day after day of having no obligation that would actually require us to get dressed or leave the house.
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