Midlife Mastery Journal

Accepting that every single thing that has occurred in your life amounts to little more than an opportunity to grow into a stronger, more responsible and wiser person, can release you from the corrosive effects of playing the blame game. Resentment and revenge always compound your pain and injuries and make your condition worse.

In my estimation, there exists only four ways of dealing with the midlife transition situation, and, of the four, the only one that actually alleviates the situation is an attitude of active and committed acceptance. That, in effect, is the road that women, by nature and by culture, normally take.

So, the clock strikes twelve, your dreams of success at the ball (or in your job or career or marriage) melt away farther with every ring of the bell, and, before you know it, you’re back in the scullery where you came from.

Nobody has ever told you that arriving at this juncture was a normal part of your evolution as a mature person. It feels as though the situation is out of control, you’ve no one to blame but yourself, and you have no idea how you got into this mess, let alone how to get out of it.

Focusing on the superficial externals of the midlife transition can be a smokescreen to hide the deeper struggles from yourself. So long as you’re preoccupied with your looks, your health, your physical energy, etc., you don’t have to look at the deeper levels of dissatisfaction growing within you.