A personal journey and perspective into being a woman in her fifties…………………. I have been thinking of writing a blog for quite a while now, I suppose it started with reaching the age of 50, for me it was a time when I needed to re-assess many aspects of my life, turning 50 made me stop and think about what I really wanted from the next phase of my life, asking myself questions such as; how I wanted to live it, who I wanted to be in it and what changes would I need to make to my lifestyle to ensure that I could be the best I could be at this time of my life. In 2006 I completed a Diploma in Counselling part of which involved a journey into self discovery, I believe that was the catalyst for wanting to change. It started on my 49th birthday when I realised I didn’t and in some respects, couldn’t approach the next phase of my life in the same way. The woman in today’s world in her fifties is quite different from our grandmothers of that age and even that of our own mothers too. It’s also a time when a great deal of change happens to us personally and externally. For example today’s woman in her fifties is often: working, juggling running the house, supporting teenagers and parents, holding down a career, surviving long term marriages (not always happy ones), entering the dreaded M word phase (yes the menopause!) and finding little time for themselves…….. recognise any of these? I certainly did my 50th birthday coincided with my 30th wedding anniversary and that was the start of my change I made the decision to end the marriage. This Blog is more about how I opened up my mind to change, how being in your 50’s can be a period of experiment to try new things to help you be the best you can be, I think of it as a time to prepare yourself for the next decades to come.