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For All the Middle Age Women Reinventing Themselves

February 25, 2019 By Deanna 17 Comments

I’m a 46-year old single woman and I have reinvented myself. If you’ve followed my story you know that I got sober at 36, and then finished paying my debt off by age 45. I’m now crushing it in my career and working towards financial independence.

It’s never too late to start again and this article is geared for all of those women who want to start over in their middle years.

What Not to Believe

I want to dispell some commonly believed lies that would prevent a middle-aged woman from reinventing themselves…

Lie #1 Why bother when half of my life is over?

Why bother? Whaaat? Are you kidding me? Only half of your life, statistically speaking, is over and you are ready to throw in the towel. No, no, no, not here at Recovering Women Wealth. I believe and support anyone at any time who is reinventing themselves.

When I was in elementary school, my Mom decided to go back to school to become a nurse. She was in her late 30’s and that didn’t stop her. She first graduated as an LPN. Additionally, she became an RN when she was in her young 40’s.

One could argue that her life was half over but that didn’t stop her. She went after the career that she wanted and retired satisfied. What if she never went for it? She might now be asking herself what if?

If there is some major thing, you’d like to go after and you are in your middle years wondering if you should do it, I’m here to say yes! Let’s just not go into debt for it.  Come up with a strategy and a plan first. Then go for it!

Lie #2 You cannot teach an old dog new tricks

Firstly, if you are middle-aged, you are not an old dog. However, people tend to use this phrase to refer to anyone middle-aged or older.

Sure, it may be harder to learn a new way of doing things if you have done something the same way for a long time, but it’s not impossible. Here is how I’ve found success in creating new healthy habits:

  1. Focus on one thing at a time and don’t try to change everything all at once. For example, when I got sober, that became my main priority. Every decision was based on supporting my sobriety. If something might put that at risk, I didn’t do it. Additionally, I followed all of the advice given to me from others who had years of experience in staying sober. I participated in regular recovery meetings, I called my sponsor, I prayed, I tried to get good sleep, I ate well and exercised. I did this all for the one common goal of staying sober. As you can see I created other healthy habits but the motivation was solely for the purpose of staying sober. Later I applied this same laser focus to paying off my debt. During my debt pay off journey, every decision I made was based on meeting this goal.
  2. Add some accountability into your life. Tell others about your goals and/or the habits you are changing. I find that when I put my stuff out there, I feel a sense of responsibility to achieve them.  Furthermore, get an accountability partner. This can be a friend who has your best interest at heart. It can also be a professional.
  3. Refer to professionals in the area you are trying to change. This doesn’t mean you have to hire one. How about reading books or watching documentaries? Early in sobriety, I rented a series of DVDs from the library put out by doctors who talked about the effects of different drugs on the brain. In watching these videos I found hope when I heard a doctor say, “the brain has the amazing ability to heal itself.” Moreover, I learned what to expect in my withdrawal.

Lie #3 I’ve got too many things to change and don’t know where to start so why bother?

I understand that the first part of the sentence may be true but the second part is definitely false.  The way to deal with this is to go back to my advice of focusing on one thing at a time. When I hit my bottom, I was bankrupt in every way – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.

I recognized the common denominator was the addictive drinking and drugging which was taking over my life. If I could remove this, perhaps all of the other things would line up. That ended up being true. Naturally, when I surrendered and went after sobriety, getting out of a relationship with my drug dealer was part of my success. Again, every decision I made was based on getting and staying sober.

By focusing on this one thing, so many other areas of my life improved slowly but surely. These areas included:

  • Faith
  • Health
  • Sleep
  • Eating habits
  • Finances
  • Self-talk

When we focus on improving one area of our lives, that positivity spills out into all other areas. I call that left-overs.

Examples

I stumbled upon some articles which discuss this exact thing:

  1. 5 Women Who Reinvented Themselves (and the World)
  2. 8 Books by Women who Reinvented Themselves
  3. Reinventing Yourselves: Stories From Our Readers by the NY Times

Psychologist, Vivian Diller, Ph.D. talks about the three emotional components you need for reinvention – resilience, reliance, and renewal.

Lastly, sometimes reinventing ourselves can involve remaining in our environments but reframing our mindset. Of course, I refer to Carol S. Dweck Ph.D. for embracing a Growth Mindset.

Closing Thoughts

No one wants to get to the end of their life and regret not doing something. If something keeps gnawing at you, maybe it’s time to really consider exploring it. I’d never want to encourage someone to make a rash decision, though. Be thoughtful and strategic in what options you wish to explore.

Sometimes, just the act of researching the thing you are considering will be enough. Perhaps you’ll recognize through the research, you actually don’t want to do it. However, don’t give up just because it involves work. Learn to do hard things.

Additionally, if your life has gotten to an unhealthy state like mine did and you are realizing reinvention is your only option, then take the leap but do it with a support network. That’s what I did.

Please let me know your thoughts and/or questions in the comments. Additionally, feel free to contact me.

 

 

Filed Under: Stories of Recovery Tagged With: inspiration

Comments

  1. Shelley says

    February 25, 2019 at 6:57 am

    Thanks for this post Deanna. I absolutely agree, change can happen at any time and the best time to start is NOW. Whether you’re twenty or eighty years old, if you aren’t living a life you want, do something about it. It might not be easy but it will be worth it x
    Great positive post and thank you for sharing your stories.

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      February 25, 2019 at 7:22 pm

      Hi Shelley, Amen! Thanks for chiming in. Anytime any place. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Abigail @ipickuppennies says

    February 25, 2019 at 11:40 am

    As a 40-year-old woman who just got a divorce, I wholeheartedly agree that the time to reinvent yourself is… Whenever it comes up. Even if that’s 60. I don’t care. If you’re not happy with where you are in life, then act! It’s hard and scary but ultimately rewarding.

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      February 25, 2019 at 7:24 pm

      Abigail, I love how you said it, “the time to reinvent yourself is…whenever it comes up.”

      Change is scary and hard but you know what’s scarier? Not changing when you don’t like how your life has turned out. All the best to you and your new life.

      Reply
  3. Rebecca says

    February 25, 2019 at 11:42 am

    Thanks so much for this post! Your transparency is admirable. I am 25, but I too am in the process of reinventing myself. I may have not gone through the harsh adversities that you experienced, however I knew the person I was wasn’t who I wanted to be. I was hard on myself, my own worst enemy, and it made it hard to grow. I struggled with anxiety and depression. Even at 22 when I started my journey towards bettering myself, I felt like “it was too late”. I lost relationships, I did things I regret, and I had of course accumulated a hefty amount of
    Student loan debt, which decreased my self worth and my net worth. It may be cliche, but when I met fiancé, he gave me the strength to make the changes I needed. He saw wonderful things in me that I didn’t see. He is now my partner in crime in our journey towards debt freedom. We have structured our lives towards always trying to better ourselves together. Even when you think it’s too late, whether you are in middle age or early 20’s, there is always a second chance! I look forward to the whole life we have ahead!

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      February 25, 2019 at 7:36 pm

      Hi Rebecca! Girl, you said it well, “decreased my self-worth and my net worth.” That is exactly how my debt made me feel. Reinvention can really happen at any age and as Abigail said it in her comment, “the time to reinvent yourself is…whenever it comes up.” I get great comments that I can just re-quote y’all.

      I’m glad you are on a different journey and found your partner in crime. Isn’t it amazing how someone else can recognize things in us that we don’t see? This is why people are awesome. Plus, the load is lessened by two!

      I look forward to meeting you. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Robin says

    February 25, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    Love the contents of this post, and honestly, it’s very timely. While I’m trying to only focus on one thing at a time, I also seem to get lost in the analysis — What changes are worth making, and what I should just suck up & deal with (for the rest of my life!?) Because sometimes you just can’t “unring the bell”. But you’ve given me a lot to think about! <3

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      February 25, 2019 at 7:37 pm

      Hi, my friend! I am glad to hear this is food for thought for you. Let me know if you ever want to hop on the phone and chat…

      Reply
  5. Tread Lightly, Retire Early says

    February 25, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    “You are not a dog.” This is such good advice. We are capable of so so many things and age should not be a reason to stop us.

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      February 25, 2019 at 7:40 pm

      Haha, you are exactly correct! You are not a dog.

      Always nice when you grace me with your comments, Angela!

      Reply
  6. latestarterfire says

    March 4, 2019 at 4:33 am

    You are so right, as always! I do fall into the trap of thinking I’m too old to reinvent myself 🙂 and having a lifetime of bad habits to break! Thank you for being so positive & insightful

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      March 4, 2019 at 5:36 am

      You are too kind! I’m certainly not always right.;-)

      However, I’m glad that my words inspired you to know it’s not too late, nor are you too old to reinvent yourself! I whole heartily believe that. Let me know if I can help…

      Reply
  7. LaKeisha says

    July 26, 2020 at 12:53 am

    You have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how much I needed this article and how directly you spoke to me. For a very long time, I’ve been searching for something like this, some great advice written by someone who apparently understands how overwhelming and intimidating this undertaking can be. That someone is you—and I am SO GRATEFUL. Feels like my feelings have been validated and I’ve been empowered to move forward. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      July 26, 2020 at 1:30 am

      LaKeisha (beautiful name, BTW), thank you for your comment. You have no idea how much it blesses me and increases my faith to keep writing!

      Yes, move forward and let me know how I can help 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pursuing Financial Independence - When is it Too Late? says:
    March 5, 2019 at 7:28 am

    […] article is directed toward middle-aged women who are trying to reinvent themselves. That it’s never too late to make positive changes, no matter how old you are. And instead of […]

    Reply
  2. In Recovery, How do you Know When it's Time to Work on Your Finances? - Recovering Women Wealth says:
    July 27, 2020 at 6:32 am

    […] As I’ve said before, when a person is seeking transformation, I believe it’s good to focus on one thing. Out of that one thing can flow a fountain of transformation. […]

    Reply
  3. The Resilient Woman series Deanna – The Watering Whole says:
    January 19, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    […] mother didn’t know it then but she was teaching me that it’s never too late to transform oneself. Additionally, she was showing me how her independence would change the dynamics of her […]

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About Me

My name is Deanna and I am happy to be on this redemptive path. I got sober from drug addiction/alcoholism in 2010 and returned to a faith in Christ. Additionally, I finished digging my way out of debt in 2017. Today, I’m learning to be a wise steward/investor of my resources while helping other women find their victories too. More about me.

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