What might surprise Marylouise’s younger self? Not the teenage children. Nor the new adventures or even the willingness to take a chance. Perhaps it is how calm she has become?

“I have learned not to sweat the small stuff and not to waste energy being angry or caught up in other people’s drama. I have come to appreciate that protecting your peace is a deliberate decision about where you place your energy.”

There is a certain freedom in knowing where to spend your energy, and where not to. For Marylouise, getting older certainly hasn’t meant slowing down. While some people her age are already grandparents, she still has teenagers and plenty of adventures ahead.

“I am definitely not ready to slow down. New adventures still excite me, and I do not want to look back on my life wishing I had been braver.”

That means taking chances, even when there is no guarantee they will work out.

“I can live with a decision I made that did not go to plan. What I would struggle with is regretting something I never tried because I was too scared.”

Right now, she is putting that philosophy into practice by starting a new business venture. This is not just another job; this is as an opportunity to reshape what the next chapter of her working life looks like.

The attraction for this stage is freedom: financially, mentally and physically. After decades of meeting responsibilities, building a career and doing what needed to be done, she is making deliberate space for something that is hers.

“What excites me most is the idea of creating more freedom (financially, mentally, and physically) to find something I truly love and give it a real go.”

There is something powerful in that shift. Not waiting for permission or assuming the next chapter has to look like the last one.

As Marylouise puts it:

“After spending so much of life doing what needed to be done, it feels exciting to make space for a dream that is mine.”

It is not simply about starting a business. It is about creating the freedom to find out what might be possible next.

Her relationship with work has changed.

For 30 years, work was about security, routine, earning money, building a career and being recognised professionally. Those things mattered and provided stability at different stages of her life. Now, she wants to bring all that experience and knowledge with her while giving herself permission to try something new.

“I like feeling useful, but I also want to feel excited by what comes next.”

Perhaps that is the sweet spot: enough stability to feel grounded, but enough curiosity to keep moving.

Marylouise doesn’t believe that trying something new and discovering it doesn’t work should be called failure. Some things work, some don’t, and sometimes the unexpected outcome teaches us more than the original plan ever could.

“That’s not failure, it’s life.”

Which brings us neatly back to Still Becoming. For Marylouise, the next chapter isn’t about slowing down or having everything figured out. It’s about protecting her peace, taking the chances that excite her and making room for a dream that’s purely hers.

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This is part of the GreyMatter International Day of Older Persons on 1 October campaign. Who are you becoming?

For International Day of Older Persons on 1 October, GreyMatter is asking people a simple question: Who are you becoming?

Becoming isn’t about adding more to ourselves, it can also be about letting go of the expectations. The should haves, and could ofs, or the versions of ourselves we thought we had to be, then discovering there is still so much life left to live!!

Still becoming.
#GreyMatterStudioLife

This campaign will run for the Day of Older Person and Active Ageing Week.


1. What is something new you’ve taken up, learned, or explored recently that would have surprised your younger self?
2. When you look at where you are today, what is a chapter of your life story that people might not expect just by looking at your age?
3. What is a project, passion, or goal you’re actively focused on right now, and what’s driving your excitement for it?
4. How has your definition of purpose or meaningful work shifted over time, and what keeps you feeling connected and useful today?
5. If you could share one piece of wisdom with someone worrying about getting older, what would you tell them about the value of the perspective you have now?