EP 69: Life Is NOT Over at 40, It Is Just Beginning (The Mindset Shift You Need to Hear)

0:00Hello and welcome back to Becoming Her, Fitter, Better, and Stronger over 40. I'm your host and coach, Shauna. I'm 46, a wife, a boy mom, and a fitness and nutrition coach helping women over 40 become their best. After 40, so many women start to believe that the best years are behind them. But what if I told you that your best years are still to come? Because by this point in our lives, we have gained something that's truly incredible, and that is perspective. We understand how fast the years can fly by because these first 40 years might have flown by for you like they have for me. But there's also an opportunity for us to have a brand new life.

0:36God willing, we have another 40 years. And that's a whole new chapter that we can take the wisdom from the first 40 years and apply to it. We're in this unique position of power where we have perspective, we have wisdom, and we can apply that so that we can make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. If you are in a place where you're feeling like the best years are behind you, today I'm going to share with you a different perspective so that you can look at your life in a whole new way and start to chase the dreams and the life that you truly want and you truly deserve. Grab your favorite drink and let's dive right in.

1:06I talk to so many women who have this fear that the best ears are behind them. When in fact, we really have so much opportunity to create and build new lives. So many people didn't find their true success or calling until after 40, which makes this a really exciting time for us. We realize that time is precious and it can go fast, But then we still have this opportunity where we can create the lives that we want if we're intentional. And that's what I want to talk to you about today, having that intentionality, really being purposeful with the time that we have. And this episode is something that's near and dear to my heart because it's based on some life-changing advice that I got from my late grandfather.

1:44He told me that his life didn't start until he was 40, and that was completely true. Up until that point, he had some habits that were not becoming and held him back. And he let all of that go. And he completely leaned into something brand new. He learned new habits, created new careers, met new people. He continued to learn and to grow. And at 94, when he passed, he left no page unturned. And I hold his words of wisdom near and dear to my heart. And I truly believe that my life started at age 40. I had my first son at age 39, and I knew I wanted life to look different. Before him, I lacked self-confidence.

2:25I wasn't clear on who I wanted to be. And having him brought a whole different perspective. I wanted to be my best inside and out. I started to do some self-examination and asking myself what I wanted life to look like. And I started to lean into something completely new and develop a new relationship with myself, knowing that I had opportunity, but I had to be intentional with the days that I had. I also had a really big reason for why I wanted to change. I wanted to show my son what self-love looked like and I wanted to make sure that the next 40 years didn't pass so quickly without me being super intentional with what they looked like.

3:02I started to ask myself bigger questions about my life. Like who is it that I want to be? What is it that I want to achieve? What energy am I going to bring into the home? Who is the person my son is going to mirror? And what kind of life do I want to build the next 40 years? What are the things that I want to accomplish so that at the age of 80, I can look back and say that I lived life to the fullest? So I started to get really intentional because I understood that I had opportunity, but time is also fast if we're not careful with it. And now at age 46, I look and feel better than I ever have.

3:35And I am chasing after dreams that I never thought I would. As a natural introvert, I would never have imagined that I would have built a platform where I'm connecting with thousands of women, helping women become their best, and sharing my story on this podcast or on YouTube. But that's something that can happen when you align yourself with that version of yourself that you want to become. Doors start to open. You start to see opportunities that you wouldn't have seen otherwise. And that's what I want for you. I want you to create a life that you are obsessed with, that you are excited to get out of bed for.

4:07I want you to feel good in your body and confident about what you can do physically and otherwise. You know, I think there's two things that can happen. Number one is that we start to believe that age is a limitation and that we shouldn't necessarily go after the things we want or that we're not capable of achieving them. And number two is that life gets busy. We have lots of responsibilities. We're taking care of children, maybe even older parents. And we have a lot of things on our plate. So adding in, taking care of ourselves and working towards our own goals feels daunting. It feels overwhelming.

4:38The thing is, once you make time to become your healthiest inside and out, mentally, spiritually, physically, you can show up better and stronger for everything else in your life. And that's important. And don't get me wrong. There might be seasons where you can spend more or less time working on your goals. But the point is to make sure that you are intentional, that you don't just let time slip between your fingers because we do have opportunity and we have the wisdom to understand what we truly want out of life now. The key is that we want to first identify what we want life to look like, create a small action plan so that we can align ourselves with that woman we want to be, and then create some momentum with some small steps that will carry us forward so that we make sure we are moving towards our goals.

5:27Let's walk through a simple three-part reinvention framework so that you can take this idea and put it into practice and start living the life that you deserve. Step number one is we wanna get really clear about what it is that we want from our lives. I'm sure you know what you don't want. You don't wanna feel tired, you don't wanna feel stuck in your body, and you don't wanna feel invisible. But we also wanna have clarity about what it is that we actually do want. So start to ask yourself some of these questions. What does life look like when I'm truly aligned? How does my body feel? How does my day play out?

5:57What do I look like as my best? Take some time to ask yourself those questions and get connected with what you want life to look like. Now, step number two is to define the woman that you want to become so that you can align your values and your habits with hers. What does the best version of me look like? How does she walk? How does she talk? How does she start her day? How does she end her day? How does she protect her peace? How does she honor her values? How does she make sure that she's keeping the promises that she's making to herself? When you define that woman, then you can start to build those habits and values that she has.

6:30And eventually, that's just who you will become. Now, step number three is you want to start to align your habits with the values of that woman that you just described. That best version of you, start to think about the habits that she would repeat day in and day out so that she's honoring her goals. And this is where transformation begins, not in one moment, but in these small micro decisions repeated daily. Ask yourself these simple questions every day. What would my best self do today? How would she speak to herself? How would she handle a mistake? How would she handle a setback? How would she nourish herself?

7:02What's that scary step that she would take towards her dream? Something really cool happens over time when you start this process. When you identify that best version of you and start to mirror her habits, you become aligned and all of a sudden your life reflects that life that you have in your head. Now, initially, it's going to feel awkward. All of us have limiting beliefs that are keeping us stuck. But the more action we take, the quieter those limiting beliefs become, and the more we can step into the life that we are meant to live. And that's truly what this message is all about, is I want you to see the unique opportunity that you have in front of you.

7:38Yes, our first 40 years went by fast, but the next 40 years doesn't have to. And we can be so intentional about the lives that we build in these next 40 years. We just have to have clarity. We have to have bravery to take some uncomfortable steps. and we have to know that change is possible. We have to let go of those limiting beliefs. My life is completely different because I let go of some of those old limiting beliefs. Something that I'm so honored and blessed to be able to do is watch women over 40 start to tap into their potential. When you start to take care of yourself physically and spiritually and mentally, life opens up for you.

8:13You start to see opportunities and become connected with opportunities that otherwise you would never have seen. Like I said before, I would have never guessed if you told me at age 25 or even 35 that this is where I would be. But life has opened up for me. And it's only because I open myself up to life. And it makes me excited for the years ahead instead of scared of them. And I don't want that for you. I don't want you to feel like the best years are behind. They are still ahead of you. So long as we get intentional with what we want those years to look like. And if you take anything away from today's episode, let it be this, is that you are not too old.

8:50You are not late. You are actually right on time because you have this unique opportunity of wisdom and perspective, the ability to choose differently and to know exactly who it is that you want to be and the life that you want to live. The next 10, 20, 30, 40 plus years, God willing, can look completely different, but that will require something very important, and that is intentional action. And you might be listening to this and thinking to yourself that it is too late. But I want to give you another life-changing tip that I got from a co-worker. It was back when I was debating going back to college.

9:25I was in my late 20s, which meant that I would be 30 by the time I graduated college. And that was my hang-up. I didn't want to be 30 and graduating from college. She shared with me life-changing advice that I want to share with you. She said, life is going to pass either way. You're going to turn 30 either way. you might as well turn 30 with a degree. And she was so right. And that's something that I've held on to. Time's gonna pass either way. So I might as well be working towards my goals than wishing I had started or stuck with them. When we reach our final days, it's not the things we did that we're gonna have regrets about.

9:59It's the things we didn't do that we're gonna have regrets over. So I don't want that for you. I want you to have an intentional life that you are obsessed with. This next chapter can be an incredible one. Start to get really intentional with everything you do, everything you consume, what you listen to, what you watch, what you eat, what you're doing with your time. Do some auditing of your days in your life and make sure that the things that you are inviting into your space are filling you up and bringing you closer to that life that you want to live and not further away. I hope this message resonated with you because that's my intention.

10:31That is my goal. My goal is to help every single woman over 40 become her best inside and out. If you came into this thinking the best years were behind you, I hope that you're leaving today with a brand new perspective and some excitement to go create and build a body and a life that you love. And if you need help and you are ready to make some changes with your health, your mindset, and your body over 40, I will leave a link to my Soft to Sculptive mini course below. And it will walk you through exactly how to transform your metabolism and your body over 40. In this mini course, you get three video trainings from me along with tons of different resources.

11:06I walk you through how to master your metabolism over 40, how to build to burn in the gym, and how to phase your nutrition so that you reach your fat loss and your muscle building goals. It's a one-time purchase with lifelong access and any updates I make to that mini course, you will get access to. Or if you're looking for community and support and workouts to help you build your healthiest body so you can start to attack some of your other goals, I will also leave information on my Strong by Shauna membership. it's an amazing space where women like you are building their best bodies and helping each other along the way but either way please hold on to this truth is that your story is not done it is just beginning and the next chapter can look better than you imagine so i really hope you enjoyed today's episode if you did i'd be so thankful if you left a rating or a review and if this did resonate with you please dm me on instagram i would love to hear from you until next week keep getting stronger and i'll see you in the next episode