MY HAPPY TRYBE

If you are a woman over 35 wondering whether you are brave enough to start again, build something new, or trust yourself after life has shaken you a bit… read this.

For years, I told myself I was conservative. Careful. Risk-averse.

Not the “leap of faith” type.

And then one day I realised something uncomfortable and powerful at the same time.

I already took the biggest leap of faith of my life.

When I chose to have my daughter, I did not have certainty. I did not have a safety manual. What I had was a deep internal decision that I would see her upbringing through.

To do that, I took a five-year sabbatical from my career. Five years. In the middle of what people call your “growth years.”

That alone was a leap of faith.

Later, I rebuilt. Slowly. Intentionally. I returned to work, worked my way up, and today I work for a multinational company, earning well and supporting my entire family. The very comforts and luxuries I once longed for, I now provide.

That is not risk-averse behaviour.
That is long-term courage.

And it didn’t stop there.

In the middle of raising a child, managing a home, caring for parents, and working full time, I pursued a Master’s in Psychology to start my counseling practice. Not because it was easy. Not because I had spare time. But because I wanted to chart my own path.

I studied at night.
I read on flights.
I practiced every emotional regulation tool, every resilience framework, every mindset shift on myself first.

Proof of concept.

Over the past five years, I have built systems, habits, financial stability, emotional mastery, and a life that feels full and grounded. I didn’t just survive my challenges. I used them to build self-trust.

This is what midlife reinvention actually looks like.
Not dramatic. Not loud. Steady.

And yet, even now, sometimes I get blindsided by an old story.

“I’m not someone who takes bold action.”
“I’m not wired for risk.”

But that story collapses under evidence.

If I could step away from a career for motherhood.
If I could rebuild professionally after 35.
If I could study psychology while working full time and raising a child.
If I could create financial security and emotional resilience from scratch.

Then I am not risk-averse.

I am deliberate.

There’s a difference.

Many women over 35 underestimate their courage because it didn’t look glamorous. It looked like responsibility. It looked like showing up daily. It looked like sacrifice, reinvention, and slow rebuilding.

But that is bravery.

So pause for a moment.

Look back at your own life.

You have already done something hard.
You have already earned something meaningful.
You have already unlearned patterns that once controlled you.
You have already grown through seasons that could have defeated you.

Acknowledge it. Applaud it.

Confidence in your 40s is not built by positive thinking. It is built by recognising evidence.

And the evidence is there.

You are far more capable than the identity you keep shrinking yourself into.

If a leap landed once, it can land again.

What are you ready to build next? 🌿