Not Done Yet: A Podcast for Midlife Women

Rachel Perry
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Personal Journals

Not Done Yet is a podcast for midlife women who know their story isn’t finished. Through honest conversations about reinvention, purpose, and courage, this show will remind you that the life you’ve lived might be the very thing that leads you into what’s next.

  1. 6d ago

    Ep. 24 - When Did My Body Start Making Decisions Without Me?

    At some point in midlife, your body starts doing things you definitely did not approve. Suddenly you need physical therapy even though you didn’t actually injure yourself. You own approximately 95 pairs of reading glasses. Heels have been replaced by sneakers. Random hairs are showing up in places nobody invited them. And apparently sneezing is now a full-body event. But underneath all the WTF moments, there’s something else happening. Our bodies are changing. And maybe part of what makes that so hard isn’t vanity at all. Maybe we’re grieving the familiarity of the bodies we’ve known for decades. In this episode, we’re talking about:  Why my first trip to physical therapy sent me into a minor midlife identity crisis  The moment I realized I had officially entered my sneaker era  Reading glasses, facial hair, long boobs, and all the things nobody adequately prepared us for  Why changing hormones, joints, skin, eyesight, and energy can feel like living in someone else’s body  The grief and sadness that can come with a body that doesn’t feel as familiar anymore  What changed for me when I stopped looking at these things as evidence that my body was betraying me  Learning to ask, “What is my body trying to tell me?” instead of fighting every change Maybe our bodies aren’t betraying us. Maybe they’re saying, Girl, we’ve been doing this for 50-something years. We’re going to need to do a few things differently now. And maybe taking care of the body we have now, instead of constantly comparing it to the one we used to have, is part of figuring out this whole midlife thing. If you listen and find yourself saying, “SAME, girl, same,” send this episode to a friend who needs to know she isn’t the only one. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  2. Aug 26

    Ep. 23 - The Midlife Question Nobody Warns You Would Be So Hard

    When was the last time you asked yourself what you actually want? Not what your kids need, what makes the most sense for your family, what you should do next, or what everyone else thinks is a good idea. What do you want?  I’ve been sitting with that question after someone recently told me I still wasn’t choosing myself. My first reaction was, are you kidding me? I left a seven-figure business at 45, started over, launched this podcast, and began building something I genuinely care about. But then I realized how often I was still looking outside myself for answers. And it made me wonder how many of us have become so good at knowing what everyone else needs that we’ve forgotten how to hear ourselves. In this episode, we talk about: The comment that made me question whether I was actually choosing myselfWhy making big changes in your life doesn’t automatically mean you’ve learned to trust your own voiceHow years of motherhood, caretaking, advocating, working, and managing everyone’s needs can make it surprisingly hard to answer, “What do I want?”Why figuring out your next chapter doesn’t have to begin with finding your purpose or mapping out the next five yearsThe smaller questions I think are far more interesting right now, including what sounds fun, what you’re curious about, and what would bring you joyWhy wanting something for yourself can feel uncomfortable when you’ve spent years automatically considering everyone else firstWhat breweries have to do with all of this and why there may need to be a Not Done Yet brewery experience in our futureYou don’t need to walk away from this episode knowing exactly what you want to do with the rest of your life. Maybe that’s putting way too much pressure on the question. Instead, start paying attention again.  Ask yourself what sounds fun, what you’re curious about, or what you keep wanting even when there’s no practical reason for wanting it. Your answer might not come immediately, especially if you haven’t asked yourself in years.  For now, the point is to start asking again: What do I want? And if you know another woman who needs this reminder today, send her this episode because none of us were meant to carry midlife alone. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark  Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  3. Aug 19

    Ep. 22 - Who Decided You Were Behind?

    Who decided I was behind? If you've ever looked around and thought... "Everyone else seems further ahead than me." This episode is for you. This week, I'm unpacking something I've been quietly carrying myself: the feeling that somehow I'm behind. Behind financially. Behind professionally. Behind compared to everyone else who seems to have life figured out. But after an honest conversation with my sister about saving for our kids' college—and realizing the story I'd been telling myself wasn't even true—I started asking a different question: Who decided I was behind in the first place? In this episode, we talk about the invisible timeline so many of us are measuring ourselves against, why comparison is usually based on stories we've created, and why what feels like failure is often grief for the life we imagined we'd have by now. We talk about:  Why so many women feel like they're "behind" in midlife  The invisible timeline we've inherited without realizing it  The vulnerable conversation I had about college savings and the assumptions I was making  Why comparison is almost always based on incomplete information  The difference between failure and grief  Learning to stop measuring your life against someone else's highlight reel  A simple question to ask the next time comparison creeps in A question to take with you: The next time you catch yourself thinking someone else is further ahead... Ask yourself: "Do I actually know that's true?" Because maybe... You're not behind at all. Maybe you're exactly where you're meant to be. If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear from you. Come find me on Instagram and tell me: When have you felt "behind"... only to realize you were comparing yourself to a story you'd made up? And if you know another woman who needs this reminder today, send her this episode. Because none of us were meant to carry midlife alone. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  4. Aug 12

    Ep. 21 - Five People Live in My Head (And Maybe They Live in Yours Too)

    Have you ever felt like your brain has 27 tabs open before you've even had your first cup of coffee? One minute you're thinking about your body. The next it's your kids. Then money. Then your parents. Then retirement. Then your marriage. Then the question that never quite goes away... Who am I now? This episode was inspired by something a friend texted me: "I think five people live in my head sometimes."I haven't stopped thinking about it since. In this episode, we're talking about the invisible mental load so many midlife women carry—and why it feels like we're constantly juggling everyone else's needs while quietly wondering what's happened to ourselves. If you've ever thought... Why am I so overwhelmed all the time?Why can't I seem to focus anymore?Why do I feel exhausted before my day has even started?Am I the only one carrying all of this?...this conversation is for you. In this episode, we talk about: Why "five people live in my head" perfectly describes midlife.The invisible mental load women carry every single day.Why so many of us think something is wrong with us when we're actually navigating a massive life transition.The identity shift nobody prepared us for.Why the question "Who am I now?" may be the quietest—and most important—voice in your head.Most of all, I hope this episode reminds you of one thing: You are not the only one. Mentioned in this episode ✨ Join the Not Done Yet community: https://rachelaperry.com/notdoneyet ✨ Ready to stop carrying it all alone? Book a Not Done Yet Session: https://rachelaperry.com/session If this episode resonated with you, I'd love it if you shared it with another woman who's been carrying more than she lets on. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can hear is simply... "Same." Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  5. Aug 5

    Ep. 20 - The Voice That Says You're Not Enough (And Why Midlife Is Calling Its Bluff)

    Rachel's parents are downsizing, and they just handed her a manila folder full of old report cards. Reading them out loud cracked open a story she didn't know she was still carrying: one teacher's comment, repeated year after year, that quietly followed her into every business she's ever built. In this episode: The report card folder that cracked open a revelationThe same two comments, written by one teacher, six years runningWhy she was a C student who felt clueless, and what she wonders about it nowThe familiar voice that shows up every time she puts herself out thereHow it connects to last week's episode on not choosing herselfWhy none of it had to be malicious to become part of her identityAn awkward moment at a party when someone said they'd listened to the podcastThe comparison habit almost all of us are still carryingBurning the folder, and what her mom said about itWhat "not working up to your potential" even means, and who decides thatHow her own struggle helped her catch her kids' learning differences earlyA message from her old orchestra teacher that flipped her perceptionThis week's question: whose voice are you still trying to prove wrong?Connect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit close to home, send it to a woman in your life who's still trying to prove someone wrong. She's not done yet either. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  6. Jul 29

    Ep. 19 - Why You Keep Circling the Same Dream

    This one gets a little woo, and I'm not sorry about it. I've been doing deep subconscious work lately, and something came up that genuinely surprised me. I thought I was choosing myself. Turns out, on a much deeper level, I wasn't. This episode is me being fully transparent about what I found, why it matters, and how it might be showing up in your life too. In this episode: The energy work that led me to a truth I did not see coming, that I wasn't actually choosing myselfWhy my business went quiet right when I knew what I was offering was life changing, and what I realized was really going on underneathThe difference between the surface level want and the underground belief, and why the belief almost always winsReal patterns I'm seeing over and over in Spark Reviews, the woman who wants to write a book but fears no one will read it, the woman who keeps finding reasons not to postWhere these deeper beliefs actually come from, and why they're not weakness, they're protectionMy client Linda and the courage it took her to finally write her bookThe simple daily practice I'm doing to retrain my brain that I am worthy of being chosen, and a challenge for you to do it with meIf this is you, I would love for you to share this episode with another midlife sister who needs to hear it. And if you've got two minutes, a review means more to me than you know. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  7. Jul 22

    Ep. 18 - Men Could Never (And Other Truths About Midlife Women)

    This episode almost didn't happen the way you're hearing it. I scrapped the first recording after a rough weekend and came back with something more real. It's a love letter to every midlife woman doing more than anyone gives her credit for, and a reminder that showing up in the middle of the chaos is its own kind of superpower. In this episode: The funk I couldn't explain on Thursday, and the honest conversation I had with Mark that followedWhy "is it hormones or is it just life" might be the most common question in midlife, even on HRTWhat happened when I went looking for inspiration in the magazine aisle at Barnes & NobleThe Helen Mirren quote that stopped me mid-page (aging versus the alternative)The menopause symptom list that made me think "men could never," and why that's not a hate men momentMy friend who just closed a 20 year fitness studio, and what that ending is actually the beginning ofWhy midlife women are the superheroes of their own stories, and it's time we said it out loudIf this episode hit something in you, send it to a midlife woman who needs to hear it today. Because sister, you are not done yet. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

  8. Jul 15

    Ep. 17 - The Era Of Me - A Midlife Mantra

    Rachel cracks open the belief that keeps showing up disguised as concern, judgment, or a raised eyebrow: that a midlife woman saying "it's my turn" is somehow too much. It started with a TikTok clip of Michelle Obama answering one question with one word, me, and the eye roll that followed from another woman watching. Rachel unpacks why that reaction lands so hard, why women dismiss each other's wanting the same way they dismiss their own, and what actually happens when a woman finally stops waiting for everyone else's permission to choose herself. In this episode: The TikTok clip that started it all: Barack Obama says "fun," Michelle says "me," and one word gets celebrated while the other gets an eye rollWhy a woman's reaction to another woman wanting something reveals what she believes about her own right to wantMy own confession: the time I judged my brother-in-law for moving to Colorado for himself, and what I had to admit about whyThe double standard nobody says out loud: men get to put themselves first, women get told it's selfishWhere the "selfless woman" script actually comes from, and the story about my mom and the bread basket that says it allWhy breaking this cycle matters for your kids, whether they're watching a mom who puts herself last or one who doesn'tThe reframe that changes everything: wanting more for yourself does not mean you love your life or your family lessWhat I've actually watched happen when women give themselves permission to want more, and it is not what you'd thinkThe line I need you to hear twice: choosing yourself doesn't take anything away from the people you love, it gives them more of youThe question I'd ask the woman who rolled her eyes: what answer would have felt okay to youWhy it's your turn right now, whether you're 45, 47, or 51, and why you don't have to earn it firstMentioned in this episode: Rachel's email list (with a freebie inside): rachelaperry.comNot Done Yet Sessions: a 90-minute conversation to figure out what you actually want, what's been stopping you, and your next step https://www.rachelaperry.com/ndysessionConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit a nerve, send it to a woman in your life who's been talking herself out of saying "me." She's not done yet either. Midlife is weird. We shouldn't have to figure it out alone. Get on the Midlife Meetups list to be the first to know when we're getting together near you or online. No networking. No awkward elevator pitches. Just real women, real conversation, and a reminder that you're definitely not the only one wondering what the hell is happening in this season of life. Go to www.rachelaperry.com/midlifemeetups

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Not Done Yet is a podcast for midlife women who know their story isn’t finished. Through honest conversations about reinvention, purpose, and courage, this show will remind you that the life you’ve lived might be the very thing that leads you into what’s next.

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