Good and Bad News of Growing Older as a Woman

The Bad News

Admit it. Okay if you won't I will. When I was young, I thought being in your 50s meant you were old, tired and used up. You couldn’t imagine being that aged and decrepit. My mother told me you don't know anything until you are 50, but I didn't believe her. All I saw were wrinkles, added weight and weariness when it came to people 50 and above. But then the years rolled over me and here I am, mid-sixties and in all honesty, I am having a love/hate relationship with the trip.

First, bad news. I really loved the energy I had when I was younger. I love the clarity and how fast my brain worked. At sixty-five I was beginning to feel like my woman inside my brain who finds things for me had taken up smoking and drinking martini's and now whenever I asked my brain to find something for me, it was like she had her feet up on the desk, sipping martini's and taking a smoke break and basically telling me, she would get to it when it was convenient for her, and sometimes no kidding, she would bring the information, or word I needed, hours later, or sometimes it would take her up to 3 days.

Second bad news. I didn't like the fact that my back was giving me fits because it no longer wanted to move 700 pound desks by itself. I didn't like the fact that my muscles were softening and it required so much energy to work out or even move quickly. I didn't like the fact that my eyes were failing me, I can't hear as well and that my amazingly limber earlier body was now screaming 'Uncle' earlier and earlier as I attempted to stretch this way and that.

Third bad news. People were telling me that age is just a concept. I have always thought of myself as an optimist and quite a positive thinker, but my body and brain were telling me that the challenges I was suffering were not all in my head, but instead a fact of life that I wasn't loving. So is there really good news about getting older as women? I think Yes.

The Good News

You have freedom you didn't used to have. Somewhere in this decade your kids probably graduated high school and maybe even college. Perhaps they moved out. (Mine moved back in) But even if they have moved back in they are no longer little children. Notice I did not say now they are fully functioning adults, but at least you no longer have to check school homework, help write college essays, or carpool everywhere. You have graduated too, to a different, more expansive stage of life.

You’re still young at heart. You’re probably feeling still young at heart. You see yourself inside as the woman you once were. You may even be taken back every once and awhile when the gray haired lady looks back at you in the mirror, wondering who is she, and what does she want. Okay so the facts are your outside has more mileage than it used to but you still have a lot of life and love left. You still love eighties music and singing in the car and eating things that have no business being fried at summer carnivals. You still love swinging on swings on a beautiful Spring day and day-dreaming about things you still want to do. Some things never change. Our inner child is always still a part of us.

However ... the clock is ticking. And why is this a good thing? This is a good thing because nothing focuses the mind like a deadline. As we grow older we figure out how valuable the currency time is in our lives. When I was young I was always putting things off, like exploring the world, going on that cross-country drive or maybe choosing to live in Italy for a year. Time stretched endlessly into the future like a Salvador Dali clock melting nightmare. I realized if I’m ever going to see Prague or learn how to make a chocolate soufflé or try my hand at photography, I better get moving. So the good new about the clock ticking away? We know our TIME is NOW.

You know who you are. In my 20s, I was a co-dependent people pleaser. I was so busy attempting to make the people I loved happy that I really didn't understand who I was. Who was I? What was my purpose in life? What moved my heart to tears, or caused me to squeal with excitement? It wasn’t till I had a few decades under my belt that I realized this wasn't anyone's fault. It was simply how I was taught growing up. I knew I wanted and needed more out of life. I hadn't found my gifts and talents. I hadn’t found my tribe. I hadn't gotten clear about my passion, dreams and goals. Now, we each have time to discover who we truly are. For example take a personality test called Primary Colors Personality Test and it will help you understand more clearly who you are. But none-the-less, it is appropriate now, even awesome to take some time to really explore who you are, what moves you, inspires you and makes you feel excited about life?

You’re in that sweet spot in life. Remember when you used to fantasize about traveling, painting, writing, napping? The good news: all of those things are easier now. Your 50s, 60s and 70s are that great intersection between “Raring to Go” and “Having Most of your Marbles Left to Do it.” I have 50-70 something year-old friends who have more adventures these days than they were in their 20s and 30s simply because they have more flexibility to be so. Many finally have the time and means, and are ready to go for it. But what if you don't have the means, or worse, ENERGY, especially now that you have more time? Well, I have some recommendations for you. Find products that help with energy, mood and clarity elevation. We have usually done some damage by the time we reach our 50's, 60's and 70's. We have starved our bodies of good nutrients and stuffed them with sugar and carbs. It is time to use a healthy product to satisfy your sweet, and carb cravings.

You’re free to chase your dream. Our 50s, 60's, and 70's (even eighties) are the first time many of us have the time and space to explore our hidden, creative self. And that can lead to riches we never knew we had.So many women I know, picked up the pen, guitar, paint brush, and yoga mat in their later years. Maybe we’re less afraid. Maybe life, with its joys and sorrows, deepens the soul. Most women I know are looking for meaning, purpose and ready to claim a personal power that says "I no longer settle for less!" Women who took no prisoners in the corporate world discovered later in life they now love the gentler, more relational side of life. But their are women who lack the financial freedom to chase their dreams. If you find that you are one of those women, I would love to help you Elevate Yourself and the lives of others.

Need additional income? It's easy to get!

I have GOOD NEWS. If you are one of those women who need additional income as you enter your 50's, 60's and 70's, Please contact me personally. Just email me at (elevatedwomensucceed@gmail.com) and I will explain how you can easily grow your retirement income in a simple, easy way just by inviting people you like over for a cup of coffee.

Be blessed, Dawn Billings

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Dawn Billings author of over 20 books, selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House Project as one of the nation's 80 emerging women leaders in 2008. CEO & Founder of The Heart Link Women's Network, an International women's networking organization, and ElevatedWomen.org a think tank and mastermind international group of women entrepreneurs. Dawn is the author and architect of the Primary Colors Personality Insight tools. Dawn is also the director and curriculum developer for the Executive Training Resort in Arizona and creator of the Happiness Curriculum for living an OverJOYed Life.

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