Midlife Women: The Caretakers, the Givers, and the Keepers of the Universe

I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.  ~ Maya Angelou

There’s something undeniably powerful about midlife women. We often hold things together, whether it’s family, community, or the spirit of those around us. We take care of those we love, give our time and energy freely, and quietly carry the world's weight on our shoulders. But in the midst of this, there’s a beautiful, untapped opportunity: a chance for us to step into a new vision of what life can be—one that brings us growth, reflection, and a renewed sense of purpose.

This chapter isn’t just about what we do for others; it’s also about what we’re ready to do for ourselves.

Shaping a New Vision for Ourselves—and for the World

As midlife women, we’re in a unique position. With experience, wisdom, and a clear understanding of what matters most, we have the power to help shape the world around us. But shaping a better world isn’t only about grand gestures. It can be as simple as taking small, intentional steps that reflect our values and the wisdom we’ve gathered. It’s also about recognizing that we are influencing the world each time we create something meaningful—whether it’s a community, a family tradition, or a personal project.

But in order to give our best, we need to nurture ourselves. This time of life offers us the chance to rediscover who we are, what brings us joy, and where we want to go. In doing so, we find ourselves renewed and capable of being the grounded, unstoppable force that others look to for strength and inspiration.

Tips for Rediscovering Your Essence and Embracing Your Goals

• Take Intentional Pauses
  Being unstoppable doesn’t mean pushing through exhaustion. It means knowing when to stop, breathe, and regroup. Give yourself permission to pause—without guilt. Use these pauses to listen to your inner voice, to reflect, and to re-align with your purpose.

• Reflect on Your Journey
  Look back on what you’ve done, both the achievements and the lessons learned. Reflecting on your journey helps you see the threads of strength, resilience, and courage woven through your life. This self-awareness is key to understanding your unique gifts and the impact you want to make.

• Reframe Your Goals
  Midlife offers the chance to reshape your goals. What do you want to create, pursue, or let go of? Redefine what success means to you now. Whether exploring a new career, diving into a creative project, or finding more time for loved ones, remember that this is your time to design a vision that excites and fulfills you.

• Be Gentle with Yourself
  Strength doesn’t mean you have to be a Superwoman. It means standing back up after being knocked down, assessing your needs, and patiently moving forward. Allow yourself the grace to feel, rest, and find joy in simple and grand moments.

• Connect and Collaborate
  Embrace your community of other strong, inspiring women. Sharing experiences, wisdom, and support creates a powerful network. These connections can provide insight, encouragement, and a reminder that we’re not alone in our journeys.

• Celebrate Your Evolution
  Embrace the journey of becoming. This stage is a time to honor the fullness of who you are—strong and tender, wise and still curious, giving yet ready to receive. Celebrate your evolution, newfound wisdom, and the opportunities waiting to be discovered.

Carrying On, Not as Superwoman, But as Unstoppable

Being unstoppable doesn’t mean doing it all or doing it perfectly. It means carrying on, even when tired or discouraged. It means knowing that the journey itself—filled with ups and downs—is what shapes us and makes us who we are. Being unstoppable is about resilience, but it’s also about honoring our humanity. It’s about standing back up when we’re deflated, finding a new way to move forward, and realizing that each step matters. 

So, let’s take this moment in midlife to honor our role as the caretakers, givers, and keepers of the universe. Let’s also seize the opportunity to shape a new vision for ourselves and the world—one that allows us to thrive, grow, and rediscover the beautiful strength within.

We are not here to be Superwoman; we’re here to carry on, rise, create, and live a life that is deeply our own.

Take Steps to Reignite Yourself After 50

In March 2018, we planned a girls’ trip to New York City with another friend. We were working in executive positions in different cities at the time. It was going to be a long weekend filled with laughs, good food, and adventures. 

The trip was all that, but it was also a turning point for us upon reflection. Our long conversations over wine were consumed with talk about burnout, the challenges of managing people, abuse in the workplace, and whether we were living our best lives. We needed this time to decompress and deeply share our challenging experiences and process these with other like-minded women in the same life stage. 

We recognized our careers were at a tipping point. Was the goal to keep climbing the career ladder at the expense of our personal lives, social lives, and families? By the second glass of wine, the conversations dove more deeply into our dreams, desires, and how we wanted to live the next half of our lives. Each of us expressed a longing for something more than the current state. At the end of the weekend, we realized we all needed to make different types of changes to move in the direction of our dreams. The spark was lit in New York City. 

Fast forward to 2020. We now lived in the same city and met regularly to envision Rumblings. We knew we weren’t alone facing midlife career, personal, and family transitions. We heard from other women our age who were struggling with the same challenges. 

The common thread we were all experiencing was an internal RUMBLING that something needed to change to live our best lives through midlife and beyond. 

The change is different for everyone. For some, it’s a career change, to start a business, or leap past fear and take on a new challenging position. For others, it’s traveling more, moving to a new city, finding new rewarding volunteer opportunities, or creating a life that aligns more closely with personal values.

Whatever your dreams are for reinvention, go for them. We’ve never looked back, and even with the ups and downs of starting a business, we know we’re on the right path—slower than we hoped, yet moving in the right direction. 

These six actions helped us leap past our fears to start creating the life we envisioned.

Embrace a learning mindset. We thought we needed to know everything about starting a business for too long before we leaped. After a year of talking about beginning, we realized we had to stop talking about it and do it. In July 2020, we launched our website and built a community through social media. The most important thing we needed was an open and learning mindset.

The reality is you’ll never be fully ready, know everything, or have the perfect plan. Be willing to leap and learn. Ask questions of others who have reinvented themselves. Learn from their experiences. Open up to learning from women younger and older than you. 

Leap past fear. Change is scary, but what’s more frightening is living a life not aligned with your values and dreams. It was challenging to start something new, put ourselves out there, not know whether midlife women would engage with us, and not feel perfectly ready when we did. And, the fear creeps in regularly when we try something new (like producing a fashion show!) or discuss something that feels vulnerable (showing our faces or sharing our personal stories).

But, the rewards have come on the other side of fear. So leap, friends, leap!

Forgive each other and ourselves. When you forge into something new, you’ll make mistakes. We certainly have —lots of them, to be honest. Early on, we made a pact to accept that we will make mistakes, laugh at them together, support each other through them, and move on quickly. This pact has worked for us and has helped us realize mistakes are our lessons, they’re inevitable, and they’re part of the process of living forward.

Be kind and forgive yourself and others as you move along your path.

Ask for support and be supportive. Reinvention takes support. We have called on friends and family to support our efforts to build Rumblings. In return, we make an effort to promote other midlife women reinventing themselves. These women have taught us so much as we’ve learned their whys for reinvention, seen their actions, and witnessed their successes.

Don’t be afraid to ask for support. Share your dreams and audacious goals. Ask other like-minded midlifers for help.

Be consistent. Consistency has been our biggest lesson and the action that continues to move us towards our goals. It sounds too easy, but in reality, it can be challenging. We need to remind ourselves frequently to break down tasks and take action every day. When we do, we see progress and change.

Change and reinvention are not easy. You have to stay focused on your why and take steps every day towards your dreams. It’s the daily steps that create progress. 

Practice self-care. To live your best life requires you to be at your best. Take care of yourself. Sleep. Eat well. Move. Meditate. Take time for yourself. For years, we put ourselves last as we built our careers, raised children, and cared for parents. We put off medical appointments, didn’t exercise, and reached for convenient food.

As we’ve built Rumblings, we’ve reprioritized ourselves alongside our ambitions. Our dreams matter. We matter. But, only we can take steps to take care of ourselves. No one can do it for us. We’ve realized that we feel better when we do this and do better.

Now is the time. Prioritize and take care of YOU. 

Reinvention is a continuous process. We’ve learned a lot and realize how far we’ve come as we reflect on that New York City weekend. We’re making progress on living the life of our dreams, and it’s exciting. We still have things we’re working on—confidence, focus, and vulnerability. We acknowledge the challenges ahead of us and reflect on these same actions as we discuss how to move past them.

It’s not too late to pursue your dreams and desires. 

Let’s reignite, reinvent, and RUMBLE through midlife together. 

Read more about how turning 50 inspired Rumblings and advice from other midlife women on how they reinvented themselves.