Aging is not something to be feared, but to be revered!
Midlife has been given a bad rap for so long. In fact, when you google "midlife", the first 10 searches are entitled "midlife crisis". Not midlife moxie, or midlife awakening, or even midlife isn't so bad. No - it's a CRISIS! (and by the way, it's more than 10, I just stopped scrolling)
Why have we all bought into this urban myth that midlife means we are no longer relevant, capable, nor valuable? Why have we jumped on the anti-aging bandwagon as if we are fighting an evil force meant to destroy all that is good and beautiful in life? Why??
Because that's the story we've been told over and over!
Have you heard the research study with five monkeys in a cage? (I promise, this does relate to our topic - read on). There’s a bunch of bananas hanging from a string, with a ladder leading to the bananas. When the first monkey goes for the bananas, the researcher sprays all five monkeys with freezing water for five minutes. Some time later, when a second monkey inevitably tries to go for the bananas, the researcher once again sprays all five monkeys with the cold water for five minutes. The researcher then puts the hose away and never touches it again. But, when a third monkey tries to go for the bananas, the other four attack him to prevent him from climbing that ladder. They are afraid of the punishment that may come.
Then, the researcher replaces one of the monkeys with a new monkey who wasn’t part of the original experiment and was never sprayed with water. And, as soon as he touches the ladder to go for the bananas, the other four monkeys attack him to keep him from doing so. If he tries again, they attack him again. Thus, the new monkey learns not to go after the bananas because he’ll get attacked if he does.
The researcher replaces a second monkey with another new monkey. When this monkey goes for the bananas, the other four attack him, including the new monkey who was never sprayed with water. The researcher then continues to replace all the monkeys one at a time, until all five of the original monkeys are removed from the cage. Each time the newcomer goes for the bananas, the others attack, even when they, as new monkeys, have never received punishment for going after the bananas. And thus, the new monkeys, who have never been sprayed with cold water, learn not to go after the temptation of the bananas.
The researchers hypothesize that, if they were to ask the monkeys why they don’t go for the bananas, they’d answer “because that’s the way it’s always been done”.
Ok... do you see how we are all monkeys?! We have been told for SO long that midlife is a time to be sad, lonely, hopeless, and helpless that by the time we get there... we are indeed all of those terrible things. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy spawned from societal messaging as soon as we are old enough to say "monkey".
It's Time to CHANGE the story! And that's why Lovin' Midlife was created. To help raise our collective awareness and choose to no longer accept these falsehoods as facts. Founder, Dara Goldberg, has started a movement and I'm working right along side her to use our voices to proudly and loudly say "We are Invincible, not Invisible!". Here are our goals:
Kick the widely accepted misconceptions and myths to the curb once and for all
Make women’s experience of midlife accurately and FULLY understood
Assure younger generations of women that there is SO much to look forward to
Be recognized, appreciated, and revered for who we really are and all we have to offer
Here is your personal invitation to be a part of this impactful paradigm shift! We are holding a big Lovin' Midlife KICKOFF WEEK of events October 18 - 22 and we want you to join us!
Who Is This For?
You belong at this free event if you are or have been...
The woman who stands in front of a mirror and criticizes harshly everything from the size of your thighs to the size of your pores.
The woman who’s been thinking about "going grey" but the hairdresser says, “Are you sure? It’ll make you look older".
The woman who is told by her doctor, "that's just part of getting older", suck it up buttercup
The woman who doesn't love midlife right now but wants to learn how to love HERSELF
The woman who wants to tear down society’s misconceptions and misinformation about midlife because you know how spectacular it is
I'm not saying midlife is all rainbows and unicorns. Hell no! But midlife, and all of life, is how we CHOOSE to think about it. I choose to think of it as a Midlife REVELution... as in, I REVEL in my EVOLUTION. Join the Lovin' Midlife Movement now!
