Edited_ Ep. #65 Challenging Ageism and Thriving in Your Next Chapter with Guadalupe Hirt
Guadalupe Hirt: [00:00:00] So you need to create the regimen of what it means to age. Beautifully for you, right? Like on your terms, what do I want? What do I need to make me feel the best that I can not necessarily check in the box for someone else.
Michelle Fox: Welcome to Nourish with Michelle Fox, your guide to a vibrant life after 40! If consistency has been a challenge for you and you occasionally forget self-care, you, my friend are in the right place. Tune in for weekly inspiration to nourish your mind. I know your plate's full and I want to help you support a life and a body that you adore. Let's dig in.
Michelle Fox: Tell me, do you have one of these people in your lives that when they come on the scene, whether you're meeting them at a networking event, or you're running into them at the store, or let's say you are [00:01:00] purposefully meeting with this person, and something inside of you just Lights up because of their goodness, because of their radiance, because of your admiration for them.
Michelle Fox: Well, I will tell you that one of those people is Guadalupe Hirt, and she is here with us today to chat middlescence and all things pro age, pro woman, pro empowerment. And so I am so excited to jump into this conversation. And before I bring her on, Let me just read her bio. So, you know, a little bit more about this powerhouse.
Michelle Fox: So Guadalupe Hurt is a four time entrepreneur, pro aging advocate, and middle lessons life strategist. Yes, ma'am. She pens the LinkedIn blog, Dear Middlescent, a pro aging stance on the beauty, truths, and opportunities of middlescence.
Michelle Fox: She's a Next Avenue [00:02:00] Influencer and Aging Honoree. Facebook Community Accelerator alum and Encore Network board member. So Guadalupe Hirt, welcome to the show.
Guadalupe Hirt: Hey girl, thank you so much for having me on. What a beautiful intro, blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for that.
Michelle Fox: I'm so grateful. And right before we hit the record button, you and I were kind of touching on the parts that are history, like we've started.
Michelle Fox: You know, back in the day, we'll just say when things didn't quite look as, as radiant as they do today. How about that?
Guadalupe Hirt: No doubt, right? I can't believe it's already been several years now. What's it been like at least four years, roughly? When you for three or four or so when you started with us? yeah, no, I mean, I think we were all kind of like.
Guadalupe Hirt: Hitting the ground, enthusiastic about what we had on the horizon and what we were working towards, but definitely we were crawling, not yet quite walking to that horizon, but I love to see [00:03:00] where we're at now, man. It's kind of cool to look back and see where all the, the blood, sweat and tears and, and where it got us to today for sure.
Guadalupe Hirt: And the fact that you turned a year, the fact that we were just talking, you turn a year with your
Michelle Fox: podcast. Yes, I feel so honored. Yes. And truthfully, as I said, at the top with this intro, like you have been one of those women in my life who you raised your hand first and were like, Yes, I am here for empowering women and yes, I will show up.
Michelle Fox: So thank you for being a leading force in my world. Oh, well, girl, right
Guadalupe Hirt: back at you. Takes awesome to recognize awesome is all I'm going to say to that. So I love, I love, I love when women can be honest and support each other and get over this whole me versus you and just be like, Hey, there's room for all of us.
Guadalupe Hirt: The world shines bigger and brighter is all I got to say to that. Yes.
Michelle Fox: And before we jump into the juicy goodness of the world [00:04:00] of middlescence, I would love to invite you to play a rapid fire game with me.
Guadalupe Hirt: Are you? Yep. Let me just crack my back here. Let's get going.
Michelle Fox: Here we go. Okay. So when I say sweet, salty, or savory, what pops up for you? Salty. Popcorn.
Guadalupe Hirt: I love me some popcorn.
Michelle Fox: All right. I know that you are a super biz woman. And so when we're looking at your inbox, would you say inbox zero or inbox 10, 000?
Guadalupe Hirt: Girl, I just cleaned it out like the other day. So I, I can honestly say zero, but usually I fall into the other category.
Michelle Fox: That sounds about right. Yeah. Okay. Bye. Now, last but not least, would you be willing to share a memory? From your childhood surrounding the kitchen.
Guadalupe Hirt: Ooh, okay. Yes. So my mom makes [00:05:00] hands down. Sorry. Any other Latinas listening out to your podcast, but she makes the best tamales on the face of the earth. It is a Christmas tradition that we have done for as long as I can remember, like legit.
Guadalupe Hirt: It's gone from house to house in our family. Now that my mom is 83 and no longer partakes in that. She sits in her comfy chair and directs us on how to still make tamales. And I love it because it's one of those things that now, you know, here in our own home, my husband takes on Thanksgiving and we have the traditional Thanksgiving, but I still do the tamales for Christmas.
Guadalupe Hirt: And every time I do it, it's a beautiful, nostalgic connection to my mom, even though she's in California and I'm in Denver. So it's a way to keep us connected regardless of geography.
Michelle Fox: Hmm. That is incredible. I'll tell you a side story. My daughter, one of her BFFs, his mom makes the most amazing tamales. It sounds like maybe we won't compare too much, but I will just say I take him home a lot from school.
Michelle Fox: [00:06:00] And in return, his mother feeds me tamales. And I'm like, thank you. And yes, please keep them coming.
Guadalupe Hirt: There's nothing like food. Food is a valuable and viable currency, in my opinion, right? Like, I feel like it is legit. You take care of my kid, I'll feed you some tamales. I think that sounds like a fair trade.
Michelle Fox: Thank you. It's working. Well, thank you for playing. That was beautiful. Yay. So then to jump into middlescence, right? Let's just go right away because you represent a lot of the women in my community, which means we are over 40. We are typically going through some type of transition, whether that's, you know, a child leaving the house or changing careers or going through a divorce or moving from, you know, corporate to entrepreneurship, like so many transitions.
Michelle Fox: And so. With that said, like Just even the term middlescence, I think you actually coined that, [00:07:00] like where, where did that come from and what does that mean to you?
Guadalupe Hirt: Oh, I would love to say that I coined it, but I cannot take that credit. It actually was something that we heard from Barbara Waxman, but I believe it was even originated before we heard it even from her.
Guadalupe Hirt: But it is a term really to describe, I think what you just hit on the nose. The life stage that's so full of all, you know, it's full of beautiful change. It's full of new experiences, new opportunities, new self discovery. Like it is filled with so much, just like any other previous life stage we've gone through, right?
Guadalupe Hirt: Like childhood adolescence, right? How much did we not, you know, did we change? And then some, right. Except at that point in time, we had someone guiding us through it in middlescence, unfortunately, because it Such a relatively kind of new, emerging way of thinking of life at 40, 50 plus, we're kind of navigating it on our own and trying to figure it out.
Guadalupe Hirt: And so I love that we are getting behind the term middlescence because it's truly a beautiful stage of life for this. This time period in,discovery, but [00:08:00] I think it's also, it kind of lends for me to opens the idea of just, you know, the potential of whatever you want to do in your life, you know, whatever you're going through, you're going to get out on the other side and you're going to come out even stronger and more awesome than you started out with.
Guadalupe Hirt: And so it's a beautiful kind of life journey that we're all on together in essence.
Michelle Fox: And I love how you say there's no real roadmap. With the work that I do, a lot of that comes back around perimenopause and menopause. And I like to share with my clients how we can use nutrition to support a woman during this lifestyle.
Michelle Fox: But in that conversation, oftentimes it comes up, well, how come nobody told me? Why didn't my mom tell me? And you know, it could have been whether it was a taboo. You know, issue back in our mom's day, and or maybe they didn't even know that they were going through menopause or perimenopause. And so not having a roadmap comes up a lot in the education that I do.
Michelle Fox: But for you, I mean, you've [00:09:00] had a fascinating journey just through a lot of transitions. Would you be willing to just walk us through some of the parts of your journey?
Guadalupe Hirt: I was gonna say parts because girl, I'd be like, do you have an like two hours, three hours? And I know your podcast ain't that long, so you know, okay.
Guadalupe Hirt: First, I love the fact that we don't have the roadmap. I feel, even though I know a lot of us are trying to kind of start to put some ideas and concepts about what one could expect in middlescence, just like, you know, perimenopause or menopause or kind of certain things that we know happened during this life stage, I think it is, is truly a stage of.
Guadalupe Hirt: you know, exploring of exploration. And I think it's almost kind of like untamed exploration because I think each one of us is a unique person. And so my journey is going to look totally different than what your journey look. Will there be some common alleys? Absolutely. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a one size fits all.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I think that's, what's really freaking cool about this stage of life. As far as where I've been [00:10:00] girl, well, you and I kind of connected on the whole second act women thing, which my, my other girl, Barbara Brooks is still spearheading and doing a fab job doing so. but yeah, yeah. You know, I, I mean, I basically started off, as a former associate producer and, I started out, on a project called Project Enya, and it was a, a video kind of documentary in essence, focused on the intersection of cultural identity and belonging, but really from the lens of a first generation American born Latina.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I did that for like five years. Once I turned like about 45 ish, I, you know, my career has always been so zigzagging. I mean, I'm originally a PR and communication specialist, but my life, and I think. The connections and steps I've taken. I've really, I've really taken me to like on a zigzag career route, which in, you know, when you're going through it, you're like, I have no direction.
Guadalupe Hirt: What am I doing? Hindsight 2020. Now, looking back, I'm like, oh, heck yeah, this is all strings beautifully together. And is the reason why I'm at where I'm at right now. [00:11:00] I'm loving it. and so I kind of started in that route, did that for about five years, moved on from that, went into second act women, which is where you and I kind of connected.
Guadalupe Hirt: And really dove into aging and, but not just aging from like, Hey, it happens to all of us, but like pro aging, you know, making sure that we're all like super freaking proud about the fact that we get to live on this earth another year and be, doing our thing and live in life on our terms and not necessarily by how others see us.
Guadalupe Hirt: And so it's this idea of changing hearts and minds around what it is to age, because right now, unfortunately, it is still one of the most socially acceptable isms out there that can be made fun of. And I think sometimes people don't realize the magnitude of their words and impact when, you know, you get that over 40 or over the hill or, you know, you look good for your age comment.
Guadalupe Hirt: I look good for 50. This is what 50 looks like now, right? Like, you know, mic drop. I don't need to be [00:12:00] told it's for your, you know, for your age or whatever. But if you would have told me that you're gonna go down that route, I would have said no clue. I don't, I didn't, I would have never even have thought that I would be have.
Guadalupe Hirt: I would have dove into that space and be interested actually in the work that kind of came of it. So big props to my girl, Barb, for that, because she actually was the one who initially brought this idea to life. And I kind of sort of jumped on the bandwagon and helped her grow it. Since then, though, I rode three beautiful years of a second act women, but then I hit a wall.
Guadalupe Hirt: I, I really experienced burnout for all my entrepreneurs out there. You know how that is, right? Like, I know I'm preaching to the choir when you say you're like. All departments, 24, 7, 365 days of the year, you know,
Michelle Fox: Let me ask you something. Are you ready for more connection? I know I am. And that is why I would like to invite you to nourish the [00:13:00] membership where we are building community. We are boosting your health and we are finding new ways to have fun with social media. Get access to exclusive workshops and expert insights teaching you how to create irresistible content in a supportive environment. Plus we'll nourish your body with mouthwatering recipes,
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Guadalupe Hirt: So I will say that the fruits of our labor were definitely worth it.
Guadalupe Hirt: I think she's rocking now, like almost a 5, 000 plus community and Facebook, 17, 000 overall across all of her platforms. So, I mean. The work is important and the efforts that we put forth definitely [00:14:00] garnered some awesome results. But then I also saw the effects of it on myself. And I needed to recognize that, hey, you know what, this is probably not the best route.
Guadalupe Hirt: It's not suiting you. There was a lot of financial stress in my, in my family, hardships on my marriage, me personally, just going through, you know, mental, crises about, you know, what am I doing with the rest of my life? Where is this going? And so in November last year, I decided to take a self prescribed sabbatical and kind of jumped on board and said, now's the time.
Guadalupe Hirt: And that's where I've been for the last, almost last year now, crazy to think. Good for
Michelle Fox: you. And when you say self subscribed, Sabbatical. Tell us more, because I see you. Like, you look active. You're doing the writing. You're doing the acting. You're doing the networking. So, do we agree with the definitions of sabbatical?
Michelle Fox: Right? I'm like, it looks like it's still working. I'm out on the beach with a, with a Mai Tai's.
Guadalupe Hirt: Well, I did do [00:15:00] that actually a little bit this summer. So no, so a self prescribed sabbatical to me is something that I actively chose to do. And it was for me, my interpretation was I needed to step away from my day to day routine.
Guadalupe Hirt: We all have routines, right? And I needed to shake it up with a few things that. I wasn't just going to say yes to you that got, that came my way. It wasn't things that I went out in search of. So I am a board member of the Encore network that I joined in January. That came to me as a result of my work with Second Act Women.
Guadalupe Hirt: Love what I'm doing there to kind of change the narrative and support our over 50 communities still through social and civic work. I started penning the right, you know, writing that dear middlescence and that came really from just my love of writing, but also from the fact that I wanted to share my journey.
Guadalupe Hirt: I wanted to normalize this concept of it's okay to lose your shit. I mean, you know, and be like, I got to step away from life for right now. Check out and just let God and life lead me and see [00:16:00] where it takes me. And so for me, that's kind of really the root of the sabbatical. It was this idea of kind of getting off the hamster wheel for a little bit and just saying yes to life, saying yes to whatever came forth to me.
Guadalupe Hirt: That sounded good. That felt good. And so for me, I've really been able to kind of reconnect with my values through that work. And I think that's the kind of like the cornerstone of my sabbatical. It's not that I kind of totally took time off, but rather I took time to just Reconnect with myself and find things that that truly lit me up in ways that I had not been in tune with for a while.
Michelle Fox: Has anything surprised you during this process?
Guadalupe Hirt: Yes, I actually know how to play piano now. I have never took piano in my whole life. And then I decided that, you know, was it in March of this year? I'm like, I'm going to play piano. And so I got myself a teacher. I've started to play piano. Love it. It's challenging.
Guadalupe Hirt: I'm not going to, you know, diminish it's, [00:17:00] it's hard work. But I feel, I don't know, girl, like it's crazy. I feel for me, like life, was great before, but life is stellar now. Like I feel a new sense of awakening of, of lightness, of love of life and zest for exploration and newness that I think You know, was always there, but it was just dormant and it was preoccupied with all the tasks activities responsibilities to do lists that we all often times get buried under.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I didn't have the shovel. I've got a shovel now.
Michelle Fox: How powerful. And I. know, at least a little bit about you that I know is that you are a seeker. Like you are seeking the, the higher level of how to show up in the world. And you're seeking the information to make your life a better place. And so for my listeners [00:18:00] who are with us, what advice would you give to them?
Michelle Fox: If they're looking at you like, well, good for her, she can take a sabbatical. You know, I've got three kids and a husband and a full time job. Like, how can that listener perhaps come to some of this understanding that you have come to as well? Yeah.
Guadalupe Hirt: No, I, I will a hundred percent agree. It is a privilege and a blessing to be where I'm at and to have been able to do what I, what I do.
Guadalupe Hirt: And if you have that opportunity, highly encourage it. If you are, like you say, in real life and with real responsibilities right now. You know, I mean, I feel like you could do little things, you know, I actually wrote an article for my, for my Dear Middlescent blog, and you should check it out. It's all about, if you can't take a real sabbatical, what can I do in the meantime?
Guadalupe Hirt: And I gave tips like, you know what, if you commute to work and you ride the same. Like a route every day, drive somewhere different, take a different route, figure out something that takes you into a new scenery, puts you in a new kind of environment and [00:19:00] introduces you to new things that maybe you just didn't even know, like a new Target that just opened up over there or whatever.
Guadalupe Hirt: Right. Like, but just this idea that kind of just shake up your everyday. Right. So it could also be the simple act if you want to be more aware of, and be more connected to yourself. Like legit put the time on the calendar. I know we always say good intention. I'm gonna meditative day. I'm going to go work out today where I'm going to, you know, do whatever to fill my cup and then.
Guadalupe Hirt: Life happens and that goes by the wayside. Write that on your calendar, make the time so that when you get the opportunity and that, you know, that reminder ticks off on your alarm, you're like, okay, this is me time and you physically get up and get out and do your thing. I think also for me, another, just like easy little tip.
Guadalupe Hirt: This is my office that I'm talking to you from, but boy, in the summer I was working outside in the backyard. I was working downstairs. I had all these little remote spots. I even went to different coffee shops on [00:20:00] purpose. Like I didn't go to the same one. And I got to meet a whole bunch of random people.
Guadalupe Hirt: And. It's amazing what I think you can, the energy that all of a sudden starts to go through you when you just shake up life a little bit, not, you know, to the, to the extent that I did, but even in baby steps. So little things like that, I think can go a long way to really kind of giving you, a new outlook, if anything.
Guadalupe Hirt: For that one given day that you choose to do that.
Michelle Fox: I'm also hearing in your explanation, this idea of permission and giving ourselves permission to pay attention to ourselves and to protect that time on the calendar that is just for us.
Guadalupe Hirt: Absolutely. And I think so many women oftentimes Feel guilty for doing that feel like it's, Oh my gosh, I need to take care of my child or, Oh my God, I need to cook dinner.
Guadalupe Hirt: I need to go grocery. Well, girl, let me tell you, like that's going to always be here. And it doesn't always fall on your [00:21:00] shoulders. That's why, you know, if you've got a partner, a friend or a husband or whatever, like lean on them, we need to start learning how to ask for help so that we can have the time to be able to take care of ourselves.
Guadalupe Hirt: Cause you can't feel someone else's cup when yours is already on. on, you know, low or empty altogether. So be mindful of that because you're doing nobody any good showing up, you know, empty, you know, and feeling like you're already lost before you even try to help someone else.
Michelle Fox: Preach. Preach. So let's go back to the ageism piece.
Michelle Fox: I know recently you were on a very impactful panel where the idea of ageism came up in a lot of different areas. And so what I know is that there's a lot of misconceptions out there about aging and particularly aging gracefully. We hear that term a lot. Will you just talk to us a little bit about your experience with that and how you're using your voice to perhaps.[00:22:00]
Michelle Fox: Educate us about what it means to age gracefully.
Guadalupe Hirt: You hit it on the nose. I mean, there are so, people look at aging in so many different, through so many different lenses. And some, you know, align obviously with the social cultural norms that we've inherited from generation to generation about what it means to age, right?
Guadalupe Hirt: And I think what, what it meant to age, you know, even a decade, two decades ago, versus what it means now is totally different because we now have access to like yourself, you know, healthy leaders that are kind of leading us to make good food decisions. We're living more vibrant, dynamic lives. We have access to better health care.
Guadalupe Hirt: And so the longevity aspect is now giving us opportunity to say, Oh, you know what? Life ain't going to end at 50, 60. We're going to keep going. I mean, in fact, some of us are living to like 80, 90. Plus like, I think the average age is like 70, mid seventies for guys and over 80 for women. Is, is currently the, the age that we live to.
Guadalupe Hirt: And [00:23:00] I think with that said, I think it, that's gonna, because we're not no longer in that same kind of timeframe or same type of aging that we were two, three decades ago, we need to evolve and we need to start to recognize that as a result of these, you know, having access to these resources and now new way of lifestyle, you know, new lifestyle.
Guadalupe Hirt: That's going to mean we're going to open up the doors to re script what it really means to age. I mean, look at us, like this is what 50 looks like now, right? Like if you tell somebody when I was 20, I would look at someone 50 and I was like, Ooh, I'm not sure I want to get to 50 right now it's like I'm 50 and I'm like, Ooh, I want to get to 60 and I want to get to 70 and I want to, you know, and I want to live the best life that I can.
Guadalupe Hirt: And you know, sometimes I have issues with the word gracefully or aging gracefully because I think, you know, What does that mean? They're like, are we going to age gracefully or not gracefully? So it's the counter of it, right? So the idea that I think it's a matter of just aging on your terms. And for me, that really, you know, [00:24:00] through my work and through my blog and through what we're doing with Encore Network is really saying, Hey, you know what?
Guadalupe Hirt: Don't believe all the inherited beliefs that we have all been kind of. forced to assume and subscribe to you instead, chart your own path. So if I want to be 50 and want to be lifting 225 pounds at the gym, then I'm going to do that, right? Cause I can. And that means I'm going to take care of me. And what does that involve?
Guadalupe Hirt: I'm going to eat better. I'm going to do this, get sleep, whatever. Right? So you need to create the regimen of what it means to age. Beautifully for you, right? Like on your terms, what do I want? What do I need to make me feel the best that I can not necessarily check in the box for someone else.
Guadalupe Hirt: You know, if you, I'm also a big proponent, if you want to color your hair, you don't want to color your hair. You want to get Botox. You don't want to get Botox. Hey girl, guy on you, you do what makes you feel better. Right. But don't do it to, to, you know, serve me or to fit into any other, you know, any other box, because that's not where you belong.
Guadalupe Hirt: So, for me, it's this idea of the life's [00:25:00] unleashed. At 40, 50 plus, you know, what's up, what's, what do you want to do and how are you going to get there? That should be the question that you're asking yourself. Not like, oh my gosh, life's over. No, it's just getting started. It's a matter of how you approach it and your own personal outlook on Yes,
Michelle Fox: yes, yes, yes. And three of the pillars we focus on here at MFCN are of course, nutrition, fitness, and mindset. And when it comes to the conversation around aging, I know you're very big on the mindset piece, because you and I both know people who can often complain of, Oh, I didn't get that job because I'm too old or, Oh, or even worse, it breaks my heart is, Oh, I can't go for that job because I'm too old.
Michelle Fox: And I'm always want to be like, no, time out. Like you get to be who you want to be. But do you see that as well? Like, do you. feel like ageism is still a real thing out in the workforce?
Guadalupe Hirt: So, so [00:26:00] yes. So ageism statistically, and through research and unfortunate studies show that it's Alive and well. Now, there's two parts to that, though, right?
Guadalupe Hirt: Like, I know that there are organizations out there that are fighting the good fight to get legislation in place to advocate for for rights for older, for older folks and ensure that everyone is given a fair chance. Like, I mean, even if we do audits of how organizations are structured, their hiring practices, their layoff practices.
Guadalupe Hirt: You can see real trends that, are really kind of geared towards our, our younger counterparts. And not to say that it's a us versus them, but what we're advocating through our work is that there has to be a bridge that's built between us. I mean, right now there's like five generations at work in the workplace.
Guadalupe Hirt: Five. So you got
Guadalupe Hirt: to
Michelle Fox: figure out. Can we pause for that, Ramona? I'm like, my brain just did a little spin. I'm like, wait a minute. What does that mean?
Guadalupe Hirt: Like it goes all the way from like the silent [00:27:00] generation to the millennials to Gen Z, what's the other one? Gen Y or no Gen Z. And then like, there's just like a whole bunch, like, I can't remember all of them, but legit there's five generations potentially could be working in the same workplace.
Guadalupe Hirt: And so for me, so for me, I'm like, okay, so where's that opportunity? The business opportunity is leveraging a little bit of Gen Z, a little bit of, you know, millennia, a little bit of boomer, a little bit, you know, silent. Like, Imagine the wealth that you could parlay if you decided to actually look at people as As valuable sources of knowledge, different experiences, different life, you know, paths and be able to kind of bring it all together for the good of your business of your community, whatever it might be right.
Guadalupe Hirt: That's one element and I know that a lot of organizations are out there fighting the good fight to ensure that that happens. I think on the flip side what you're talking about and what I'm really kind of very passionate about is this internalized ageism, [00:28:00] which. Is unfortunately alive and well in many of us and it's the idea, like what you were saying, I can't go for that job.
Guadalupe Hirt: I'm too old. I can't wear that. I'm too old. I can't, I can't, I can't write like our vocabulary centers around. I can't versus I can. And we limit ourselves, unfortunately, because of what we hear or what we believe or what we've inherited to believe about. Aging. And I think that's where I think we all do us our disservice.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I think that's where those mental exercises of recalibrating re scripting that narrative. I can wear that. You know, and I'm going to pair it with this and I'm going to do this and here's and I'm going to feel confident in it. And so it's a matter of pushing yourself a little bit, you know, talking back and talking down that ageist, belief or idea that we all harbor inside us.
Guadalupe Hirt: We're all ages. So don't think that you're any different than I am. I have that conversation on the regular as well, too. But being brave enough to recognize that and then actually address it, [00:29:00] confront it, and start to create patterns of change so that we can give ourselves permission to live our lives the way exactly we want to, that's the end goal.
Guadalupe Hirt: But that starts with a lot of mental recalibrating and being aware of what you're telling us,and changing. What doesn't serve us no more. I have to tell you
Michelle Fox: just a practical example. Just yesterday, I was driving Angel, my daughter driving her home from work and I forgot to pull my glasses out.
Michelle Fox: And I'm like, Oh, shoot, I'm getting old now. Can't keep forgetting my glasses. And I caught myself. I'm like, Oh, wait, I mean, let me reaffirm that. I'm like, I just need to get better at bringing my glasses. And so I'm like, there are little ways that I guess I still, I feel like maybe I'm ageist towards myself and, and I don't want to be,
Guadalupe Hirt: but like how fabulous you had the wherewithal to say, Hey, I just said something that wasn't cool to myself or that was [00:30:00] very ageist.
Guadalupe Hirt: I'm going to re script that and tell myself something different. And so what you're doing is you're building also new neuroplasticity, you know, connections in your own brain saying, Hey, the next time that I say this, this is going to be my answer. It's not going to be that it's going to be this. And so that's where the beauty, the potential for growth and for just.
Guadalupe Hirt: Creating that life that you really love at any age, 50, 60, 70 plus, right? Like there's no, no expiration date to you. It's the only, it's the, the, you only expire if you know, once you're, once you've passed, but between then and now you got a life to live. And so it's your job, your life, your job to make the best of it.
Guadalupe Hirt: You're the steward of that. And that's your responsibility. So we're just here to assist and help you make sure that you do right by you, but that starts and ends with you and your willingness to do that.
Michelle Fox: So I want to highlight something that you recently wrote in your amazing LinkedIn. Dear Middlescent or my friends who are [00:31:00] On LinkedIn, please go follow Guadalupe Hirt.
Michelle Fox: We'll put a link in the show notes, of course. On the most recent, I'm just gonna read this because I just thought it was so powerful when you pretty much gave us the charge and called us forward to know that we are in community and that we are all in this together. But to bring the conversation forward,
Michelle Fox: You suggested to use your voice to speak up against ageism. Amen. From the water cooler to the big stage. So yes, wherever it pops up, use your voice. You said talk down your own internalized ageism. You and I just spoke about that. So thanks for pointing that out. You said expand your personal and professional network to include people of all ages.
Michelle Fox: I think that's a biggie. I want to actually want to circle back to that. Number four, you said, realize no one is young forever. So treat everyone with the respect you would like to receive at their age. And then [00:32:00] five in all caps, which I love you said, live your life on your terms. Amen. Yes. And so to circle back to number three, expand your personal and professional network to include people of all ages.
Michelle Fox: I feel like as a kid, I was that kid that always had. Friends from two grades up and two grades below and everybody in between because I think innately I just knew like We're all in this together. And hey, you know friends who are older you're gonna be driving sooner
Guadalupe Hirt: than
Michelle Fox: Sister I just always naturally felt like I always had to take care of you know, the people who came up from behind me.
Michelle Fox: But in talking to you in this conversation today, I love that you are pointing out that just in the workplace alone, that's just one area where it's so important that we need to know how to talk to the younger people because they are coming in with so many different ideas [00:33:00] than perhaps what we were raised with.
Michelle Fox: And then of course, the people who are older than us, like not only do they hopefully have more wisdom in the areas that we want to go in, we have to. Often talk to them differently too. So I think it's a skill that you have to kind of nourish and grow so that you can be there for everyone in your community.
Michelle Fox: Is that kind of your take on that as well?
Guadalupe Hirt: Yeah, you know, perfect. Yes, absolutely. And I think that it boils down to looking at someone and realizing they're just like They're, they're human at the end of the day, they have value, just like you have value. And that's not necessarily designated by their credentials or by, you know, their schooling or, or whatever, right.
Guadalupe Hirt: Or their experience at the end of the day, we're all, we're all bring value and we all have innate talents and smarts. And we obviously cultivate it through the course of our lifetime. it feeds the whole [00:34:00] lifelong learner in us that I think we all innately are that we're always curious just to be curious versus, you know, wanting to be the all knowing, you know, which, which we tend to have this, idea that, hey, I'm 50, so I should know more than my younger counterparts, or he's 70, so he should know more, more than, you know, his younger counterparts.
Guadalupe Hirt: I'm calling BS. Like, throw that idea out the door. It is not about who knows more. It's about in, you know, surrounding ourselves. With the smartest people so that we all can kind of rise together, right? Imagine how freaking beautiful it would be is if we could take ideas, you know, that are brought in from our younger generation to our middle generation and our older and then find the best solution to actually address
Guadalupe Hirt: the situation. You have access to, you know, a wealth of knowledge, but sometimes because we have these stereotypes or these biases and believe me, reverse ageism is true. So when we actually even,[00:35:00] you know, look down on our younger counterparts, because we say you're too young, you're not going to know any better.
Guadalupe Hirt: That's still ageism as well, too. So be very cognizant of the idea of like. Instead of going and, and exchanging words with someone and having them be rooted in judgment or expectation, I'm just saying show up to the conversation with curiosity and, be in wonder of what you come away with. How freaking awesome would I take the agenda, take that, the pressure of what do I need to show up with, or what am I gonna extract?
Guadalupe Hirt: Or how is this gonna work? Or they're not gonna know anything. Take that all off the table and just show up and be curious because everything, everything, everyone is at least 10 percent right in whatever they say. So if you can show up with that rule and say, Hey, how can yes to that? And can we do this instead of, no, we can't do that.
Guadalupe Hirt: And shutting it down. Keep the keep the light going and keep the conversation going and you'll be surprised by the camaraderie and connections that you can build with other [00:36:00] human beings of all ages to create a beautiful network that you'll be thrilled to be a part of.
Michelle Fox: do you remember back in the day when Twitter was relatively new and Oprah would always say, that's a tweetable moment.
Michelle Fox: That's a tweetable moment. Ladies and gentlemen, Guadalupe Hirt just dropped a tweetable moment, which is show up to the conversation with curiosity. That is powerful. You got my heart with that one.
Guadalupe Hirt: So you and me, we're like definitely on the same wavelength about what we want. Like, I think it's just, you know, I think it, there's just so much beautiful potential in all of us.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I think sometimes we just get so beat up by what people say about us, by what we, you know, the expectations by, you know, our own,expectations of ourselves that we have. I think. We forget that in [00:37:00] All of our hearts. We are truly good people. there is no such thing. And I don't know, I guess this is my, my like faith in God and my, humanity that, I believe everyone has good intentions, even those that will say ageist remarks, or even those that, condone other isms.
Guadalupe Hirt: I feel like in their heart of hearts. They are good people. Life. Unfortunately, sometimes, you know, experiences, surroundings. Happening sometimes, unfortunately, taint, you know, the goodness within us. and I think that's where the work still needs to be done to ensure that we can all still see the humanity in people.
Guadalupe Hirt: And I think that's where I think, you know, for us personally, that's where we need to rise to be better versions of ourselves to ensure that, we, we show up because when we show up as authentic as real as forgiving, curious, appreciative. You know, full of heart, you cannot not attract that back, but when we fill up with judgment, [00:38:00] you know, bias, hate, expectations, like, I mean, you could just feel the, the heaviness of that, you know, checklist versus the other one.
Guadalupe Hirt: And you're just like, no, I don't want to be, I don't want to be jaded for the rest of my life. I got, you know, just a few years left, you know, or decades, shall we say to go still? I don't want to be, you know, weighted down. I don't think anybody does.
Michelle Fox: And for me at the age of 50, I truly feel like I've come to this place in my life where I just don't have patience for it.
Michelle Fox: If it's not a full body kale, yeah, and the answer is just no. I mean, as simple as that, no, it's a complete sentence.
Guadalupe Hirt: So absolutely. A hundred percent.
Michelle Fox: Continues to be a practice, I will say, but I feel like I'm leaning a lot more into that now that I have reached the age of you.
Guadalupe Hirt: We're all a work in progress, but man, making progress on statements like that and understanding that value for yourself and for
Guadalupe Hirt: the gift that you're giving yourself when you're able to do that and own it [00:39:00] is tremendous. So kudos to you, girl.
Michelle Fox: Oh, well, thank you. Right back at you. And I know the people who feel like they're lucky enough to sit in our conversation, they're going to say, how can I get more of Lupe's loveliness? So how can my community plug in with you?
Guadalupe Hirt: Well, I would love to invite all of your listeners to follow me on LinkedIn. That's probably the, the most active platform that I'm on and, follow us on at Dear Middlescent. So it's at well, I'm a bit hurt, but you know, yeah, it's a bi weekly, blog about again, pro aging. It's my own journey through it.
Guadalupe Hirt: So it's a lot of personal reflection and combined with just, thought and perspective. So check it out, subscribe if you'd like. And then also I'm just a new guest blogger on changing the narrative, another leading anti ageism initiative out of Colorado here as well, too. So I'm going to be contributing to them once a month.
Guadalupe Hirt: So subscribe for their email and check out perspectives that I'll be sharing there that are a little bit more geared towards the business professional and the organization, but [00:40:00] nonetheless still pack a punch for what you can do to make this world just a little better
Michelle Fox: for all of us. And I will say, thank you for helping to make the world a little better for all of us.
Michelle Fox: I sincerely appreciate your work and I appreciate you sharing your wisdom with us on the show. I'll right back at you, girl, virtual hug. I'm here for it.
Michelle Fox: thanks so much for listening to Nourish. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for you. Hop on over to michellefox.com/podcast. When you are ready. I will let you know that on the page, you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show. And then of course you can grab some health supportive freebies as well.
Michelle Fox: If you enjoyed this episode, I would be honored. If you would leave a review on whichever podcast platform [00:41:00] you are listening on. It will help me with my mission to build healthier communities. One person at a time and it will help you because you will be part of that mission.
Michelle Fox: I'll be back next week and I encourage you to keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter. Big love!
