Today I’m hiking a mountain, one 23 year old me would have shied away from but 53 year old me looks forward to the challenge. Alltrails, a popular hiking app, says it’s a “fun and challenging hike with great views from the top. There are some steep, tough areas with rocky faces and some bouldering but it is well worth it.” It certainly sounds like one 30 years ago I would have passed on.
How Did I Become an Empowered Woman Over 50?
The following were my thoughts that morning as I tied my shoes, packed my snacks and headed to the trailhead.
At 53 I’ve never felt so empowered. Free to speak my truth. Confident. Physically capable. Mentally resilient. I’m now one to express myself without reservation.
How did I get here? Why did it take 53 years to feel practically invincible?
Did I just stop caring? Did I get tired of pleasing everyone around me?
Time as Empowerment
Does this come with age? Does it come with experience? With falling and getting back up multiple times?
Some days I wish I had this confidence at 25, at 35, or even 45. I think it was there all along—just waiting for life to shape me enough to bring it out.
I smile bigger, though my lips have thinned. I walk taller, though my body shows wear and tear. I love with all my heart, though it has been broken numerous times.
Maybe I’m resilient because I failed. I failed each year of my life and at every stage. I once believed failing was the end, that I should simply give up. Now when I fail I say, “challenge accepted,” and I try even harder.
Maybe I’m empowered because I stopped waiting for others to help me, fix me, fulfill me. I finally came to terms with the fact that nobody is out there to do it for me. This is liberating and terrifying at the same time. It’s like I gave myself permission to trust myself—to make big decisions. Nobody is coming to save me, so I have to do it myself.
Am I more grounded so my children can see a stronger mother than they grew up with? I want them to know their own power earlier than I did and maybe find inspiration in my journey.
Is it that I finally know what quality people look and feel like—and I refuse to let in any less? Surrounded by these empowering, wonderful people, I feel I can walk taller.
Forgiveness as Empowerment
Is it that I forgave those who have hurt me in the past? The pain is still there, but I use it as a jumping-off point for creating a better life for myself.
And even more importantly, I forgave myself for hurting others, and where I could, I expressed my deepest apology.
Forgiveness is such an underrated act—both forgiving others and yourself.
Love as Empowerment
And maybe, just maybe, it’s in feeling true love. Love that is caring, unconditional, and vulnerable. Love that makes me feel unstoppable.
Is it that I’ve accepted this vulnerability? That there is strength in knowing I might be wounded by someone and still choosing to open my heart?
At 53, I finally feel my journey to being a complete me is beginning. Well, it’s been happening all along—but maybe now I feel it deeply.
I possibly have four more decades on this planet. This gift I’ve been given will not go unappreciated or be used in vain.
I’m going to take this newfound empowerment and let it shine outward often. I’m going to take my older body, my wiser mind, and my open heart—and live like the empowered woman I was always meant to be.
Read more about how I decided to empower myself in my 50s : Starting Over After 50: 3 Months Into My Midlife Transformation Part 1
“You’re not over the hill. YOU’RE ON TOP OF THE WORLD!”
Empowerment as a Woman In Her 50s
As I topped that mountain I couldn’t help but reflect on those thoughts I had that morning as I walked out the door. I was scared that my body wouldn’t climb. I was worried I’d break, that my legs would give up. But none of that happened. I got there – physically, mentally and figuratively.
I hope you too can climb your mountain.
Watch my metaphoric journey up Ampersand Mountain as I discuss being an empowered woman over 50
Thank You for Stopping By!
Hi, I’m Allie, obsessed hiker, explorer of our world and reinventor of my life in my 50s.
Here at AllieRambles I explore what it means to rebuild and chase freedom in your 50s and beyond—because life doesn’t end at midlife, it begins.
I also write A LOT about being outdoors hiking, biking and paddling as much as I can – all over the United States and beyond.
Let’s wander, grow, and figure it out together.
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