Embracing Your Elder Era
Apr 22, 2026
What if you could start all over? Would you make different career choices? Different relationship choices? Would you live in a different city? State? Country?
Good news! You CAN start over. There is literally nothing that says you can’t.
You can absolutely be who you want to be, and you can absolutely start today.
Some things might not be feasible, like my dream of becoming a dairy goat farmer at 45, but when I decided to make a change, it still went on the list of possibilities.
Today we’re gonna talk about “what if’s” and how they play into your path to embracing your Elder Era because you are never too old to reinvent yourself.
So, what is the path to your Elder Era?
For many, it’s a long and winding road that looks something like this:
One day you’re living your best life and the next, perimenopause comes in like a wrecking ball and suddenly you’re living in the Hunger Games just trying to survive the day.
You pour all your energy into trying to manage symptoms, but even when you get them under control, you know you’re a different person. The experience has fundamentally changed you because it has touched every area of your life.
And now you’re questioning everything. Your job, your relationships, your future. You start thinking “what happened? This was supposed to be fun.”
You catch yourself daydreaming about living a different life.
- Maybe go back to school.
- Maybe just quit your jobs and move to another state, or country.
- Maybe the friends you though were your ride-or-dies weren’t really there for you during the transition, and you’re seeing them in a different light now.
- Maybe you and your husband have been phoning it in for years but the kids have left for college and maybe it’s time to consider letting go if the spark has truly gone out.
But then you shut it all down. You chastise yourself for daydreaming.
You say to yourself: “You’re too old to go back to school and you certainly won’t be to Ireland or a cottage in the woods. You a Bob are comfortable, why rock the boat? And, so what if your friends weren’t there for you when you were going through perimenopause hell, they have their own issues. Right?”
You tell yourself to stop being selfish.
And that works. For a while.
But the voice inside your head gets louder and louder and until it’s screaming for something worth your time and passion. And finally, you snap. You know you can’t do this anymore. You know you’ve got to make a change.
So, you brainstorm all the possibilities. Maybe moving to Ireland is a bit farfetched but going back to school isn’t.
As you start looking at the local university’s programs, you remember that one psychology class you took in like 2006…what was it called, OH YEAH!... the psychology of death and dying. Ya, ya, ya, that’s what it was called. Then you remember the intro to archaeology class you took and how much fun it was to learn about the civilizations that inhabited the land hundreds of years before your local grocery store was built there.
And now you’re starting to really see the possibilities taking shape. You can feel the spark of passion reigniting.
What would going back to school look like at this age? Certainly, very different than when in your 20s, but probably in a much better way since you have your shit together far better now than you did back then. Or at the very least, you won’t be going to class hungover because perimenopause vetoed alcohol on her third day.
You say to yourself “huh, I wonder how hard it would be to go back. I mean, I never finished my bachelors, would they even let me back in? Maybe I’ll just send a quick email. If it’s a ton of hoops then that’s my sign to close this chapter of my life for good. No more guilt, and no more torturing myself over “what if”.
So, you send off your email and get back to the podcast you’re trying to launch, forgetting all about it.
Three days later, you see an email in your inbox from the University.
Butterflies fill your stomach and spread to your chest. You didn’t realize how important this was until right now. And before you’ve even clicked on the email, you know that no matter what the hoops are, you’ ll jump through every one of them.
You read the email once. Twice.
Because seriously, it can’t be as simple as filling out a form online. No in person meeting. No phone call. Just one form. The email says it’ll take about five minutes.
Any you know. You know you are going back to school and nothing short of the complete collapse of society is gonna stop you.
You fill out the form to get the ball rolling, and then you start looking at what you could do with that degree. Is a PhD possible? How could you use this to help not only your clients, but everyone just like you: menopausal, and starting over.
And then it hits you. You’ve entered your Elder Era.
Now, y’all might be thinking, nice story coach but that’s not how shit works. And I can 100% say that it absolutely does, because that was a very condensed version of my own story.
Your Elder Era isn’t about reaching a specific age. Or having specific experiences.
It’s about stepping into a life that you are passionate about living. It’s about recognizing that menopause isn’t an end and aging isn’t a dirty word. We live so much longer than our ancestors did and yet we still spend so much of that extra time trying to be 20 or 30 again, instead of loving ourselves at 40, 50, and beyond.
How much time, energy, and resources have you spent trying to get your skin to look like it did when it was 20? What did you sacrifice so you could pour all that time, energy, and money into trying? Are you happy? Was the sacrifice worth it? Did it even work? (From my own experience, I’m gonna guess, no, it did not)
How much joy have we robbed ourselves of by wondering “what if” and then squashing those thoughts with our own self-doubt?
What is stopping you from sending that one email that could change everything?
OK, I know at least half of you just said money. And I hear you. I’m launching a new business in this here 2026 economy. I get it. But I’m not saying to quit your job, bail on all your responsibilities, and go live in a dorm or a cottage in the woods.
What I’m saying is, at least consider the possibilities.
And if you don’t know what those are, then get a coach, even if it’s not me. Of course, I’d like it to be me since helping others find their passion after menopause is my passion, but ultimately, the most important thing for you to know is that it is within your power to choose differently.
Even if today, it means just sending an email.
Alright folks, that’s it for this week’s podcast/blog. Stay tuned for next week’s episode on the difference between health span, lifespan, and strength span.
Have a great week, and may your estrogen patch stay sticky.
PS: Check out a couple articles by New Scientist on aging...fascinating!
Rapid Bursts of Ageing Are Causing a Total Rethink of How We Grow Old
