i was reading an article in this months More magazine (the one with vanessa williams on the cover) and there is an article about women in their 40s and beyond, and increased confidence. i tend to be a very emotional/spiritual person in the way i interpret the world so i was intrigued that this article actually was based in science. the upshot is that women starting in their 40s (and lasting well into the 60s and later) begin to really own their lives, have more clarity about who they are, have a sense of re-doing or fixing the things in their past (a sense of mastery , or starting over). they are better at suppressing negative thoughts and allowing positive thoughts to surface. particularly for women 50s and older, they are more emotionally stable. they multi-task, and use both sides of their brains better than men. "it's not too late to change" "there are lots of opportunities"--these are the attitudes women have at this stage in their life, according to research.
all of this is backed up by findings in brain research. apparantly, this is why women in their 20s have a tougher time with these things than women after 40. women in their 20s do not have the brain development that takes place after age 40.
anyway, it was something to chew on and ponder, and i wondered if you guys had any thoughts or opinions.
i guess i can always think of the exception. i have met women in their 20s who seem so wise and resilient, and i have met women in their 50s who were more clueless than a log.
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
Originally posted by iz: the upshot is that women starting in their 40s (and lasting well into the 60s and later) begin to really own their lives, have more clarity about who they are, have a sense of re-doing or fixing the things in their past (a sense of mastery , or starting over).
I'm 55 and I really do believe this to be true. I noticed it starting around age 40-45, but I think it is especially true after age 50. Then again, a lot of my self-exploration has been possible because I am single and childless--in other words, I am responsible only for myself and can spend time on myself. I feel absolutely no guilt in doing so, which it seems (sadly) cannot be said for the majority of wives and mothers I know.
Sometimes I am talking to or watching other people and I'll think "They really have not given much thought to who they are or what they believe." I would have never considered having such a thought when I was 20 or 30.
Posts: 7323 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
wow, that explains why some of my brain matter looks like pretty crystal and some of it looks like poopie.
i remember reading this article in Spirituality and Health magazine year ago. the author was native american and his father would give out advise sparingly. one time, his father said "most of what we tell ourselves is lies." it gave me much to think about. all my messages about not being ___ enough. thin enough. smart enough. pretty enough. just plain good enough. and how those thoughts and messages caused a great deal of grief in my life. i would say that changing my internal messages has been truly life-altering.
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
I really think you would like this documentary. I actually was thinking about you while I was watching it!
One of the really cool things in this movie was reference to a Japanese researcher that found that when water was subjected to strong emotional thoughts via prayer, meditation or even written words, the ice crystals that formed were different. The more positive the emotions, the more beautiful the crystals.
The highly scientific side of me questions thw whole validity of something like this, but my spiritual sides loves the implication.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
i guess us spiritual folks can co-exist with the scientific brainiacs. when i think of The Secret, i think about energy--getting back what you put out. but i am sure the brain is a huge part.
when i read the article, i thought about what eunice shriver had said once--that we have the entirety of our life to do the things we want to do. i figured that was why women could and wanted to start over at various stages of their lives. we are ready when we are ready. just never realized an MRI of the brain could affirm when we are ready. pretty cool stuff
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
I just posted in another thread that I just watched the film "What the Bleep Do We Know". It's a documentary on quantum physics and the neurochemical processes that go into our thoughts and how it can change our reality. I felt like it was the science behind the concepts of "the Secret".
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
