It’s too late to start over.
A Narrative Shift
This is a Narrative Shift. One limiting belief, one reframe, one writing practice to move you through it.
You’re not dead! You’re just 40, or maybe 56 like me, or 65 like my friend Jenny (not her real name, I wouldn’t out a lady’s age that would be uncouth). The point is that there is no such thing as “too late.” I started over at forty-five when I sold my business and became an author, and again at 50 when I went back to school and became an academic, and again at 54 when I started this publication. I plan on starting over every few years until I’m really most sincerely dead.
Martha Stewart didn’t quit her stockbroker career and become Martha Stewart until she was in her late forties. (Although perhaps she should have stopped trading stocks altogether. Ouch.)
Susan Boyle became an international superstar singer at 48 after appearing on Britain's Got Talent. Before entering the competition, she’d lived a quiet life in Scotland, working as a church volunteer and living with her mother.
At age 64, Diana Nyad became the first to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. She’d failed several times but never quit, becoming an international symbol of resilience and determination.
Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House series, published her first book at 65. She had spent much of her earlier years farming, teaching, and writing short stories.
Are you really most sincerely dead?
No?
Well, then, it’s time to re-write this narrative.
Limiting belief:
"It’s too late to start over."
Empowering narrative:
“Midlife is my second act, and I get to write it.”
Reflection Prompts:
You freakin’ get to write it!! So start thinking about what comes next.
Are there any dreams you had that you let go of due to your other responsibilities?
Why did I stop believing my dreams were possible?
What if it were easy to start? What would pursuing this dream look like if there were no limits?
Reinvention Steps:
The point is… It IS easy to start. You may realize your dream, or you may not, but the goal is not the point of a journey. The journey is the adventure and will bring you an abundance of elixirs and rewards.
Maybe you won’t make the NYT Best Seller. But you will rediscover the joy of writing.
Maybe you won’t make a million dollars with your new business. But you can still celebrate that first dollar going into your bank account.
Maybe you won’t meet your soulmate. But you can still enjoy the company of others and collect brilliant dating stories.
Step One: I’m gonna make you write, but don’t worry, no one will see it but you. Write the story of what your week looks like five years from now. Don’t write a story of what you think you can achieve. Write a story of achievement beyond your wildest dreams. Read that story every morning.
Step Two: Pick one thing to start. Write down the first thing you would need to do to step out on that journey and do it this week. Doing creates momentum.
Worksheet Link:
That’s a Narrative Shift. It’s free, worksheet and all.
When you’re ready for the heavier kit: every other week I publish a Quest, a full printable workbook that walks you through a whole change, start to finish. They live in The Quest Library, alongside The Story Room (live quarterly salons and a magazine that pays writers).