Well, hi there, my friends, and welcome back. My name is Stephanie Safarian, and you're listening to

Episode 578 of Sustainable Minimalists. This is a listener-supported show about intentional and

eco-friendly minimalist living. And on today's show, we're discussing the good and the not-so-good

of aging. Yes, we are breaking down the perfect storm of overwhelm that is the shifting hormones

and the mental load for those of us in our 40s and beyond. That's the not so good. But we're also

discussing the beautiful second act that many of us are stepping into around now. It's a time of increased assertiveness due to those

hormone shifts. It's also a time to embrace that I don't give a heck energy. And that is powerful

stuff. Society has given us many mixed messages about aging, hasn't it? Aging will make us

wiser, but it'll also make us irrelevant.

Aging will help us become financially secure, but on the flip side will be less attractive,

less desirable, perhaps even invisible.

Aging will give us more qualifications, but aging will also make us slow to learn and it'll become

harder to remember things. Which is it? Well, I think we, you and me, we get to decide for ourselves,

which it is. I'm turning 42 in a few short months. And as I get older and as I spend time with older women like myself,

I don't see irrelevance. I see power. I see women aging into themselves, women becoming wholly

authentic and less concerned about what anyone else has to say about it. I see women who

are throwing off patriarchal constructs

and embracing fuller lives. And no, they don't have to get Botox and fillers and plastic surgery

in order to do any of this. My guest today, her name is Stacey Hudson. She is the host of the

Next Phase podcast, and she's here today to remind us, myself included, that our best personal and professional successes may very well be yet to come. I love it. Stacey, so happy to have you on the show. How are you? I'm so good. I'm so good and I'm really excited to be here. It's fun to meet somebody that you feel like you know because you've listened to them plenty of times. I'm honored and I really love the work that you're doing. It's different. I will say it's very different and I mean that in the best way. I have a journalism background. And one thing I've noticed in podcasting is it's really easy to be a

softball interviewer because you just want to make everybody happy. And I don't think you do that,

which makes me a little nervous. It's in my nature. I'm a hardball type of lady.

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