Middle-Aged Creators Should Stop Creating Content, Unless Their Mindset Has These 3 Things.
Because having a thick skin will only take you so far...
If you’re a midlife content creator, then you should give up now, especially if you're looking after a family, running a home, and trying to run a business too.
Younger creators seem to regularly produce viral content that leaves us older creators standing at the starting line, staring at their dust. It's disheartening, to say the least, and it can leave a massive dent in confidence. I often find myself questioning whether there's something wrong with me, whether being over 45 is too old, or if I'm even cut out for life as a content creator.
But these negative challenges are exactly why I need to keep going - and you should too if you're a middle-aged content creator.
A Guide for Midlife Content Creators
I recently listened to the audio book "The Gap and the Gain" (affiliate link *), and chapter 6 has valuable nuggets to help midlife content creators transform their challenges into gains, a concept central to Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy's work.
Chapter 6 emphasizes the importance of reframing hardships as opportunities. It highlights the transformational power of shifting from a victim mentality to a learning mindset, even in the face of negative experiences. This chapter also introduces the concept of psychological flexibility as a crucial component of personal growth and wellbeing, contrasting it with the detrimental effects of psychological rigidity.
Let's dive into the three transformative mindset shifts that can redefine your journey as a midlife content creator, turning challenges into successes.
3 Mindset Shifts to Transform Challenges into Opportunities:
Mindset Shift 1: Embrace the Valleys: Running a family home while also running a one-person-business is tough, so don’t waste energy whining about it, roll-up your sleeves and embrace it.
In the book, Hardy talks about the peaks and valleys of life. That is, the roller-coaster of experiencing big successes verses the crushing lows of challenging situations. Hardy says that looking for a meaning when you're in the valley puts you in “The Gap” of comparison thinking. You’re wasting your energy crying that bad things happen to you, when instead you could focus on things happen for you to learn lessons that will make you better in the long run.
Hardy comments that good things happen because of what we do when we're in our valleys, and that we can experience higher peaks when we learn to accept, and work with our lowest valleys.
Mindset Shift 2: Be Psychologically Flexible: If you’re constantly complaining about how it’s easier for younger, childless creators, instead of devising solutions to overcome your challenges, then you’re not only stuck in “The Gap” but you’re also being “Psychologically Rigid”, according to Hardy.
Psychological rigidity is where you find it hard to adapt to changes in life because you’re maintaining a strict and inflexible approach to situations and problems. This mindset is going to hinder your ability to manage emotions, cope with stress, and could potentially lead to mental health issues. Here’s where we need to adopt the ability to be open to experiences, especially if they’re unpleasant, and adjust our mindset.
Being psychologically flexible means we’re not only able to easily adapt to changing situations, but we’re also able to come up with a ton of creative solutions to our challenges, and manage our emotions better.
Mindset Shift 3: Reframe the Story: The default for most people is to paint a negative story when the odds are stacked against them, but what most people don’t understand is that they can choose to rewrite it.
If you’re mind is tricking you into seeing yourself as a struggling “wantrepreneur”, juggling the overwhelm of family life with the burnout of building a business, then you need to turn it around and reframe it. I’m no psychology expert, but from personal experience I would say learning to do this in the beginning involves constantly training your mindset to quickly re-write the negative thought patterns.
How this works IRL - Instead of seeing myself as a struggling "wantrepreneur", I’m reframing it to: I’m a resilient solopreneur who is skilfully balancing family responsibilities while building a successful business.
Next Actions:
First: Consider setting aside a few minutes each day to journal about your experiences and reflect on the mindset shifts discussed in this article.
Next: Use your planner or journal to note any challenges you faced, how you applied these mindset shifts, and any changes you observed in your approach to content creation.
Finally: This regular reflection will help reinforce these new perspectives and track your progress over time.
Leverage the Power of Your Experience
As a midlife content creator, you have more life experience and wisdom to draw upon than your younger counterparts.
Use these mindset shifts to become more resilient, have a more positive outlook on challenges, and inspire the people around you. If you found this article helpful, please share it with other creators in your network.
Together, we can change the narrative and show the world the power of midlife content creators.
Chloe x
* Please note: I personally found and purchased this [Audible] book, but as an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases you may make after clicking these links.