How A Midlife Pivot Can Refire Your World

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Reaching the halfway house in the 100 year life is so exciting. It presents a wonderful opportunity for change.

Jackie Naghten of What Next Coaching is all about promoting the midlife pivot although she admits that on the way there will have been many speed bumps and potholes. She says the historic vision of ageing, growing older and retiring quietly like the fade out at the end of an old movie, is fast disappearing and there is a new vision of life span rather than that of old age.

Jackie says: “We are the wealthiest generation of all time approaching what were once considered to be twilight years with a different outlook.”

Like all things boomer and Gen X, this generation has a different approach – they want more – and they are changing the landscape and the narrative around retirement.

“We have achieved more material wealth than any generation before us. We have worked hard, and have benefitted from living at a time with unprecedented health benefits and medical progress with access to a lifetime of free medical care. So many at 50/60 are fit and well and looking forward to an additional 20 years of life,” Jackie says.

“At 50 age is no longer a barrier to anything you might wish to do – you can quite literally start again or take a 360 pivot.

“And ‘why might you do that?’ you might well ask. Because as we age we change, we have learnt a lot and have a wealth of experience. Especially as women, the lives and careers of men tend historically to be linear, while the lives and lived experience of women is way more squiggly, stop/start, interrupted often competing with multiple responsibilities”.

Embrace midlife

Jackie is certain that something will have happened to trigger a change. There is evidence that by the time we reach 50 more than half of us have faced at least five big challenges, possibly including divorce, redundancy, bereavement, abuse, ailing parents or tricky teenagers not to mention our own health issues and the menopause. So you are not alone in wondering ‘what next?’.

What is most important is not to think that it is the beginning of the end but that it can be the start of something new and that can take many forms. It might be something as simple as a new interest or hobby which in itself can open the doors to a new social world or it could be a wish to learn a new skill, set up your own business or meet a new partner.

“I would encourage women to make their way towards the world of possibilities, the sunny uplands of new ideas, opportunities and new connections,” says Jackie.

“It is not easy, especially when you are recovering from some of life’s biggest disappointments, a failed marriage, a career ended ahead of time, a cancer diagnosis, financial hardship or bereavement. Many of these events make us feel that our world has ended. It has not . It is simply one of the building blocks for part two”.

So how might you approach this? One of the key things at this pivot point is to find some like minded souls, just one will do!

More often than not you will be out of sync with your current friendship group, while you are experiencing upheaval and change they are not in the same place as you.

One of the most helpful things at this time is to make some new connections. It can be a welcome distraction from your ‘previous’ life and former habits and is in itself quite inspiring and uplifting to meet new people at this time. Sometimes we do grow out of our old connections and need to make new ones for what lies ahead, we all change and aspire to different realities.

Suggestions from Jackie Naghten on how to embrace your midlife pivot:

1. Read a non fiction book which appeals and inspires you – The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle or How Not to Give a F**k by Mark Manson are two ends of the self help spectrum if you like. Brene Brown or Michelle Obama are also inspiring. There are so many out there!

2. Join a network of like minded women, this may be local or online.

3. Learn something new. There are literally hundreds of free online webinars/seminars on a multitude of subjects you may find interesting.

4. Start a journal, talk to yourself here, ask yourself some questions and share your fears and hopes.

5. Go on a solo trip (alone or on a group tour) it could be a day walking the south downs or two weeks in Vietnam, a yoga retreat in Greece or cooking in Tuscany. Now is the time to give it a go ….