Midlife Sass – Create a Scrapbook of Badass

January comes and visions of becoming the women we always wanted to be dance in our heads. The dreaded New Years Resolutions loom. How often do we give up on those visions long before the change ever happens?  And then my inner badass remains outwardly dowdy. The journey seems too fraught with obstacles and goals just keep getting further away. Midlife sass is something other women have.

One of my difficulties at the juncture between change or status quo is that I feel so alone in my efforts.  As silly and self-involved as it sounds, I don’t believe that anyone has ever faced my particular dark night of the soul and come out the other side – even when it comes to the little goals. Oh yes, there are those exceptional women, but they are after all exceptional, whereas I’m just me.  Just an average women trying to lose twenty pounds or recreate my career. Just little ole’ me.

The most effective way to do it, it to do it- Amelia Earhart

Here’s the thing, though, that the world is full of ordinary women doing extra- ordinary things that they never thought that they would or could do. That when these women put rubber to the road each learn that ”  I’m much stronger than I give myself credit for, much braver than I let myself believe, and these are things no one can take from me (Brittany Mullins- read about her )   Often what makes the difference  between them and me is that they do what they see has to be done.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is mere tenacity – Amelia Earhart

Here’s the thing for me. Each time I meet one of these women, I am encouraged to take my own leap of faith.

Women need women to model themselves after. Hillary Clinton reads biographies of women .  She has often turned to the wisdom of Eleonor Roosevelt for her strength.  Amelia Earhart kept a scrapbook of news stories about women her whole life.  

Too often I’ve fallen in love with the melodrama of fictional women whose strength is, well, fictional.   I grow disappointed that I won’t have the body of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow or the miraculous career/love success of a Lifetime movie heroine.   Until that is, I followed Amelia’s direction and started a scrapbook of women.

Here’s the surprise – I didn’t have to go far to find these amazing women doing extraordinary things.  They were my neighbours, my friends, and strangers I met.   Like Hillary Clinton, at first, I found them in the library and now on Pinterest (check out my board, Badass Women).   These women are tangible and locking them onto pages have given me the courage to go further and do more than I ever tough I could.

When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it – Amelia Earhart

So, as you are working on your resolutions– also work on a scrapbook of you own of women who succeeded. A great adventure is being offered you and it’s your life.