Sorry, I got a little long winded in that last podcast. But you know, the podcast where I talk about your 30s and 40s I can speak to you more authoritatively about because I have lived it. A lot of what I’m saying from here forward is speculation and purely observational. Some things you have to just experience to understand - like giving birth! Being in your 50s is so freeing because you realize that no one is paying attention to what you are doing. They’re worried about themselves, thinking about their own lives, their own dreams, their own hopes, ambitions, time, money, energy and capacity. Chasing who you are uniquely created to be and running after your own uniqueness and becoming as excellent as possible in the thing that you were gifted and created to do is like the rest of my life’s mission.
In your 20s there’s so many possibilities - try it all. In your 30s, you need to be an independent adult. In your 40s you go ok, well…I tried a lot of things in my 20s and 30s and these things aren’t moving into the second half of my life so they need to be decluttered, not only physically but mentally. I think there’s an extended new phase of life here, I’m going to call it “Emerging Uniqueness.” Women today in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s have big plans, lofty plans. They love what they are doing and the impact they’re making. Your 50s are a Golden Window…a Golden Decade! If you had your children in your late 30s, this window will shift to later. So where you have your children (if you have them at all) does create where your fixed expenses and time constraints are going to be.
The theme of the 50s to me so far and what I’m observing is that women aren’t done. We haven’t even really gotten started, to be honest. We want to be on the list - on the to do list. Like, we would like to be above the dog. Once you’re decluttered and organized, you have a lot of capacity for the unexpected demands on your time and your money because you know how to move things around mentally and physically on your calendar in order to create the capacity when needed. I think that adulthood is self care. It has nothing to do with bubble baths, spas or whatever. Self care is taking care of yourself. In childhood, your parents took care of you. In emerging adulthood, you’re in between your parents and taking care of yourself. Now is your time.
What is our purpose or our job in this phase of life? Self care. Taking care of yourself and prioritizing yourself, in addition to everyone else that lives in your household. Planning - planning for you and what you’re doing next and continuing to dream - that is your purpose. What is your capacity? HUGE. Huge capacity, income, earning, time, and 50 years worth of knowledge. How do we use the physical spaces in our home? You understand time capacity now. You understand how limited it is, but also how exponential it is. So, just get your homework done. Once your physical spaces are decluttered and organized, you’re not in accumulation anymore - so it will stay maintained. What scaffolding or support do we need to make this phase of life easier and more productive? Once you’ve done The Productive Home Solution® and The Paper Solution®, what you need is Planning Day. Not only will Planning Days help you plan the next 120 days, it will encourage you, inspire you, motivate you, and hold you accountable to keep growing, reaching further, and dreaming about what is possible. Make a list of the things that you want to do, be, and have in the second half of your life…and then start going after it!
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