We’ve all been there — juggling the business, the house, the work deadlines, the speaking gigs, the clients, the family stuff, the everything.

It’s how so many midlife women are wired: we keep pushing.

Until something pushes back.

Last week, I was doing all the things.
I’ve been evolving my business to focus even more deeply on supporting midlife women through their next chapter - helping them rebuild self-belief, find their identity beyond the labels, and escape the groundhog-day cycle of invisibility.

I’ve been coaching, preparing for two upcoming keynotes, attending events, dreaming up future in-person experiences - and living life on top of that.

Then Thursday night hit.
So did the sneezes.

The Sudden Stop (AKA: CFD, Belinda)

At first, I brushed it off. Classic move.
Went to bed, thinking I’d sleep it off.

By Friday, I was wrecked.
Swollen eyes. Aching cheeks. Pain radiating down into my teeth.
Sneezing, coughing, itchy, wheezy - I sounded (and looked) like a cartoon version of burnout.

That’s when my body sent the message loud and clear:
CFD, Belinda. Calm the F* Down.**
Not later. Now.

Of course, being me, I thought I’d just do a little inbox admin from bed.
Answer a few emails. Tidy up some docs. Write a thing or two…

The Universe Had Other Ideas

Round 2: Gastro.
(Enough said. I’ll spare you.)

“Well,” I told myself, “I can at least hydrate and do a few light tasks…”

STOP RIGHT THERE.
Round 3: The WiFi died. Completely.
Modem fried. No laptop. No Netflix. No escape.

Just… nothing.

So I Did the One Thing I Usually Avoid: I Rested.

Out came the tea. (Earl Grey, honey, giant mug.)
In came the toast. (Spongey white bread, generous Lurpak, perfectly rationed Vegemite. An art form.)

I curled up in bed, snuggled with the dogs, stared into space.
No screens. No output. No pushing.

And in the stillness, something powerful happened:
My nervous system began to reset.

Not in a dramatic, life-changing way.
Just in a quiet, healing, I-can-breathe-again way.

When the Plans Don’t Go to Plan

This week, I had to cancel a talk I was truly excited to give.
I missed a special dinner. I rescheduled things I didn’t want to reschedule.

But you know what?

The world didn’t end.
There’s still time.
There’s still life.
There’s still me.

Midlife Women: You Don’t Have to Earn Your Rest

We’ve been conditioned to believe we must deserve rest.
That we should only stop when everything’s done.
That slowing down means falling behind.

But here’s what I want you to know — whether you're navigating empty nesting, career change, identity shifts, or just figuring out who the hell you are now:

You don’t have to wait for your body to pull the emergency brake.

 You don’t have to earn rest by burning out first.

 You’re allowed to stop — gently, intentionally — before you crash.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is stop.
Not because you’re lazy.
But because you’re wise enough to listen.

Want Support to Reclaim Yourself in Midlife?

This is the work I do now — through my 1:1 midlife coaching container:
Helping women like you navigate this season of change with clarity, confidence, and joy.
So you can stop surviving your days… and start loving them again.

💫 If that speaks to you, you can learn more MORE THAN THIS VIP

With love (and honey-sweetened Earl Grey),
Belinda x