Five to Thrive - Edition 16

Let's slow down a little!

May 29, 2026

Hello Thrive Seekers

Welcome to the latest edition of Five to Thrive.

In this bi-monthly compendium you’ll discover nuggets of inspiration, gather wisdom & resources, and read insights that’ll encourage and motivate you to prioritise your thriving, personally and professionally.

I’d love you to co-create with me, with suggestions on what to include - and you can do so in the comments at the end.

So, let’s start getting our thrive on!

1. Time flies

It’s mid afternoon and I’m sitting in a darkened room writing this for you - the blinds are closed to block out the sun’s rays.

Here we are in the middle of a heatwave in late May - earlier than ever before. Summer’s arrival this year has been like a bull in a china shop - brusque and brutal!

These last few days have reminded me of when we lived in France and endured multiple heatwaves of over 40 degrees (all without AC or a pool close by to dive into!)

Imagine doing that at the height of perimenopause, sometimes I wonder how or, if indeed, I stayed sane during those times. We thought we’d left that behind for the cooler summer climes of the North but it seems like climate change is catching up with us here too!

This unseasonably early heatwave appears to be a sign that things are changing at an ever-quickening pace. And this is fuelling an uneasy sense of uncertainty within me, and perhaps you too?

Maybe it’s a mirage, but right now everything seems to be a little upended, as if the world is turning on its axis at twice the speed it’s meant to!

Do you feel this too?

It’s not only unexpected heatwaves that are fuelling this, I’ve also noticed a surge in AI content flooding our screens and social media adding to this sense of change. All these endless stories about how it’s going to impact our lives, and how if we don’t jump on board right now then we’re going to get left behind.

These incessant narratives can sometimes feel like a tornado ripping through your mind. And it’s at times like this, I know for my own peace of mind, I need to press pause - to slow down, catch my breath, and tune back into my own innate curiosity.

So I did some research and yes it does seem that AI is speeding things up; it’s giving us instant answers, it’s prioritising productivity and output, while diminishing friction and downgrading critical thinking.

No wonder then that it’s seemingly accelerating time because convenience and speed have become the ultimate goal - and of course this comes with a cost.

Convenience in food was once sold to us as the holy grail, but we soon found out how bad that was for our bodies, and now this AI convenience is being foisted onto us, it doesn’t take a genius to imagine how that’s going to work out! I honestly don’t think our brains are designed to cope with the level of overwhelm we’re experiencing at the moment.

I also found out that as we age time does appear to go faster because our brains aren’t being fed enough temporal landmarks - distinct, memorable moments or milestones that stand out from the routine of daily life. And I can only conclude that technology is adding an additional layer of mundanity and mindlessness into our lives.

So what can we all do about this?

It’s time to take heed of the old adage ‘Variety is the spice of life’ and live a bit more like that! We need to be creating memorable human moments away from screens; thinking and reflecting in human time not tech time, going analogue every now and then, having conversations with strangers, or immersing ourselves in different cultures - whatever floats your boat really!

So I’m going to be upping my game in this respect, as I’ve come to realise that I too have given over too much of my life to screens and have been stuck in a spiral of routine.

I’ve just signed up to go to a 7am rave in Manchester in June, and am planning to visit the new cat cafe in town to hang out with the felines - two new, inexpensive experiences that I hope will bring me some temporal landmarks. I’ll let you know how I get on and if time really does slow down as a result!

What do you do to slow down time and create your own temporal landmarks? I’d love to hear!

2. Nostalgia

I’ve had Kylie’s ‘I’m Spinning Around’ song as a soundtrack in my brain for most of this week, and it feels kind of fitting considering what I said above.

As you may have guessed I’ve been watching the Kylie documentary on Netflix.

Now, I’m not a Kylie mega fan or anything, but I do remember watching Neighbours back in the late 80s and getting hooked! It was an escapism from A level revision and then Uni - or at least that’s what I tell myself.

And it wasn’t long after that she was everywhere singing the bubble gum tunes of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. If you’re a midlife woman you’ll probably remember them too as they seemed to burrow into your brain regardless of whether you liked them or not!

I wanted to watch the documentary as I was curious about how this woman, who was born in the same year as me, had carved a hugely successful career and what that journey was like from her own perspective.

I’m fascinated hearing other women’s stories, especially those in midlife, and while Kylie’s is certainly more extraordinary than most, I knew also that I’d get something out of hearing her side of the story.

It became clear as I watched, that behind the positive persona and petite frame, there was a woman who was strong, resilient and knew what she wanted.

The way that she dealt with the cruel and often misogynistic criticism early on in her career, the grief of losing the love of her life, to overcoming cancer twice, all whilst continually reinventing herself to stay relevant, showed me that she really is a remarkable woman.

And in a strange kind of way I related to her, especially when she talked about not having children and how that made her feel - tick, her experience of overcoming unexpected illness - tick, and her determination to do things her way - tick.

That’s the thing I love about women’s stories and why I believe it’s important we all get the opportunity to share ours. While superficially it may seem that we lead different lives and therefore have nothing to learn from each other, we can all find common threads beneath the surface that bring unexpected feelings of empathy, connection or validation.

So despite never having strutted around in a pair of skimpy gold hot pants (and somehow think that time is long gone now!), I felt a real connection to the ‘out of the limelight’ Kylie and what she’d been through!

She’s proof that no matter how successful you are, life will always throw you curveballs, and in finding your own way through these challenges, you’ll get closer to who you truly are, and that’s the beauty of a life lived!

3. Voices of Wisdom

Let me introduce you to Susanna Hancock, who I met first two years ago on LinkedIn. It was only when we moved to Manchester that I discovered she literally lived down the road from me!! We soon became friends over coffee, and our walk and talks around Sale Water Park are now legendary for the variety of topics that we cover - we literally don’t stop talking! So let me hand you over to her now to find out how what she does and how she’s thriving right now.

What do you do to help midlife women thrive?

I’ve been supporting midlife women for the past two years predominantly to help them find their place in a fast changing business world. For many, getting to midlife after decades of experience and success to then be dismissed, ignored, rejected and no longer considered relevant is painful. It also triggers bigger existential questions; Who am I now at this stage of life? Is what I’m doing making me happy or keeping me rooted to something I’ve hated for a long time? What does the future hold and what happens if I don’t know what to do next?

It can become a quagmire filled with doubt and uncertainty. I’ve been there myself. It’s only been very recently that I leaned into my own doubts and misgivings and had the courage to admit that what I was doing in my work was actually killing me inside.

So now, I’m helping midlife women to see that there’s a massive opportunity out in the real world, away from the noise and chaos of the screens to build a business, to earn a living, to live a life that feels like a holiday. I’m helping them to see that opportunity by watching me build it myself - a whole new focus at 57 that I feel so deeply in my bones is the best decision I’ve made in a long time.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a midlife woman wanting to find her thrive?

Tune out of the noise, quiet the brain, let it breathe and as it does, you allow fresh thoughts, ideas and possibilities to come in. And ultimately it is this. Let go. It will set you free.

How are you thriving right now?

I’m thriving and feeling more alive than I have in years because I’ve found my flow. I am building two very aligned businesses I designed to solve my own problem. During Covid and for a five year period, I experienced quite a lot of trauma as a result of circumstances and situations. I sought solace and peace in the online world. I could escape into it and lose hours in it where I didn’t have to feel anything. It was a hiding place for my nervous system. I was working but also letting my brain fill up with content, information, more ideas, a bit of doom scrolling. I was in the 69% of people who pick their phones up within 5 minutes of waking.

I was literally melting my brain, destroying my cognitive function, concentration and ability to make decisions. I can see now, I’d become digitally addicted and socially starved. I have great friends, family and work colleagues but working from home, led me to feel loneliness, defined by having lots of conversations via email, text, social media but not actually talking to people in the real world.

I knew I had to break out of the stagnation. So I’ve created new routines that are tech light and human heavy :) I’m sleeping better, have more energy, wake up earlier and love it, and I’ve let my brain return its currency to me.

The new businesses, Fika + Friends and Unscreen are giving me what I need - social connection and a deep desire to be in my life rather than watching it, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt in midlife?

Great question. I’ve realised that unless I fill my own cup no-one else is going to do it for me and ultimately this one life we have is so bloody short, we have to run at it with everything we have!

Who do you think is truly living in her thrive?

I always reference Trinny because she’s made her passion her life and has made midlife women feel seen and valued in all our glorious forms.

To find out more about Susanna and what she does: Substack LinkedIn Tik Tok

Instagram - @wearefikafriends.

4. Will you buy me a coffee?

I’ve been writing about my own midlife ups and downs here for nearly three years now, and over this time have written probably close to 100,000 words for you. Bringing you my own lived experiences and perspectives as well as insights from other midlife women.

I’m proud of the back catalogue of articles I’ve created that anyone can access for free here.

So, I have a question for you, if you’ve enjoyed, and got something of my writing over this time, would you consider buying me a coffee (and a cake if you’re feeling generous?!)

You see, substack is set up in such a way that it encourages you to sign up for a monthly or annual subscription and I know for many of you this is just not possible.

And to be honest, I don’t like putting my writing behind a paywall either.

So I’ve set up an opportunity for you to make a one-off payment on my Fifty Thrive stripe account if you want to support me and what I do for you here.

Any amount is appreciated - see it as an opportunity for you to buy me a virtual coffee!

Thank you so much x

5. Thrive nugget

Have you heard of Dr Rangan Chatterjee? He’s a Mancunian doctor who’s become a successful podcaster, author and champion of healthy living.

He always has great guests on his podcast Feel Better, Live More and I like his style as he’s measured and insightful, rather than sensationalist as some more well known podcasters have become.

He focuses on how to feel better in the world we live in right now and has guests on to talk about things like screen time and mental health.

I particularly enjoyed this episode which focused on overwhelm with Pippa Grange who’s a psychologist, performance coach, and author.

So take some time out and have a listen, especially if you’re feeling like your life is spiralling at the moment!

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition - if you have any comments then please do share them with me.

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