Living a 40 Plus Lifestyle

I remember a conversation I was having with a friend about her struggles with her weight as she is 'getting older' and then she said to me the dreaded piece of information that turned things around and hit the nail right on the head, as to why she was struggling -

"I am on the wrong side of 40."

I was shocked. This friend is the same age as me at 44 and she thinks "we" are "on the wrong side of 40!" So what's the right side of 40?

Ladies there is no "wrong side" of any age. You are who you are regardless of your age. Being over 40 is not a death sentence. It is not a deadline on making things happen and creating the life you want. Let go of the deadlines ladies. You are worth so much more than this.

When we want to achieve something and we blame our age for not being able to do something about it, this is called an "excuse," not a reason. You are worth so much more than the excuses.

Right now as a 44-year-old woman, I am in the best shape I have ever been and the happiest. I have so many aspirations that I am aiming to achieve in this lifetime, that my age doesn't play a factor in whether I can achieve them or not. I am who I am and who I want to be.

If someone said to me

"I'll give you £1000 to go back and be 20 again," I would respond.

"No thanks I am very happy thank you."

I love being in my 40's. I've gone through so much in my life. I struggled with weight issues, shyness and anxiety for many years and often found myself trying to fit in with others and following others, just so that I could feel I belonged. But by doing this, the only person I was denying was my true self. Now in my 40's I am my true self, no apologies and love myself so much more, that I want to give myself the best. I feel reborn and just knowing that life is open for me to take as much or as little as I want excites me. I have no limits on how much I want to do that is dependent on age.

Too many of us start to look for the "old age" signs when we hit 40. I remember reading in a book, a colleague gave me about women who go to sleep the night before their 40th birthday all wrinkle free and wake up the next day and noticing the signs of aging on their face!

"Energy flows where focus goes"—Anthony Robbins.

So yes, if you focus on wrinkles then tah-dah they will appear for you. Your wish is the Universe's command.

I understand getting older can be scary. I am not saying that physically and mentally we don't change, we do, but what we perceive about getting older has a big influence on how we age. If we give up and place these limits on ourselves and just give up we will age very badly and very painfully.

Your mind is the driving force behind your body. The thoughts you feed yourself on a daily basis have a huge impact on your immune system and physical body.

For example, if you constantly tell yourself that exercising is hard, and you are too old to try anything that will have an impact on your body physically, then when you try to exercise, you will be so resistant and focused on the hard parts and what hurts, this will result in you stopping. Hence, no change but back to the the same thoughts again. Also the signs of aging - aches and pains will creep up just like you expected from your perception of being "too old."

Don't place deadlines on yourself physically or mentally. Embrace being over 40. Change your perception of change and love the fact that you are so much wiser and that you are old enough to not be controlled by others and young enough to still get the best out of life.

It's a beautiful thing.