Advice from a menopause sage
There is bad advice, and then there is good advice!
This advice is good advice!
Never listen to someone that you wouldn’t like to switch places with.
Advice from a menopause sag
I was 49 when my friend Anne was 60. For me, she was the ideal I wanted to become at her age. This is how I wanted to live, like Anne.Advice from a menopause sage
She was vibrant, in shape, slender for her age with a casual but swanky style. The beauty of her soul shone through the lines and wrinkles. She had stories of new adventures, new plans, and ideas. There was always a great book she just read or a skill she just mastered.
When she gave advice, I listened because I would have traded places with her in a heartbeat. Anne was thoughtful, reflective but not overly dramatic or did she ever play the victim. She took responsibility for her life 100% and always asked the question –
“What is the lesson in this situation for me?”
She told me to start a self-care routine every week, but I thought that I would never find the time for it. This was after I complained about the start of my hot flashes.
Little did I know that what she suggested would save my sanity in the long run. Small changes here and there meant very much in the end.
Finding time for myself
I remember looking at her and thinking I would like to be like her at 60, so I took her suggestion seriously and embarked on a quest to find time for myself.
It was a challenge, like it is for many women in their late 40s with kids still at home, with jobs becoming more and more demanding and the house not cleaning itself. Go figure!
The first thing I decided to do was to get back into shape. So, I did my research and decided on Stott Pilates, which was offered in a place near my work. I tried to go before work but a great idea — not for me nor for my trainer. I am not human before 9 am.
I scheduled my sessions right after work, and that was much better. It was the best thing I had done for myself in a long time. I felt better, slept better, and looked really good after just a few months of exercise.
Cracking the code for menopause
I invited Anne to give me more advice on how to look after myself. She had obviously found the best way of doing this menopause thing, so why not promote her to my sage. I thought that there was no sense of me going through trial and error when someone else cracked the code.
Anne was radiant and enjoying life entirely with a brilliant attitude. She left her corporate job to start her own consultancy firm, which allowed her to work with people she liked and do as much as she wanted to.
Anne traveled, went out with friends, enjoyed her massages, pedicures, and manicures, meditated, did yoga, and read. She inspired me to start learning new languages just for the fun of it.
I found that taking care of yourself is the best investment you can make as you enter menopause. I took Anne’s advice, and my advice to you now that I am 60 is:
“Don’t listen to anybody you wouldn’t trade places with.”
M
