Midlife Musings: Debra Johnstone
January and February are both big months to celebrate in our household.
We have a plethora of birthdays including mine, my partner’s, friends and family. Just recently we added two more with our new grandsons born a couple of weeks ago.
Surrounded by Capricorns and Aquarians.
We all love to celebrate birthdays don’t we? Even if we have a tendency to play our own down, we still love to make others feel special.
“Even more so now as we age, because it’s an honour to still be here.”
By the way I’ve never been able to understand playing down our own birthday. It’s a time to really acknowledge our space on this planet. A celebration of the day we were born and the gift of life we were given. Even more so now as we age, because it’s an honour to still be here.
But it’s interesting that most of us only self celebrate the day we were born. Unless it’s a big milestone birthday then we might extend it.
Last year it was my 60th so I had trips all through the year to celebrate with people who are special to me. I loved my extended birthday! This year is a bit different, but that doesn’t mean I can’t honour myself more than once. I mean, it feels so great so why wouldn’t I?
My first thought was to write about all the ways in which I can celebrate what I have done.
And of course we can mark occasions like our wins, achievement etc. But seriously, why is there a need to have done something to shout hurrah? Why not simply honour ourselves and who we are?
Create A Celebrating ME Day:
We can schedule this in as often as we want. Maybe twice a year, every three months, or once a month. Possibly even once a week!
You can do anything to make this day a special acknowledgement of you. Just pick an activity you enjoy and do something wonderful for yourself. When I was single I used to have a glass of margarita at my favourite restaurant on Sunday afternoons. I’d been to the beach earlier, so that was definitely a ME day.
Acknowledge Your Uniqueness:
We are all so very different, but most of the time we easily recognise what we’re not or what our failings are. This just brings us down or makes us feel that we’re lacking in some way. How about celebrating everything that you are? What makes you uniquely yourself? Your qualities, characteristics and what you love about yourself. This isn’t being self centered, this is self love.
“This isn’t being self centered, this is self love.”
Celebrate Your Body:
This isn’t just about how good our body looks: although, we can include that if we want to. Sometimes though we can bring ourselves down by looking at what we don’t like about our bodies. And that’s not a good thing.
A more uplifting way to go about this is to acknowledge the life your body has helped you live. For example your legs have allowed you to walk or go on adventures. Maybe your hands have let you be creative. Possibly your womb has given you the gift of carrying and birthing a child. Maybe you can celebrate in which way your body is healthy. Your brain for everything it’s helped you learn.
Do Something You’ve Always Wanted To Do:
Women find it so challenging to spend money on themselves sometimes. Maybe a dress or a pair of shoes comes a little easier. But when it comes to a course or activity that can help us learn more or live our best life we hold back.
Celebration of ourselves could include changing that self depreciating habit. We could do an activity that interests us. Something we’ve always wanted to learn or what we’re passionate about.
“Celebration of ourselves could include changing that self depreciating habit.”
This year I have enrolled in a nutrition qualification. It’s not just something I’m doing for work, because it’s been a personal interest for almost 30 years. Living a healthy lifestyle where I can thrive is an absolute passion and I deserve to do this course for me.
It’s easy to know what I’m passionate about because I’ve done a lot of self exploration. I can see my own uniqueness and that gives me clarity on what I most want to do. That’s why I created the HER Rediscovery Program to help women do just that.
We Need To Acknowledge Our Specialness All Year Round:
It’s important to celebrate our uniqueness and what makes us amazing all year round.
When I look at the faces of our newborn grand babies and the toddlers in our family, they all know how gorgeous they are. They nod, smile and laugh when we tell them they’re beautiful, clever, strong or kind. Babies and young kids celebrate themselves and their lives every single day. They do this by enjoying themselves, their bodies and their minds.
And as we age we have even more to celebrate. Even the fact that we are getting older is a privilege to acknowledge in itself. The wisdom we’ve gained and the experiences we’ve had. And why should we wait another 12 months to say Yay me I’m amazing!
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About the Author:
Deb Johnstone is a Transformational Mindset Coach and a Midlife Transition Mentor. Experiencing midlife transition herself, she wanted work with more meaning and started her coaching practice in 2012. After the death of her father in 2019 and processing her grief, Deb experienced a deep loss of self where her identity felt challenged. It was through this that she felt the calling to work with women in this phase of life. It is now her mission to support women to transition midlife and beyond feeling confident, empowered and free to be your true self and live the life you want and deserve. You can connect with Deb on Facebook through The Empowered MidLife Woman where she posts insights daily, or connect with her through her website.
