A Little More Me: A New Chapter at 40

By Nicola

Sometimes life takes you in a direction you hadn't quite planned. You settle into a routine, build a career, juggle responsibilities and get on with things. Then, somewhere along the way, you start wondering whether the life you've become comfortable with is quite the life you want for the future.

That's where I find myself now.

I've spent around 20 years working in insurance, building a career in an office environment. It's given me experience, security and plenty of opportunities to learn, but after more than 20 years of a largely sedentary working life, I've started to feel drawn towards something different. Something more active, more personal and more closely connected to the things I care about.

At 40, I'm beginning a new chapter, and it feels both exciting and slightly daunting. Although, if I'm honest, I didn't expect a career change to involve quite so much anatomy revision, assignments and trying to remember the names of muscles I didn't even know existed a few months ago!

Back to being a student

I'm currently working towards my Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification, with the aim of building a business focused on fitness, nutrition and wellbeing for women, particularly those over 35.

Going back to studying after so many years in work has been a learning curve in every sense. There have been practical weekends, assessments and plenty of moments where I've wondered why a simple squat seems to require quite so much scientific explanation.

But there have been some real highlights, too. Passing the Level 2 element of my diploma and receiving positive feedback from my assessor about my instructing style and the way I encouraged my client gave me a real confidence boost.

It reminded me that although I'm learning plenty of new technical skills, I'm not starting from scratch. Years of working with people have taught me how to communicate, listen, solve problems and support others. Now I'm discovering how those skills can be used in a completely different way.

And that's something I'm beginning to appreciate about changing direction: you don't leave your past behind. You take everything you've learned and use it to build something new.

Why women's wellbeing matters to me

The more I explore fitness and wellbeing, the clearer my vision becomes.

I don't want to create a business that focuses on appearance, unrealistic expectations or making women feel they need to change who they are. I want to help women feel stronger, healthier and more confident in themselves.

Life can be busy, and it's easy to put our own needs at the bottom of the list. Work, family and everyday responsibilities seem to take up every available hour, and looking after ourselves can become something we'll get around to eventually.

I understand how easy it is to get caught up in that cycle.

I'd love to support women through the changes and challenges that can come with getting older, whether that's finding the confidence to start exercising, building strength, developing healthier habits or navigating the transition towards perimenopause and menopause.

I'm particularly interested in bringing together personal training, plant-based nutrition and a broader understanding of women's wellbeing. As my qualifications and experience develop, I'd also love to explore workplace wellbeing and other ways of helping women prioritise their health.

For me, fitness isn't about perfection. It's about feeling good in your body, finding movement you enjoy and making small, sustainable changes that help you feel more like yourself.

Building something of my own

My vision is to create a welcoming, supportive business where women feel comfortable starting wherever they are. No pressure to be the fittest person in the room, no judgement and absolutely no need to apologise for being a beginner.

I'd love to offer personal training, small group sessions and wellbeing support, building relationships within my local community and helping women discover what they're capable of.

I'm developing the idea under the name A Little More You, which reflects what I want this next chapter to represent: making a little more room for ourselves, our health, our happiness and the things that make us who we are.

Of course, there's a practical side to all of this. I still have my existing job, responsibilities and a qualification to complete. Building a business alongside a working week will require patience, planning and a fair amount of juggling.

I can't simply hand in my notice, announce that I'm a personal trainer and hope a fully booked diary appears overnight. As appealing as that sounds, I'm fairly sure the bank would prefer a slightly more considered approach!

So I'm taking things one step at a time: learning, gaining experience, developing my ideas and working towards creating something sustainable.

I want to build a business that allows me to earn a good living doing something meaningful, while creating more flexibility, movement and balance in my own life, too.

Here's to what's next

I don't have everything figured out, and I don't expect to. There will undoubtedly be challenges, moments of doubt and plenty more things to learn along the way.

But I'm excited about the possibilities.

I want to look back in a few years and know that I gave this a proper go. That I didn't let the fear of getting things wrong stop me from finding out what might be possible.

At 40, I'm learning that it's never too late to explore a different direction. I don't need to become somebody else; I simply want to make more room for the parts of me that haven't always had quite enough space.

The part that enjoys being active. The part that wants to help people. The part that wants to create something of her own.

I'm still the woman who has spent years working in an office, but I'm also becoming the woman who wants to help others feel stronger, healthier and more confident.

Both things can be true.

For now, I'm taking it one step at a time, celebrating the small milestones and reminding myself that progress doesn't have to happen overnight.

Here's to a new chapter, a few new challenges, and hopefully a little less time attached to my office chair!