I recently came across the idea of a Life Quake by Bruce Feiler, and it immediately gelled with something I see in the careers of women I work with all the time.

Every 5-7 years, something shifts. It is not always dramatic or externally visible, but it is enough to make you question whether what you are doing still fits who you have become.

In careers, this often shows up in a very specific way that can leave us wondering what else might be possible.

You Start Making “Sensible” Decisions

Somewhere in our 50s, many women begin to recalibrate. They prioritise security over stretch, choose certainty over possibility, and adjust their ambition to what feels realistic at this stage of life and career.

On the surface, this looks like maturity.

But often, it is something else.

Because “sensible” can quietly become a ceiling.

You Feel It — Even If You Haven’t Named It Yet

You are not unhappy, and from the outside, things look good.

You are respected, you deliver and you really know your stuff.

But there is a quiet sense that something has shifted — the role that once stretched you now feels like a container that’s too small.

The conversations are familiar, the impact is solid but no longer exciting you as it once did

You may also be noticing that you are the one holding things together, solving problems, and keeping momentum, while others with less depth or experience seem to move ahead more visibly or more quickly.

And that creates a different kind of tension.

Not necessarily urgency and not dissatisfaction either.

But a sense that if you are going to make a move from here, it needs to be the right one.

This Is the Career Quake

This is not a crisis.

It is a misalignment between who you have become, how you are currently operating and who you want to become in the future. And as lives and careers expand in an era of women living longer, this is important.

Unfortunately, this point, many women are encouraged to double down on being sensible – sensible about what’s possible, sensible about age-appropriate ambition and sensible about finances. This means they stay where they are, focus on stability, and wait for more clarity before making a move.

In doing so, we unintentionally keep the ceiling exactly where it is.

At this stage of your career, it is rarely capability that holds you back.

It is the story you begin to tell yourself about what is appropriate now, what is realistic, and what should be enough.

That story sounds logical, which is why it is so easy to accept without questioning it.

What If This Is Not a Time to Pull Back?

What if this phase of your career is not about consolidating, but about stepping forward in a more deliberate and strategic way?

Not through more effort, but through greater intent.

This includes being more precise about where you add value, more visible in how you communicate that value, and more intentional about the direction you are shaping.

Because the women I work with are not running out of runway. They are standing at the edge of a much more expansive one.

If This Is Resonating Join Me in Byron Bay

That sense that something is shifting, even if you cannot fully articulate it yet, is worth paying attention to.

It is exactly this conversation that led to our last retreat selling out.

As a result, I have opened two new retreats for late 2026 – in an amazing Villa in Byron.

Both are designed for women at this exact inflection point, who want the space to think more strategically about what comes next, not only in terms of roles, but also in terms of identity, energy, influence, and leadership.

If this resonates, I encourage you to explore it further.

Read more here.

Request an invitation here, or Drop me a note to start a conversation.