Lately, I’ve been talking to a lot of people about age.
Sitting at tables, on the phone, in mentor sessions, and in boardrooms, there is a lot of fear behind these conversations.
When you look at the marketplace right now, there are retrenchments, mergers, redundancies, restructures, AI, and constant change.
So the fear for employment is real, and when it’s fuelled by age, relevance becomes a bigger issue.
The reality is we age. We can’t stop it.
People are not done.
But many are starting to feel like the system might be done with them.
This isn’t just about women.
Men very much feel it too.
And yes, ageism is real. In Australia, around one in four people over 50 report experiencing age discrimination at work, according to national research.
So when people start worrying about their age, it’s not imagined. When you couple this with societal perceptions of ageing and how older people are treated, the fear becomes substantiated, conditioned, and systemic.
But here’s what concerns me most.
What happens when that narrative gets inside your head.
When age stops being a number…
And starts becoming an identity.
When it begins shaping your mindset, your confidence, your energy, and your behaviour.
Because mindset leads to behaviour.
Behaviour shapes how you communicate and show up.
How you show up shapes results.
When people buy into the “age story” it doesn’t just sit in their head as a belief.
It changes how they show up.
It comes out as:
“I might be past my use-by date.”
“I’m in my 50’s or 60’s now.
“They’ll want someone younger.”
That energy is not neutral.
It limits you.
I’m 56. I’m proud of it. And I am so not done. If anything, I feel like I’m only getting started. After facing the threat of not being here at all, you stop wasting time shrinking. You stop negotiating with fear. You see things differently.
That’s why I refuse to buy into the BS. And I don’t want you to either.
And no, it’s not different for me. I’m not ignorant to how this works.
I want you to play your own game and not be limited by others.
If age has started playing on your mind, here are three things to reflect on.
- Do a Mindset Check-in: What thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes are running in your head about your age right now? Are they strengthening you? Or limiting you?Age is a number.
Not an identity.
Don’t let it become one. - Are you staying malleable? Are you adaptive. Curious. Eyes up about where your industry and market are going. Are you learning? Updating. Stretching. Positioning your skills intentionally and allowing others to see the potential in you?People don’t just become outdated. They also become disconnected. And that is optional.
- Are you protecting your relevance? If you want to be a key player and a valuable asset, you need to stay relevant.That means staying close to what matters.
To tools, trends, and the marketplace.Experience plus relevance is powerful.
Experience without relevance gets overlooked.
We are living longer. Working longer. Contributing longer. The idea that we have an expiry date is outdated.
You have lived a life.
You have worked with different leaders, organisations, clients, cultures.
You have a rich wardrobe of experience you can draw on in any season and for any occasion.
Use it.
Age is just a number.
Don’t be defined by it.
Don’t attach your identity to it.
Attach it to your growth, your impact, and the value you are still here to bring.
Because you are not done.
Not even close.
We will be chatting about this and so much more at the next Lead.Her Collective Dinner. Join us here