To say I have unsophisticated musical taste is an understatement. Think Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Wham!, with a little Flo Rida thrown in for good measure. People generally reach over to turn the radio off when they get in my car. But teen pop is my favorite – there is truly no better place to find uplifting words of wisdom – seriously, just listen to the lyrics.
Yesterday I rediscovered the Shakira song, “Try Everything,” and it is officially my anthem for 2021 – maybe even for the rest of my life:
I won’t give up
No, I won’t give in till I reach the end
Then I’ll start again
No, I won’t leave
I want to try everything
I want to try even though I could fail
Isn’t that inspiring?
I think those words resonate because the messages we hear at this time of life are all about things ending – our looks, our health, our careers, our sexuality. Game over, old lady – time to move aside.
Well, fine. A few things are over. But I am nowhere near done. In fact, I am just getting started!
It’s funny how at midlife, smack in the middle of menopause, I finally feel free of all the pressure to do things perfectly, to succeed in a certain way. (Been there, done that, got the lapel pin.) The truth is that I don’t care that much anymore what other people think. It took fifty years, but I am running my own race now.
I have always been interested in a million different things, and I’m an Aries girl to boot, so I jump in with both feet and a ton of enthusiasm… but not everything sticks. I used to feel bad about that because I hate to seem flaky or unserious, and I was terrified that people would see me fail. I didn’t want my mistakes to be public knowledge, so I didn’t try if failure was likely. But to hold back because I am afraid that I won’t measure up to someone else is to miss out on 99% of what life has to offer, and Shakira is spot on when she says that “nobody learns without getting it wrong.” Of course I won’t be brilliant at everything right out of the gate! That doesn’t matter. I won’t know unless I try, and sometimes it’s fun to do things you suck at anyway. You should see me dance.
Don’t let a fear of failure prevent you from making your next chapter (or year, or day) something really special. What do you want to try? Now is the time to do it – you have an opportunity here. You have decades of earned wisdom and an open invitation from the universe to reimagine your life for 2021 AND the next fifty years.
Menopause may indeed be an ending of sorts, but in the words of Shakira, I won’t leave. I want to try everything, and keep making new mistakes. Like the sparkly dress I plan to wear dancing some evening very soon (you’ve been warned).
Here’s hoping your 2021 is full of new mistakes, too.