A Gal Needs a Mission

6 min readFeb 5, 2020

Unfortunately, life 50+ doesn’t come with a Users Manual or a lot of happy self-help books a la “What to Expect When Your Expecting”. As a result, this leaves a TON of things for the newly — or not so-newly — 50+ woman to figure out. Usually the hard way.

Core 4 Pillars that we balance our lives upon

For me, one of the major things I’ve sussed out, so far, is that, whether we know it or not, we 50+ gals are balancing 4 major elements that impact our quality of life.

I call these the 50+ Core Four and, in no specific order , these are Mission, Money, Mindset, and Menopause.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The alliteration was totally coincidental.

These 50+ Core Four all have to be in passable shape to keep you level. Even if the other four are doing fine, a crisis in just one of the five can throw the whole show off balance. If you want to see how you’re doing, you can check out this 50+ QUIZ and see.

Mission

Here’s the skinny, for the 50+ gal, on having a MISSION: as tired as you might be of what seems like your never-ending to-do list in life, there may be another item to add — and it should top all others on your agenda!

You NEED to have a mission

WHAT?

Your “mission” is your purpose, something that gives meaning to your life, the thing you are passionate about, that you consistently care about, and would fight for, if called upon. You may feel like after the last 2 or 3 decades of running flat-out that the last thing you need is yet another thing to give your energy to, but the ‘return on investment’ for this one is HUGE.

WHY?

If you already know what your mission is and you’re serving it, statistically YOU have:

and if that’s not enough — it makes life more fun!

How?

How you are perfectly positioned for this at 50+?

You’re resilient — you’ve had to learn how to bounce back; by this time, you’ve had more than enough practice

You know how to get things done — you know how to navigate the BS, how to pick your battles and do it all in the most efficient way

You are so much wiser — by 50+, you’ve learned a thing or two and you are so much better equipped than 2 or 3 decades ago to be taking on the right mission for you.

“Yeah, But…”

It would be reasonable for you to react to this with one or all of the following:

I’m tired! — Are you? Or are you just tired of the same old stuff you have been doing. Like they say, ‘A change is as good as a rest’; sometimes, it’s better.

Haven’t I already given enough? Haven’t I just spent most of my life doing what other people need me to do? — Yes, you probably have. This time, it’s for you.

I wouldn’t know what to do! — If you really and truly can’t look back over your life and identify the meaningful things that you have always wanted to do but just haven’t had the bandwidth, use this 8-question exercise of Scott Mautz’s to help you narrow in on what that is:

What are my ‘superpowers’?
What are my values and beliefs?
What would I do for free?
What have been my happiest moments?
What have I learned from career victories or misfires?
What deeds need doing?
What would co-worker, friends or family miss if I wasn’t here?
What would other people say I was meant to do?

Work through these eight, read through your answers, and listen to your gut; what emerges and what sparks excitement?

I am too old to start something new! — OK, first, it should be noted that in the last 5 years, the 50–60 demographic makes up the largest segment of new business start-ups — with women founders outnumbering men.

If that hasn’t convinced you (damn, you are a hard-sell!), here are a dozen of my favorite examples of women who have begun the most meaningful phase of their life after age 50:

Judy (Judge Judy) Scheindlin didn’t get started with her onscreen career until age 52

Dr. Ruth Westheimer began her new career as sexologist and broadcaster at age 52

Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring at 55, one of the most important books of the 20th century

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross at 59

Jackie “Moms” Mabley became a nationally-recognized comedian after age 60, played Carnegie Hall at age 68, and at 75 had a Top40 hit in 1969 with “Abraham, Martin and John”

Laura Ingles Wilder began writing her children’s book at 64

Maggie Kuhn, at 65, became an activist and founded the Gray Panthers at age 65, going on to change laws and medical approaches to ageing and gerontology

Hillary Clinton became the second US woman to run for president at 69 (Victoria Woodhull was the first in 1872, at age 34)

Harriet Doerr wrote her first of three novels at 74, which was later adapted for television

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (a.k.a. Grandma Moses), one of the most famous US folk artists, began painting at 76

Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock, at 89, began walking the 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to raise awareness for the issue of campaign finance reform.

Nora Ochs went back to university in her 90s and graduated at age 95, making her the oldest American university graduate ever

And here are a few examples of women who I feel honored to call friends and who have not let age talk them out of their mission:

Her Mission: A childhood friend — who prefers to go unnamed — received an honorary medical discharge from the military after serving in Afghanistan where she suffered multiple injuries and ongoing health effects. Discharged and back at home, she was unable to work. Undeterred, in her early 50s, she became a leading advocate for Syrian refugees in her province, was instrumental in bringing refugee families to her area, supported them in settling into their new lives, and helped them integrate into the community. Through her friendship and love, she has given a new life and future to both the families and the children.

Her Mission: In her early 50s, still working and managing life with fibromyalgia, Leslie is taking up a new mission that is close to her heart, as a former foster parent to many girls; she is becoming a CASA volunteer. CASA describes the role as: “a compassionate and courageous individual willing to advocate for a foster child’s best interest after being placed in the foster care system for having experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment.”

Her Mission: On the cusp of 50 and as part of her long career as a nurse caring for the most at risk, Shannon has taken on union duties that see her working for social and political issues around gender and indigenous health, impacting change on a provincial level, and internationally through humanitarian work in Cuba and Africa.

Her Mission: In her early 50s, Loreli tried a fitness bootcamp, loved it and realized that the childcare business she had created and run for a decade no longer suited Loreli, 50+. She soon gained her own training qualifications and eventually started her own fitness business. Over a decade later, she continues run fitness programs and to train and inspire clients almost daily and is, herself, one of the fittest people I know. She is still growing, evolving and is pondering adding an online portion to her business.

For me, my 50+ mission is to make a difference for as many 50+ women as I possibly can, both financially and in making their lives the work of art it really should be.