August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 153I
t’saphrasethatisoverusedandone
thatindicatessomekindofrandom
behaviourorreactiontobeingin
whatistraditionallyreferredtothe
middleofourlives–“ohshe’sgot
atoyboy,mustbehavingamidlife
crisis”.Thetermisoftenusedasanexcuse
forawholeraftofthings,fromweightgain,
tomemoryloss,emotionaloutburstsandeven
badfashionchoices.Butisamidlifecrisis
reallyacrisisatall?
Undoubtedlysomewomenfind
themselvesfacingachallengingandpossibly
surprisinglyenlighteningtimeanywhere
betweentheir 40 sandearly 50 s.Itisatime
whenwestartaskingourselvesprobing
questionsandwonderingifthisreallyis“it.”
Wemaystarttoworryaboutourappearances
moreandstarttofeelabitdisenchantedwith
howourlifehasturnedout.Wemighteven
lookatourfriendswithenvyandsuccumbto
somelowlevelcomparisonitis!
Thisisallnormalbehaviour,becauseafter
allweareexperiencinganewstageinour
lives–butitdoesnothavetobecomeacrisis.
Youcanturnyourmidlifeintoyourbestlife
bytakingadifferentviewofwhatyouhave
alreadyachievedandbyhavinganawareness
ofwhatisreallygoingon.
LimitedEditiontalkstoSarahAdams,
journalistandcertifiedpersonaldevelopment
coachandanassociateuniversitylecturer
whospecialisesinworkingwithwomenwho
wanttomaketransformationalchangesintheirlives.Sarahgivesusherhintsandtips
alongwithhowyoucanwriteyourwayoutof
acrisis.Timeforchange
Ifyouareaskingyourselfdeepand
meaningfulquestionsandevaluatingyour
existence,thenyoumaybefeelingthat
somehowyoujustdon’tfitintoyourlifeany
more.Perhapsyoufeelthatyouarenoton
therighttrackbecauseyouhavebeenliving
yourlifeonsomeoneelse’stermsforsolong.
Maybeyouhavewokenupandrealisedit’s
timeforyoutomakeachange.
Thiskindofself-reflectioncanbepositive
anduseful.Itallowsustimetolookatwhat
wehaveachievedandhowfarwehavecome.
Wecanthenstarttoseeourlifeasa
seriesofwinsandexperiencesthatare
valuableandusefulforusaswemove
forward.Itisagreatwaytoidentifyour
strengthsandaddressanychallengesweare
facingandtheopportunitiesthatexistforus
toexperiencegrowth.Adailyjournalinghabit,combinedwith
focussedpersonaldevelopmentcoaching
helpsustocomeupwithcreativesolutionsto
life’schallengesandallowsustoappreciate
whatwecanstillachieve,aswellasgivingus
achancetolookathoweachareaofourlife
isrightnowandidentifywaystoimproveor
changethings.
Lookatjustoneareaofyourlifeandwrite
downallthatisgoodandworkingwell.Now
dotheoppositeandevaluatewherethings
areperhapsnotthatgood.Thenwritedown
howyouwouldlikethatareaofyourlifetobe
rightnow.Whatactionscanyoutakenowto
startmakingthosechanges?Whentheglassishalf-empty
Themiddleofourlivescanbeascarytime!
Wecanfeelfearfulofwhatliesaheadand
jadedabouthowourlifeis.Butinsteadof
seeingnothingbutableakforecastandthen
goingintofreefall,weneedtobedeliberately
optimisticaboutthefuture.Thisisnotabout
beingindenialifwearefacingchallenges,but‘Happinessandsuccess
doesnothavetocometoascreechinghalt
whenyouturn 40 ’
BEAUTY WELLNESS
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