Midlife Reinvention: From Self-Doubt to Self-Trust -- Build Your Boldness Muscle

Have you ever felt stuck between self-doubt and self-trust? In this week’s solo episode of the Reinvention Rebels podcast, I’m diving into how we can build our boldness muscle—one small step at a time.

I know a little about midlife boldness because I’m in a season of practicing it myself. I’m doing some things scared and learning to trust my own voice. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
✨ How self-doubt shows up and why it’s often part of the reinvention process
✨ The difference between playing it safe and betting on yourself
✨ My journey from launching this podcast five years ago (with zero experience!) to winning a Women Who Podcast  Magazine podcast award this year
✨ How stepping onto a big stage at a cybersecurity leadership summit helped me uncover my love of speaking and empowering others
✨ Why building your boldness muscle is one of the most powerful ways to fuel your midlife reinvention

If you’ve ever wondered how to move from hesitation to action, or from second-guessing to self-belief, this episode is for you.

💡 Remember: self-trust isn’t built overnight. It’s a practice. Every time you choose to back yourself, you’re making your reinvention stronger.

🎧 Related Episode: Reinvention at Midlife: "What if it Works Out?"
— a powerful companion to today’s conversation that flips the script on fear.

💝 Free Gift: Don’t forget to grab my guide, 100 Ways to Reinvent Yourself in Midlife. It’s full of ideas and sparks to help you keep building that boldness muscle.

🎙️ Podcast I Love: I also want to lift up my friend Jennifer Fink’s show, the Fading Memories Podcast. It’s an empowering, informative, and uplifting resource for caregivers of people with dementia. Jennifer offers wisdom, tools, and hope for anyone walking that journey—you won’t want to miss it.

💌 Loved this episode? Pass it along to your favorite midlife bestie! Boldness grows even bigger when we cheer each other on—so hit share and spread the Reinvention Rebels love. Thank you! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Bet on Yourself
• 11:58 Building Your Midlife Boldness Muscle

Transcript

00:00 - Wendy Battles (Host)
How do we move from self-doubt to self-trust? 

00:04
It starts with small bets on ourselves. 

00:07
Every little choice to show up, even when we're nervous or uncertain, strengthens our boldness. 

00:13
Muscle, just like lifting weights. It doesn't happen all at once. It's built through repetition, like my 230 straight days, y'all, of working out. That's what I mean. That's how we bet on ourselves. 

00:37
Welcome to Reinvention Rebels stories of brave and unapologetic women, 50 to 90 years young, who have boldly reinvented life on their own terms to find new purpose and possibilities. I'm your host, wendy Battles. I need to kick your fears to the curb, do it scared and step into who you are meant to be in midlife and beyond. These amazing women, these reinvention Rebels, can help light your reinvention path. Come join us and let's get inspired together. Hey, hey, hey. Everyone, welcome to another episode of the Reinvention Rebels podcast. I'm your host, wendy. If you are a regular, I'm so glad you've come back for more inspiration and stories about what is possible in midlife and beyond, and if you're brand new, welcome. This is a space that celebrates midlife, boldness, the courage to rewrite your story, to embrace change and to see midlife not as an ending but as an invitation for all of us for new beginnings and I'm going to be honest y'all. I know a little something about midlife boldness because I'm in that season. Right now I'm exercising my midlife boldness muscle and I'm doing something scared. It's one thing to say let's just do it scared, of course we know all of us. It's another thing to actually do it scared. It's not easy and I'm not quite ready to share all the details yet, but I know it's a story that will unfold as we go through this season together. This season's theme is all about betting on ourselves, and that's what I'm doing, and I want to encourage you to do the same thing. So you're in the right place if you're a midlife or menopausal woman who's ready to reinvent herself boldly, to lean into possibility and to discover just how much power you have to create the life you want. It's all within us already. 

03:21
Today we're diving into something I know so many of us wrestle with in midlife self-doubt. In my last solo episode a few weeks ago, we explored the question what if it works out? Flipping the script on fear and imagining the best instead of bracing for the worst, which I'm going to tell you I have been doing for I don't know quite some time over the years and I've really switched it up. So today we're building on that idea and talking about what it takes to move from self-doubt to self-trust and how building your boldness muscle can completely change your reinvention journey. And a quick heads up stick with me until the end, because I've got a free gift for you 100 ways to reinvent yourself in midlife. It's full of inspiration and ideas to keep your reinvention fresh and help you think about new, exciting, bold steps. Let's be real Self-doubt shows up a lot in midlife and I am experiencing that right now. 

04:42
Maybe you thought who am I to try this new thing? What if I fail? What if people don't take me seriously? I've had all of these thoughts. And if you're not along right now, you are definitely not alone. But here's what I've learned Self-doubt doesn't mean you're not capable. 

05:04
It just means you're stepping into something new, something bigger, something unknown. For me, it's a sign that we are stretching. The key isn't to eliminate doubt, it's to choose trust anyway. But how do we move from self-doubt to self-trust? It starts with small bets on ourselves. Every little choice to show up, even when we're nervous or uncertain, strengthens our boldness muscle, just like lifting weights. It doesn't happen all at once. It's built through repetition, like my 230 straight days y'all of working out. That's what I mean. That's how we bet on ourselves. 

05:50
For me, it started with baby steps when I launched this podcast five years ago, and I can't believe it's going to be five years in October. I guess technically five years on September 29th, because that is when I dropped the teaser about the podcast. So five year anniversary coming up. But I'm going to tell you I didn't know what I was doing. I asked my friends to be my first guests. I sent emails to everyone I knew announcing it, and when friends started listening, I asked them friends to be my first guests. I sent emails to everyone I knew announcing it and when friends started listening, I asked them to leave reviews. Each small action helped me shift from I can't do this to hmm, maybe I can. And the more I leaned in, the more trust I built Fast forward to today, the more trust I built Fast forward to today. 

06:41
Just a few weeks ago, I won a Women who Podcast Magazine Podcast Award in the Profound Nugget category. When I found out, I honestly had to pause, because this award was a reminder that I actually do know what I'm doing. All the hours and effort haven't been for nothing and my voice matters. Those were profound lessons for me and it was proof of what can happen when you keep trusting yourself, even when you're unsure. And it's not just in podcasting. Many of you know my day job is in cybersecurity and on this side of my life. Someone found me on LinkedIn a few months ago. They invited me to speak at a senior leadership summit about cybersecurity in Atlanta. So I was at that summit just last week and I'm going to tell you that stepping onto that stage, which is one of my greatest joys next to podcasting, is speaking. 

07:46
Of course, I felt nervous because I don't use notes, so part of me worried what if I forget what I want to say, which is my biggest recurring fear. But once I started, something shifted. I realized that I love in all caps, I love speaking, I love being on stage, I love sharing what I know, empowering others and being of service through the gift of speaking. By the end I didn't just feel relieved, y'all, I felt empowered. Empowered. I discovered another piece of myself that thrives when I trust, when I take the leap, when I show up boldly. I wouldn't have known any of that without pushing past the doubt and stepping into the moment. That's what building our boldness muscle looks like. Every time we say yes, every time we stretch a little further, we discover just how much we're capable of. 

08:59
So let me ask you this when is self-doubt holding you back right now, and what would shift if you leaned into self-trust instead? It doesn't have to be a giant leap. Sometimes it's just one small action Saying yes to a new opportunity, speaking up in a meeting, signing up for that class you've been eyeing, sending the email you've been avoiding. Every small action is a vote for your future self. Every small action says I believe in me. 

09:42
So here's your mini challenge this week. I want you to choose one action that moves you from self-doubt to self-trust. Think of it as your boldness rep at the gym and remember you don't have to do it alone. To keep you inspired, I've created a free guide 100 Ways to Reinvent Yourself in Midlife. It's full of ideas and sparks to help you keep building that boldness muscle. You'll find all of the details in the show notes. And hey, if this episode spoke to you, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend who could use a reminder that self-trust is possible in midlife. So think about your aunties, your sisters, your co-workers, those friends, anybody who you know is ready for some serious inspiration. 

10:41
Now, before we go, I also want to tell you something I'm listening to. I always love to lift up other female podcasters, especially those over 50, who are getting it done and sharing amazing information in the world, and one of those things is my friend Jennifer Fink's very cool podcast, Fading Memories. Are you a caregiver? Have you ever been a caregiver? Do you know someone who is a caregiver? Do you, or someone you know, have a person in your life that's struggling with dementia? Well, this podcast is for caregivers of people with dementia and it is interesting, empowering, informative, enlightening. It is so many things. And having been a caregiver not dealing with dementia but more generally caregiving with my mom I know how hard it is. So Jennifer provides hope for caregivers. She lifts us up. I encourage you to check it out. Details are in the show notes for that as well. 

11:58
All right, rebels, I hope you've enjoyed this episode, this idea that we are building our midlife boldness muscle, and that is in all of us. We can do it by taking those small steps. So, going from self-doubt to self-trust, we're building that muscle. Until next time, amazing one, keep showing, showing up, keep trusting yourself and keep embracing your reinvention journey, because you, my friend, just like me, are a reinvention rebel. Thank you.