Midlife might be a door to life 2.0

Dr Milie Nwoye said this to me and Aarya on a call last week. She runs a women-focused longevity clinic in Brussels.

And she wasn’t talking about hormones. She gave the two of us a lens we haven’t thought of before.

For most women, the first half of life is spent looking outward. Building a career. Raising a family. Keeping everyone afloat.

But the second half can be a door to life 2.0.

It doesn’t ask more of you. It asks — what do you want the rest of your life to look like? Or, the way I think of it, it nudges you to give yourself that choice.

But but but. This choice only shows up when you make room for it.

Most women today don’t. Of course, they care. But life takes over. Notifications, other people’s needs, or your own internal dialogue.

Dr Nwoye says it’s almost like losing your inner voice. The one that’s meant to guide you through this decade.

Since that call, I’ve been thinking about how much of our time is reactive. How do you practice touching grass? Making time for introspection?

I now know, as we build for women navigating midlife, we must take this into account.

In fact, the idea to add a 30-day journal challenge on our Mood app at Yellow for Menopause came from this.

Oh, while you’re here — what would you hear if you gave yourself 10 minutes everyday?

I’m learning and building Yellow in public. As we figure what it takes to help women live their best 30s, 40s, and 50s.