My Glorious Forties Self-Inventory

Posted on by

I turned forty last January, and I kept having the idea that I should do a personal inventory about my health and well-being. The idea would not leave me alone, so finally, I spent a couple hours yesterday doing what I call “My Glorious Forties Self-Inventory.” I enjoyed the exercise so much, I think I will do it quarterly.

I want to live my forties in a way that is intentional and conscious. Menopause is on the way! I was blindsided by postpartum depression, and I do not want to just whistle along obliviously until I wake up in the middle of one night, wondering Holy shit, was that a hot flash? I want to understand this transition. I want to understand myself. I want to celebrate being a woman in her forties!

My self-inventory was definitely a step toward intentionally and consciously living my best life possible as a woman in her forties. (Psst, I’m in the process of taking another big step in that direction in the form of a new podcast. Stay tuned!)

Here are the subjects I covered, in case you are interested in taking your self-inventory:

  • The Date
  • My age
  • Height (I did not actually measure myself! I need to get the husband to do this before the next inventory. I’d like to see if I shrink or if I can gain a little height with yoga and pilates.)
  • Weight (I hated putting this at the beginning of the inventory, but as my therapist observed today, weight is an ongoing issue for me. I think it is the health issue that acts as a barometer of my overall wellness. The past six months were stressful what with Julian’s preschool closure, and coincidentally, I gained twenty pounds during those six months… I’d like to pay more attention to my weight so that the next time the numbers creep upward, I can hit the pause button and reflect upon what is happening and why.)
  • Nutrition: I thought about what I am doing well and then what areas could use some improvement.
  • Supplements that I am taking
  • Medications that I am taking, including my plan to wean off the anti-anxiety medication I take at bedtime.
  • Sleep – how well I am sleeping (fantastic!) and what I am doing to get my best Zzzz’s
  • Eyes and vision: I need to pay attention because I will need reading glasses eventually.
  • Shoulder and back: I have had some ongoing pain here. I reflected on what helps minimize the pain. I do not have a section about my knees in my self-inventory, but a lot of friends have complained to me about knee pain. Maybe I need to add a section about my knees in my next inventory so I can celebrate the health issues that I do not have?
  • Motherhood – issues, triumphs, mindset
  • Play and Fun: I do have fun in my life and I do play, but I realized I need to pay more attention to this area of my life.
  • Nature and Fresh Air: critical to my mental health
  • Fitness
  • My Inner Call: Oh, my inner call. I need to write about this. And podcast about this. And then write a book about it. The older I get, the more I realize that so much of my life is about listening to and honoring my inner call.
  • Journaling: As I write out this list, I realize there are so many ways that the self-inventory would vary from woman to woman. Journaling is vital to me, but for you, it might be about baking or gardening or yodeling.
  • Energy
  • Mood
  • Menstrual Cycle
  • Sex (and that’s all I’m writing on the subject, ahem, because sex is between me and the husband. But I wanted to mention it because I think this is something women should pay attention and be curious about.)
  • Perimenopause? Right now: I have no idea! I need to read more about perimenopause before I decide if I have entered that phase of my life or not.
  • Brain (or lack thereof) (I kid) (but not really)
  • Femininity: this is an emerging focus for me. Something that requires my attention.
  • Beauty, a.k.a. I buy all the face masks but never use them.
  • Reproductive health (translation: I need to schedule my next damn pap smear!)
  • Relaxation
  • Connections and Relationships
  • Spirituality: I completely forgot to cover this topic! Definitely adding to the next self-inventory.
  • INFJ: This is my personality type. I would like to read more about being an INFJ so I can take better care of myself AND I would like to learn about the enneagram.
  • Stress
  • Feelings
  • My values
  • My current mindset
  • Boundaries
  • Therapy
  • Alcohol
  • Self-care
  • Painting and drawing (or whatever gets your creative juices flowing!)
  • Homework (as in homework I gave myself to do over the next three months, not as in Pippa’s first grade homework which is driving me insane – new math? WTF?)

Whew! My self-inventory ended up being eight pages long. By the end, I was drained but in a good way. If doing a self-inventory sounds interesting, I highly recommend that you do one for yourself. It is a great act of self-care.