Hey there Reader,
Yesterday was International Women’s Day. I spent part of the afternoon at a gathering in a nearby community where ten women shared pieces of their lives.
Most of them were older women. Women who had lived through loss, challenge, and big changes. Women who had raised families, cared for others, and started over more than once.
There was something powerful about listening to them. You could feel that many had reached a place where they were no longer living by other people’s rules. They had begun to see that they were allowed to choose their own path.
I loved that.
It also made me think about a question that stopped me in my tracks this week:
If no one saw your life, would you still choose it?
Would you still do the same work, spend time with the same people, build your days the same way? Or are some parts of your life shaped for an audience?
Many women reach midlife feeling like they somehow lost themselves along the way. Years were spent caring for children, partners, parents, work, and community. Their own needs often came last.
So later in life, they begin searching again. That search can be beautiful. But sometimes it also becomes exhausting. A quiet feeling that we are still not quite there. Not healed enough. Not calm enough. Not successful enough.
And yet some of the happiest moments of my life have not looked impressive at all.
Years ago, my husband and I were sitting on a rocky outcrop at Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island. A beautiful part of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. It was cold and a light rain was coming down. We were wet and a little uncomfortable. We had traveled by motorcycle and were camping in a tent.
The only food we had was one of those simple cup noodles. The kind where you pour in hot water and dump the seasoning packet on top.
Hardly something anyone would call a great meal.
But in that moment it tasted amazing. Warm and comforting on a cold evening.
As we sat there looking out over the water, something incredible happened. A pod of orcas moved through the passage.
There we were. Wet. Cold. Eating noodles. Watching something so beautiful it almost stopped time.
I remember feeling completely lost in that moment.
Nothing needed to change. Nothing needed fixing. It was perfect exactly as it was.
Moments like that remind me what really matters.
This week I also read something from Tim Ferris that stayed with me. He asked a powerful question:
If you were doing the work you are doing right now and you could never tell anyone about it, would you still do it?
No one would know. No one would praise you. No one would admire it.
Would you still choose it?
Sometimes we are not really developing ourselves. We are curating ourselves. Shaping our life so it looks good to others.
But your next chapter cannot be built on applause or outside validation. It has to belong to you.
The March Challenge
Before I close, I want to invite you to something I am doing this month on my Facebook page Marianne Preston Coaching.
I started a simple March challenge. Each day there is a short post with one small encouragement to take action in your life. Nothing big or overwhelming. Just a step.
Because action changes things.
When we act, we gain clarity. When we act, we build confidence. When we act, we start to see what is truly possible.
So often we stay stuck in thinking, planning, dreaming, or wishing. But it is movement that reveals the path.
If you haven’t seen these posts you can join in. You can go back and catch up on the earlier posts or simply start today and follow along for the rest of the month.
There is real power in a small daily practice.
Questions to Consider
Before you go today, I want to leave you with two simple questions:
- If no one else ever saw the life you are building right now, would you still choose it?
- What moments in your life already feel simple, real, and deeply right?
Because sometimes the most perfect moments arrive quietly. Sitting on a wet rock in the rain. Eating noodles. Watching whales move through the water.
And realizing that maybe the life you are searching for is the one you are already living.
Marianne
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marianne@mariannepreston.com
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