As every woman knows, half the battle of planning any journey is gathering the right wardrobe. For runners, having good shoes and running gear made from quality technical fabric are crucial. The best fabric for the journey into midlife is a stance you can embrace to help you get ready for catching your second wind. Here’s what you need to don if you are going to seriously seek a second wind:
Audacity
Audacity is more than risk-taking; it’s strength, tenacity, and guts all rolled into one. Throw in just a touch of determination, just a smidgen of “Sure I can ride that angry bull!” and you’ve got audacity.
Authenticity
Authenticity means not lying–about who you are, what you like, what you want, and what you’ll accept in this life. Knowing your truth and telling it to others is harder than one would expect, but if you’re ready to do this, you’re ready to catch your second wind.
Intentionality
No more “come what may!” When we are younger, before we know much about the world or ourselves, we women are often inclined to take what is offered us and do the best we can with it. From now on, we will craft our lives with the utmost consideration. Intentionality is not paralyzing caution or life-numbing carefulness. Rather, it is consciousness, eyes-wide-open, choicefulness.
Resilience
Resilience means recovering quickly from life’s blows. It means crying our tears, but never believing that sadness is all that life offers. Resilience is bouncing back up when we’ve been knocked down. Life is not always kind, and those without resilience hold their hands over their heads waiting for the next tragedy. To live a “second wind” life, we have to brush ourselves off and start again… and again… and again.
Accountability
We must be accountable to others to live a life full of vibrant passion and commitment to our values. If we lack accountability in our community, we must develop it and nurture it so that it serves as our encouragement and our witness as we reach for our goals.
These five characteristics are so important to the midlife journey that they need to be nurtured and developed as you strive to re-define yourself. Without audacity, authenticity, intentionality, resilience and accountability, you can make radical changes in your life, but they will only be what psychologists call “first order changes,” or changes that are easily reversible. In other words, they will not be foundational, sustainable changes–only surface alterations. To learn how to develop these five characteristics more fully, check out Cami’s GROUP COACHING experience.
Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design
Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design