The Stories We Tell Ourselves And How To Rewrite Your Midlife Career Story

The moment you choose curiosity over criticism, the story starts to change.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Think about the last time you whispered to yourself:

“I should just stick it out.”

“It’s too late to change now.”

“I should be grateful — others have it worse.”

We rarely say these things out loud.

But they echo inside us.

These stories are powerful.

They shape our confidence.

They narrow our choices.

And often, they keep us stuck in careers and lives that no longer fit.

The truth is: the biggest obstacles midlife women face aren’t their CVs, qualifications, or age — they’re the stories they’ve absorbed and repeated until they feel like facts.

We live inside those stories .... about who we are, what we can do, and what’s possible for us.

Some are empowering.

Others quietly keep us small.

“I’m too old to start again.”

“I’m lucky to have what I’ve got.”

“It’s selfish to want more.”

They sound reasonable because they’ve been repeated for decades — by families, workplaces, and sometimes by the frightened parts of ourselves.

But they’re not facts.

They’re scripts.

And scripts can be rewritten.

The Origins of Our Inner Narratives

By midlife, most of us have spent years editing ourselves to fit the expectations of others.

As Carl Jung described, the persona, the mask we show the world, is essential in early life. Yet if we never remove it, we forget who’s underneath.

In yoga philosophy, there’s the idea of Samskara , impressions or grooves left by repeated thoughts and actions. They shape our responses until we consciously choose another path.

Recognising your samskaras — your patterns — isn’t about blame.

It’s about awareness.

Because once you see the story, you can choose to rewrite it.

Why We Believe the Old Stories

Familiar stories feel safe.

Even painful ones.

They protect us from uncertainty.

“If I don’t try, I can’t fail.”

But comfort can become a cage.

And the truth is, your life has already proved your strength — through every transition you’ve survived and every reinvention you didn’t yet have language for.

The challenge now is not capability.

It’s belief.

Re-authoring Your Story Midlife Career Story

1️⃣ Name the narrative.

Write down the recurring thoughts that limit you.

2️⃣ Ask, “Whose voice is this?”

Many belong to teachers, bosses, parents, or younger selves who needed certainty.

3️⃣ Replace certainty with curiosity.

Instead of “I can’t,” ask, “What if I could?”

4️⃣ Anchor in truth.

List what’s actually true today — your skills, your experience, your capacity to learn, your wisdom, your knowledge, your insight.

The moment you choose curiosity over criticism, the story starts to change.

A New Kind of Confidence

Confidence isn’t about pretending. It’s about congruence.

When your outer life matches your inner truth, confidence returns naturally.

You stop performing and start being.

That’s the freedom of midlife: the permission to edit the script and write your version of your midlife career story that finally feels like you.

Creating the Career You Want™ Is Now Open!

✨ Creating the Career You Want™ — the 12-month live coaching and transformation programme for women in midlife — is now open.

It’s time to drop the old stories and create a career and life that fit who you’ve become.

➡️ Join the final live round today and begin writing a truer story for your next chapter.