Welcome to the first of our Midlife Makeover Blueprint series.
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Imagine you're standing in front of an older house. It's seen some years, survived the trials of time, and has housed countless memories.
And now, it needs a renovation to carry it forward for the next chapter.
What if, this house is a metaphor for your life?
As women, when we reach the midpoint of our lives, many of us find ourselves in a similar position.
We've had wonderful experiences, learnt valuable lessons, and yet, there's a desire for something fresh, something new.
Just like that house, we are ready for a midlife makeover.
Welcome From
Angela Rettie
Hey there sister “renovator” on this journey we call life.
You're here because you've reached the stage many refer to as 'midlife' and like me, you're wondering what's next?
Learning or adapting to a new skill seems hard and daunting in the beginning. Don't worry, once you know how, this is simple and YOU CAN DO IT.
Now is the time for the beginning of a beautiful new chapter, and together, we're going to design a blueprint for your midlife makeover.
So let's dive in to the first in our Midlife Makeover Blueprint series.
Just like a home renovation, a midlife makeover requires careful planning, a bit of creativity, and a whole lot of courage.
Today, we'll discuss the importance of creating a blueprint for your future and how you can start to envision your life as a beautiful, renewed living space.
Blueprint For Your Midlife Makeover:
Envisioning Your Future Video
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The Importance of Envisioning Your Future
Embarking on a house renovation requires vision and planning.
You wouldn't just start knocking down walls and painting without a plan. You'd have a vision, a design of what you want your home to look like.
The same applies to your midlife makeover. Before we start the work, we need to create a blueprint for your future of how you would like it to look.
Envisioning your future is an essential first step on the path to your midlife makeover. By understanding what you want your future to look like, you're setting a compass, a north star, a direction for the change that lies ahead.
Why is this so critical?
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"-so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
~ From Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' ~
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."
In other words, without a clear vision for our future, we risk wandering aimlessly, never quite finding what we seek. If you don't end up finding what you seek, you will likely become frustrated and end up with regrets for the things you really wanted to do deep down.
Back when I started to work on my blueprints and plans for my midlife makeover, I felt stuck and frustrated. Going round and round in circles trying to figure out what I really wanted. And what kept me going was not wanting to have regrets for the things I hadn't done in life.
If you are feeling like I was, then this next exercise is for you. It will help you to start to get clarity and move you forward by simply taking stock of what you already know.
And if you feel you are already clear on what your vision is for your future, do this exercise anyway. It will help clarify and update your vision with more specifics and details.
Identify Your Values and Priorities
Just like in a house renovation or remodeling, you have to identify what you really want. And for that, it’s about finding what’s important to.
So, for example if you value being social then entertaining may be really important to you. If you were renovating your house you may then prioritise resources you’re your kitchen, dining room or other entertaining areas. And another example might be if being in nature and gardening are important to you, you may want to put in extra-large windows or create spaces where the inside and outside blend together, bringing nature into your home.
As you can see, everyone is going to want different things and will interpret what that means to them in their own way. No-one knows you, like you do.
This exercise is about determining what's most important to you. What are your core values? What are the things that matter most in your life?
Let's Get Down To Work on Your Midlife Makeover
If you haven’t already got out a journal or notebook, now would be a great time.
Maybe you want to use a big sheet of paper.
Some people like to create it as lists, others like to put the idea in the centre and create a mind map around it.
Do what works best for you.
STEP 1: Brainstorm & Write Down All The Things That You Care Deeply About
Here are just a few prompts, there are of course many others, these are just to give you a flavour of where to start looking:
- family,
- friends,
- relationships,
- career,
- health,
- nature,
- learning,
- volunteering,
- philanthropy,
- wealth,
- spirituality,
- personal improvement.
STEP 2: Find Your Priorities By Ranking Your Values In Order Of Importance To You.
The most important words in this step are “to you”.
This isn’t about anyone else, remember this is your midlife makeover. And it’s a time in your life for you to prioritise you.
Put yourself in the middle of this exercise and first. As a woman, this can be tricky. We may have been conditioned (and some say we are hard-wired) to nurture others and often at the expense of ourselves.
So, take a deep breath and do this now.
No-one else has to see this, if you don’t want them to. It’s time to put yourself first and be honest with yourself about what is really important to you.
Not what you think should be important, what really is important.
Once you have done this, you should have either a list or a mind map (or whatever other way you found to do this) showing visually, what is the most important for you.
You may have used numbers or maybe stars. You'll know what works for you.
This is where the term value comes in. It’s what we value most. And these are some of your values and you now know which are most important and which are less important to you.
Take a step back, take a deep breath, and celebrate yourself. This exercise will really help you to put things into perspective.
STEP 3 – Sketch An Outline Of Your Midlife Makeover Blueprint.
What you listed above and ranked are your main values and now it’s time to dig a little deeper to figure out what you want each of those to look like going forward. Much like a home renovation project, this blueprint is a visual representation of your vision for the future.
If you have space on your mind map or list you can start to fill in the detail of how you want each value to look. If you don’t have space, get a fresh sheet write your first, highest priority value at the top (if you like lists) or in the middle of the page (if you are a mind-mapper).
And now, you are going to get creative by writing down or drawing out whatever it is that you want this value to be like.
And this is where you will start to discover what you really want.
Be as detailed as possible because this is your dream house (life), after all.
Once you are happy with what you have designed and sketched out.
Take it all in and now write down a paragraph or two about how that makes you feel?
Repeat this for each of your values in order.
Initially, work with your top 3, because more may feel overwhelming (and you can always come back and work on these others later).
Example Around Health
General Theme
A healthier lifestyle that focuses on the pillars of good health and wellbeing so that I can chase my grandchildren and say yes to everything.
Specific & Measurable Outcomes (or Goals if you prefer that term)
How Do You Know You Are On Track With Your Midlife Makeover Blueprint?
During this process you may find that you want to switch around your priorities. That is totally fine.
This isn’t the end of this, this is just the beginning.
The goal isn’t perfection, the aim here is to get started and get something down on paper. These are the rough sketches of your midlife makeover blueprint.
Just like any home renovation, your life makeover doesn't have to (and most likely won’t) happen overnight.
It's a process, and sometimes, it can be messy and challenging. That's all part of the journey.
You have already made steps towards reimagining your life to reflect who you are today and who you want to become.
I’ve included the whole quote below, because the exercises you have just done to uncover to your values, priorities and an outline of your blueprint are just the beginning.
"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. Be prepared—when you finally summon the courage to cast a vote for yourself, you can expect obstacles. The whole world will rise up to tell you who you cannot become and what you cannot do."
~ Oprah Winfrey ~
We have work to do, there are extra skills and stamina to acquire to create this. And just like a house remodeling, there are tools that can make your life easier, speed up the process and make it even better.
Are You Up For Your Midlife Makeover?
If you're feeling a sense of excitement (or even a little nervousness) right now, that's perfectly normal. This is your journey, and it's meant to be unique, just like you.
Remember, your midlife makeover isn't about becoming a different person.
It's about enhancing the fantastic foundation that already exists, much like a renovation enhances a house's existing structure.
You are already whole and capable.
This is about bringing out your best, rediscovering your passions, and aligning your life with your values.
As we move forward, I'll be here to guide you through each stage of your midlife makeover, from planning to demolition (or should I say, clearing away the old, to make way for the new) and on to the final reveal.
For now, I invite you to join my FREE 7 Day Envision & Experience Your Future Class.
The title pretty much explains what it’s all about and why you might want to get on to that now, so you can use these skills as you go through the rest of this Midlife Makeover series. You can find more about the free class here.
Key Takeaways - Midlife Makeover: Envisioning Your Future
Taking the time to envision your future and create your blueprint is a powerful first step in your midlife makeover. So, grab your metaphoric hammer and nails, and let's start building the life you've envisioned!
Join us next time as we continue to explore the Midlife Makeover series, where we will delve into planning your midlife makeover - the equivalent of creating a project plan for your house construction.
Until then,
LIVE LOVE THRIVE
Angela
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