Plan B & The Quiet Impact of Knowing You're Not Trapped
Remove the Doom From Your Day.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Plan B lately.
Not in a dramatic, burn-it-all-down way, but in that very real, midlife, quietly-honest way that creeps in when you’re walking along the beach or driving home from work and your mind finally has a bit of space to wander.
Because Plan B has a reputation problem.
Somewhere along the line, we decided that having a Plan B meant you didn’t believe in yourself enough. That it meant you were halfway out the door. That if you were really committed, really confident, really brave, you wouldn’t even let yourself think about another option.
And the older I get, the more nonsense that feels.
What I’ve come to realise is this, Plan B isn’t about quitting. It’s about thinking ahead like a woman who’s lived enough life to know that things change, sometimes gently, sometimes without asking.
When I look back, the times I felt most anxious weren’t always when things were bad. Often, life looked fine on paper. I was functioning, showing up, doing what I was supposed to do. But underneath that was a constant low-level hum of, what if this stops working? What if I wake up one day and realise I can’t do this anymore?
That’s not drama. That’s awareness.
And awareness without options can feel suffocating.
The moment you start to sketch out a Plan B, even loosely, something interesting happens. Your nervous system settles. Your thinking softens. You stop gripping so tightly to the thing you’re in, because you know you wouldn’t fall off a cliff if it changed.
Plan B doesn’t make you reckless.
It makes you calmer.
I Watched Sharon Take Control
I saw this so clearly through Sharon’s journey after she reflected with Your Midlife Mirror.
She didn’t come to this from a place of crisis. She wasn’t miserable, burnt out, or desperate to escape her life. She already had a full-time job. A busy life. Responsibilities. A routine that worked, mostly.
But there was a part of her that knew she wanted more than just getting through the weeks.
So instead of waiting for a breaking point, she did something far more powerful. She planned ahead.
She gave up her free time. She studied when she was tired. She trained when it would have been easier to stay comfortable. Not because she was quitting her current life, but because she was quietly building another option.
What struck me most wasn’t the qualification itself, although becoming a certified yoga teacher is no small thing. It was the energy behind it.
There was no panic. No urgency. No rush to execute.
Just this steady determination that said, I’m allowed to prepare for a future version of myself, even if I don’t need her yet.
And that’s where Plan B really earns its keep.
When you know you have another option in your back pocket, you stop tolerating things that drain you. You speak up a little sooner. You hold your boundaries a little firmer. You make decisions from clarity rather than fear.
Ironically, Having A Plan B Often Improves Plan A.
Not because you’re planning to leave, but because you know you could.
By midlife, we’ve seen enough to stop believing in neat, linear plans. We know careers end, roles change, relationships evolve, bodies have opinions of their own. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make you loyal or strong. It just leaves you exposed.
Building a Plan B at this stage of life isn’t impulsive. It’s strategic.
It might be a qualification, like Sharon’s.
It might be a side skill, a digital product, a savings buffer, or a creative outlet you’re slowly turning into something more.
It might just be you finally allowing yourself to ask, what else could I do if I needed to?
Plan B doesn’t have to be loud. It doesn’t need a deadline. And it definitely doesn’t need announcing.
It just needs intention.
What I see again and again is that the women who feel most grounded aren’t the ones who leap without thinking. They’re the ones who quietly prepare. Who reduce their risk. Who stop handing their entire future over to one role, one income, one identity.
They don’t panic when things wobble, because they’re not cornered.
Plan B, at its core, is self-respect.
It’s you saying, I trust myself enough to give me options.
Sharon didn’t create a backup life.
She created choice.
And when you have choice, you stop living from fear.
You start living from strength.
