GRACE'S MUSINGS: The best is yet to come...

What has been your most productive decade?

For many of us, our 30s were the time when we had to hit the success button. Why? Because by 40 or 50 we would be ‘burnt out’, of course. We were permitted a glorious, sleepless, restless 20s, full of late nights and fast everything.

But your 30s were all about getting to the top of the career pole, preferably with two kids and a picture-perfect life. It was a lot of work, and maybe, like me, you set out on the project without questioning – because you believed you were ‘running out of time’, ‘the clock was ticking’ and you would soon be ‘past it’.

And look at the beauty products we used to swear by: ‘anti-ageing’, ‘drops of youth’, ‘wrinkle-smoothing’, ‘10 years younger’... Even now, some people will apologise when they need to ask your age, as though you are mutually embarrassed by the years you have been, successfully, alive.

Is this hesitancy, maybe even fear, of ageing relevant anymore? While some women feel understandably nervous about what happens when their family and work structures begin to shift, many more (it seems) are embracing the freedom to focus on their own well-being.

Maybe for the first time, we get to choose exactly how we spend our money and time. Fortunately, the resources are right to hand: menopause solutions, pilates, weights, active holidays, tweakments, self-care and high fashion are all out there and vying for our attention.

There have never been so many positive role models for those of us just embarking on the next phase – the ‘me-years’ – ahead of us. We owe it to all the women who came before us to embrace opportunity and say ‘yes’ to every challenge.

Ask your younger self what will be your best decade. Your present self may answer: ‘it’s yet to come’!