Finding Your Calm: Creating Less Stress and More Joy After 50

Let’s be honest, life after 50 can feel like someone picked up your own personal snow globe of your world and gave it a good shake! The kids (if you have them) are grown, (and possibly doing their own things with maybe their own families), careers are shifting, relationships are evolving, and suddenly you find yourself asking: Now what?

It’s exciting, yes! But it can also be a lot, and I mean a LOT. And if you’ve been feeling stretched in all directions or feeling overwhelmed about well, everything, you’re not alone. So many of the women I coach tell me they’re ready to simplify, to let go, to breathe again. They’re tired of “managing” life and ready to live it.

Following these 5 steps could help you begin to live a life with less stress, more calm, clarity, and joy, all while we figure out what’s next.

Most of us have spent decades taking care of everyone and everything else before we even consider taking the time to care for ourselves. So, before you jump into your next big project, take some time to pause, reflect, and breathe. Don’t rush to fill the quiet moments; that’s where clarity begins. Take walks without your phone. Journal. Sit with a cup of tea and let your mind wander. The next chapter won’t come from forcing it; it’ll come from listening to yourself in stillness and quietness and calmness.

Stress thrives in clutter; it finds clutter a proving ground and goes to work, no matter whether it’s mental clutter, emotional clutter, and physical/special clutter. Simplify by starting small. Clear one drawer, one relationship, or one “should” off your list. Ask yourself: Does this still serve me? If the answer’s no, it’s time to let it go. Simplicity isn’t about having less; it’s about making space for what truly matters!

Your body’s not just a vehicle, it’s your ally, your temple. Support it. Move gently every day. Try yoga, stretching, or simply breathing deeply between Zoom calls. Eat foods that give you steady energy (you know the ones). Rest like it’s your new full-time job, maybe meditating, getting regular massages (or doing mini massages on, say, your feet, or massaging your head. You can’t think clearly or make big life choices from a body that’s running on fumes.

Sometimes, the biggest stress comes from feeling disconnected from who we were, who we are, or from meaningful relationships. Starting with the one with yourself, Block your time on your calendar, and spend time in pursuit of things that make you happy, whether it’s a long bath, listening to music, or reading curled up in your favorite chair. The important thing is to reconnect with Yourself. To reconnect with others, reach out. Join a book club, a walking group, or a class where laughter is part of the curriculum. Community doesn’t just soothe the soul, it reminds you that you’re still growing, still vibrant, still needed.

There’s absolutely no rule that says the next chapter has to look like your last one. Maybe “what’s next” is smaller, slower, or softer. Or maybe it’s bold and brand-new. Either way, it’s yours. You’ve earned the right to design and redefine a life that fits who you are now, not who you were ten or twenty years ago. You can create a new redefined you, one day at a time.

You don’t have to have it all figured out to begin, and that’s ok. Stress melts away when you stop trying to prove something and start honoring your own pace. Trust that your path is unfolding, just as it should.

You’ve weathered storms, raised families (or not), built careers, and shown up for everyone. Now it’s time to show up for you.

So I ask you to take a breath, a long, deep breath, and breathe it out slowly. Loosen your shoulders. The next chapter isn’t waiting for you to plan it. It’s waiting for you to live it, with less stress and more joy.