Small Steps and a New Rhythm in My 40s / 40代の小さな一歩と新たなリズム

in #hive-1782657 days ago

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I'm happy to find the Daily Blog community via one of the @calendulacraft 's posts. I was wondering for a while where can I post my daily thoughts. Now I found the place! Here is my first post to the community.

From my teens into my 30s, I was all about diving in headfirst and charging forward with every project, study, job, or even big life changes, like marriage or moving to a new country. I’d go full speed, motivated to see results as quickly as possible. Looking back, I think I must have seemed pretty intense or sometimes even annoying to the people around me ... sorry, my family and friends 😅 Back then, I felt like I could keep going without ever running out of energy.

But around the time my daughter was born, I began to notice that my old “start-dash and keep on going on top speed” approach wasn’t working so well. I couldn’t just push forward on momentum alone. I knew it wasn’t just about the changes that come with family life; I could feel my own pace naturally slowing down. There was a sense that something was different, even a bit off. At one point, I even felt frustrated, thinking I didn’t have enough time because of family responsibilities, but I gradually realized it wasn’t that. It was more about me. It was time for me to adapt to a new way of approaching things.

Now that I’ve been in my 40s for a little while, I feel I’m starting to get the hang of it. These days, I move things forward by taking small, steady steps—like opening up files or ordering what I’ll need in advance. I in my 20s might laughed at the ultra small steps. Each step may seem minor, but they’re all intentional, and bit by bit, they lead to real progress. Surprisingly, I’m getting quite a lot done this way, and it’s working just as well as those intense bursts in my younger days.

Spending time with my family and intentionally keeping calm time such as daily cooking, gardening, journaling, yoga etc have also become a source of new inspiration. I’ve come to appreciate how important rest and slower moments are, both for my mind and my body, especially in the long run. To enjoy the second half of my life, I want to stay healthy and take care of myself. The support that came from speed and intensity before now comes from keeping a steady balance, taking things step by step, and moving towards my goals in a way that feels sustainable.

Of course, I still find myself occasionally diving into projects or ideas on a whim. When that happens, I like to see it as something spontaneous and let the experience carry me where it will like the good old time.

These are the things I find myself reflecting on now, here in my 40s, as I move through this stage of life.

(Photo: I made the cards or to say bookmarks of periodical rituals after I read one of @calendulacraft 's recent posts. Her posts are full of inspiration. Take a look!)

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長いこと、日々考えたことなどをどこに投稿したものか考えていました。@calendulacraft さんの投稿を見て、Daily Blogというコミュニティがあることを知り、日々のことを投稿できる場所がみつかってうれしいです。ということでDaily Blogへの初投稿です。

10代から30代に入るくらいまで、私はノリと勢いでどんどん物事を進めていました。勉強、仕事、研究、プロジェクト、移住などなど、スタートダッシュをかけて、結果を出すためにひたすら突っ走っていました。周囲の人たちからしたらさぞかし暑苦しかっただろうなと思います 😅 エネルギーが尽きることもなくどんどん進んでいける感覚がありました。

でも、子供が生まれた前後で、スタートダッシュが効かず、勢いで物事を進めづらくなくなっていることに気づき始めました。家族ができて生活のパターンが変わったこともありますが、私が歳をとったのもあるのだと思います。なんか変だな、うまくいかないなという感覚がありました。一時期は家族のせいで時間がとれないとやきもきもしましたが、多分、家族のせいではないです。私自身が物事の変え方を変えなければいけない時期にさしかかっていたのだと思います。

40代も板についてきた今、空いた時間、体力のある時に、ちょこちょこベビーステップを踏んで、着実に物事を進めていく感覚がつかめてきたような気がします。本当に小さな、ファイルを開いておく、必要なものを注文しておくといった準備をして、そこから徐々にゆっくり転がすように物事を進めていくようになりました。些細な一歩でも、意識して仕込んで、踏んで積み重ねが大切だと感じています。

結果的には結構進んでいて、うまくいくと若い頃と同じくらい進んでいるんですよね。家族との時間の中に新たなインスピレーションを得ることもあります。長期的に見て、休息やゆったりとした時間が、体と心にとってどれだけ大切かを再認識しています。

人生の後半を楽しむためにも、無理をせず、自分の体や健康を大切にしながら進んでいきたいと思っています。今までは、勢いとスピードが私を支えていましたが、これからは心身のバランスを保ちながら、粛々と小さな一歩を積み重ねて、漠然と見えているやりたいことの実現に向けて進んでいきたいです。

でも、まだまだノリと勢いでプロジェクトのプロポーザル書いちゃったり、思いつきで行動したりすることもあるんですよね。そんな時は、何かのご縁だと思って、風の吹くまま気の向くまま流されることも楽しみたいです。

そんなことを40代、人生の半ばに思うのでした。

(写真: @calendulacraft さんの最近の投稿 を読んで、定期的な儀式のカードというかしおりを作りました。彼女の投稿はインスピレーションに満ちているのでぜひ見てみてください!)

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That's what it takes small steps every day, and eventually you get far!

Yes yes. It’s so simple but I needed a really long time to truly understand it.

This post has been manually curated by the Inkwell Community.

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I found myself having an internal dialog with you as I read this. It's an interesting life experience. Certainly as time passes there is less energy. From where I stand, you are still very, very young. I think you will handle aging very well because you accommodate the inevitable changes and don't resist them. No need to give up your interests and ambitions. Just have to approach them differently.

Nice, effective writing, @akipponn.

Thank you for curating my post @agmoore! It’s nice to know the Inkwell Community.

I appreciate your kind words 😊 I think I corp well with aging in a way not like saying “young time was good since I see some people I met in my life enjoy their 50s, 60s … My grand parents were my role models. But even though there are many things I haven’t imagined before. I will slowly take the life lessons and still try to enjoy adventures as I did in the pace of my age.

Hi @akipponn, nice to see you around! Are you still baking those breads, remember @jaybird's Sandwich Contest?
I started a community for the more 'mature' 40-plus Hivers a couple of years ago, where you can write about most of life issues. It's called The Silver Bloggers.
I did not know about The Daily Blog Community, will pop in there some time <3

Hi @lizelle! Yes of course I remember the SSC. I enjoyed writing about my sandwiches a lot. Your food posts remind me the community often.

Thank you for mentioning the Silver Bloggers community. I know the name but a bit hesitated to jump in since I thought it’s also more for people with writing skills. But good to know I’m eligible to post and you are the founder. I share the community in Hive JA discord. I think some are over 40s 😉