Not ludicrously capacious or seemingly ranch
Let go of what might have been
It's the last Saturday night of 2023, the last chance to doom-scroll before we resolve to stop doom-scrolling forever (or January 5th, whichever comes first)
The last week of the year is not a time for driving the road to reinvention or any road for that matter. It’s a time for rest, which is to say endlessly scrolling social media while slumped on the couch binge-watching The Crown.
The end of the series completes Queen Elizabeth’s character arc—her inner midlife reinvention, if you will. While she was reflecting on her youth, I dove deep into my Instagram archives, with my own narrative arc in mind.
Herewith: 2023 life lessons illustrated in Instagram posts.
Begin.
As in writing and life, nothing begins with the idea. Progress requires action.
It’s okay to talk about menopause!
I was delighted to have published this opinion piece in The Boston Globe on the topic of menopause in the workplace.
Taylor Swift and I write for the same reasons.
Does a list even exist if she’s not on it? I didn’t save this photo, but I did save a video where she talks about how she admires women writers, such as the great Nora Ephron. “If you write, you can turn your lessons into your legacy.”
Reject the double standard.
This year I re-read some old performance reviews and found possible evidence of this double standard in my feedback, like uncollaborative, moves too quickly to build consensus, and pushes her ideas too hard. These characterizations are 100% accurate, but I wondered if the language would have been different if were a man. Anyway, on a related note, this year I forgave myself for not having been more ambitious, in the corporate world. Maybe this meme should have been about redefining success.
That’s not my job. #NotMyJob
As a manager, I implemented a #NMJ hashtag to use with my all-female team. They’d come to me, overwhelmed, with a long list of things outside of their remit that “needed” to be done, and often I’d reply, “Maybe. But not by you.” This year (thanks to therapy) I learned how to apply this strategy to life. It’s not my job to make other people happy, nor is my happiness on them. It’s not my job to improve or perfect anyone but myself.
I am a lot. And that’s okay.
See above. I’m sure we can agree there is work to be done.
Midlife women are a marketing goldmine.
I’ve known this for a long time. Now, I think companies and services are maybe, finally, sort of starting to catch on. Sadly, what Leigh Stein writes in her fictional novel Self Care is all too true.
Reflect.
When I quit my job I wanted to leap into the next thing. I thought I was supposed to keep moving—quickly. The life wizard taught me to find myself in the quiet. That was five years ago. I needed to re-learn that this year.
Let go of what might have been.
I have this quote from Neitzche on my arm:
Become who you are.
Reflecting on what I’ve learned this year (and all the others) is helpful, but there is only forward from here.
All the best to you as you turn the calendar page.
Work hard. Be brave. Believe.
Catherine
I love this Catherine!