Time For A Midlife Makeover

By Allison Hay

Istockphoto © Joyful woman enjoying the freedom of the beach Pic: Istockphoto

Pic: Istockphoto

Did you know that midlife women are the fastest growing demographic in the world? It’s time to plan what you really want out of life and go and get it…

Women over 50 control 67% of all household spending, make 80% of all healthcare decisions for everyone in the family and are the fastest growing sector of employees in the UK. Believe it or not, we’re actually quite a powerful force, but only now are we starting to understand how amazing midlife can be – and about time!

So often midlife is portrayed as a time when we women are “over the hill”, going through “the change” and a time when perhaps we’re letting ourselves go. How things are changing! These days, the BBC runs “Menopause” Weeks, Ofcom is berating broadcasters for not having enough midlife women on screen and employers are waking up to the changes they can make in the workplace to help menopausal women.

What does this mean for you?

It means it’s time to concentrate our minds. If the world is changing the way it looks at midlife women then we need to use this opportunity. We need to put our minds into making midlife an amazing time when we look and feel fantastic. We also need to focus on getting our lives pretty much where we want them to be by the time we are 65, because by then, it’s tough to change.

Health

The choices you make now will be karma-fuelled in your old age. In other words, the choices you make now will dramatically affect your health in later life. Junk food? No exercise? Overweight? All of these are choices that you may think are harmless, and they can be for short periods but, trust me, all of these will affect your health long term. Choose to make good choices.

Pic: Istockphoto

Career

If you want to change direction, now could be an amazing time to do so. If you’re forty, you have up to twenty-five years of your working life left so do something you really enjoy. If you want to run your own business take heart from the fact that the average age of the most successful start-up company owners is 45, and that’s an average so some are much older!

Helping others

One of the key benefits to volunteer work is the claims that it is good for your mental health. However, statistics show that these benefits are only measurable after the age of forty. Why not give four hours each month into a cause that you feel passionate about?

Clothes

It’s definitely time to take a look in your wardrobe! Get together with a friend you trust and go through your clothes with them. Let them be honest about what looks good and what doesn’t. This is a tough one as no-one likes to be told their choices aren’t great, but you want to look your best at this time and sometimes, we can’t see what others see.

Pic: Istockphoto

Make-up

When was the last time you genuinely changed your make-up and skincare regime? Many of us haven’t done so since our twenties, yet our faces have changed a great deal. Get along to a make up counter, get the full makeover and try a brand new look.

Grab opportunities

In short, midlife is so very different to how it was for our mums. It is becoming a time of real achievement, of vibrancy. Let’s focus and make sure we use this time to achieve what we really want from life. Midlife crisis? Sounds more like midlife opportunity to me!

Karen Davis is an International Speaker and Founder of Time of Your Life, a beauty & lifestyle subscription box, podcast and blog for women over 40, https://toyl.co.uk. Look out for Karen’s new book, Time Of Your Life, coming out September 2019, on how to re-imagine midlife as the most exciting and rewarding years.