By midlife, we’ve all had to make choices that have impacted our career trajectory. Some choices tougher than others.
Decisions never made in isolation, but as part of a bigger picture that involves partners, children, aging parents, geographic moves, our health...the list goes on.
For women, especially, we may have
📌 Taken a caregiving break
📌 Stayed in the same role longer than we’d like because it worked for other aspects of our lives
📌 Chosen flexibility over opportunities
📌 Had zigs and zags along our professional journey
🦋 The important thing is to embrace the bumps and ruts in the road. To pay attention to what we’ve learned. What we enjoyed doing. Where we’ve grown. And how that contributes to the value we offer today.
So often, we hear women apologizing for the choices they’ve made in their careers.
We've done it ourselves. For example, Linda always felt the need to explain why a caregiving break was the right decision for her and her family at the time.
But guess what? The skills and experience most relevant to the work she and Judy do today weren’t learned during her finance career.
They were gathered in her time as a mom of three, running a household, volunteering in her community, and taking leadership positions in various nonprofit organizations.
The portable skills she uses in her work leading EvolveMe with Judy, supporting women in midlife career transition.
We - all of us - need to stop apologizing for career and life decisions that were made for the right reasons at the right times. And own the incredible value we bring to the table today.
A huge thank you to John Neral for a fantastic conversation on the Mid-career GPS Podcast. We're such fans of his show. We're both thrilled and honored to have had the opportunity to chat with him as guests.
🎙 If you’re a podcast fan like us, you should absolutely subscribe to John’s show.
He offers smart, practical tips and strategies for anyone navigating their career in midlife. And he does so with empathy, warmth, and encouragement.
To your success in midlife!
