The New Power Move Is the Pause

Why Black Women Are Reclaiming Rest, Wellness, and the Right to Begin

Again

By Simone O. Higginbotham | Rebirth Magazine

October 2026

There is something happening among women right now that I believe deserves more than a

passing conversation.

We are beginning to understand that being tired is not a personality trait.

For generations, women—especially Black women—have been celebrated for how much we

can carry. We learned to keep going when we were exhausted, smile when we were

overwhelmed, provide when we needed provision ourselves, and show up for everybody while quietly disappearing from our own lives.

But something is shifting.

The conversation around women's wellness is becoming louder, more honest, and more

community-centered. Black women are talking openly about health, burnout, menopause,

emotional well-being, financial pressure, purpose, and what it really means to take care of

ourselves. Current community conversations are putting Black women's health and wellness squarely in the spotlight, from discussions about breast-health disparities to events addressing perimenopause and menopause. (Blavity News & Entertainment)

And maybe the most revolutionary part isn't that we're talking.

Maybe it's that we're finally listening to ourselves.

We Don't Have to Earn Rest

Somewhere along the way, rest became something we believed we had to deserve.

After the work.

After the children.

After the business succeeds.

After the bills are paid.

After everyone else is okay.

After we've proven ourselves one more time.

But what if rest isn't the reward at the end of the journey?

What if rest is part of the journey?

I am learning that there is a difference between stopping because you've given up and pausing because you are giving yourself permission to hear what comes next.

The pause can be powerful.

It gives us room to ask:

Am I still happy here?

Does this relationship still serve who I'm becoming?

Why am I carrying something that was never mine?

What does my body need from me?

What dream have I postponed long enough?

Who am I when I'm not busy proving my worth?

Those aren't always comfortable questions.

But transformation rarely begins with comfortable questions.

The Woman You Are Becoming Needs Space

One of the lessons I've learned through my own journey is that transformation doesn't always look like a dramatic reinvention.

Sometimes it looks like saying no.

Sometimes it looks like going to the doctor's appointment you've been postponing.

Sometimes it looks like protecting your morning.

Sometimes it looks like leaving the room where you are constantly misunderstood.

Sometimes it looks like asking for help.

And sometimes it looks like sitting quietly long enough to realize that the life you built five years ago no longer fits the woman you are today.

That isn't failure.

That's evolution.

At Rebirth Magazine, we talk about women who create, heal, and lead. But healing deserves

just as much attention as achievement. (Rebirth Magazine)

Because we cannot continually create from an empty place.

We cannot continually lead while abandoning ourselves.

And we cannot call it success if the price of admission is our peace.

There Is No Expiration Date on Becoming

This is especially important as we move through different seasons of womanhood.

We have been conditioned to believe that certain dreams belong to certain ages.

That youth is for becoming.

Middle age is for maintaining.

And later life is for slowing down.

I don't believe that.

My own story—and the story behind my forthcoming book, Tilted 55—has taught me something different: life can shift your perspective at any age.

Sometimes what feels like being knocked off course is actually an invitation to see your life

differently.

That is rebirth.

Not becoming someone else.

Becoming more honest about who you already are.

Let's Stop Glorifying the Woman Who Does It All

I want us to retire one particular badge of honor:

"I can do everything myself"

Yes, you can.

But should you have to?

There is strength in independence. But there is also strength in community.

There is strength in collaboration.

There is strength in saying, "I need help".

There is strength in allowing someone else to carry something for a while.

And there is extraordinary strength in women refusing to compete when we could collaborate.

This matters because women's empowerment isn';t just about getting a seat at the table.

It's also about making sure we don't pull the next woman away from hers.

We have talked a lot about women supporting women. Now I think we're being challenged to move beyond the slogan and into the practice.

Recommend her.

Mentor her.

Hire her.

Buy from her.

Celebrate her.

Tell her the truth.

Make room for her.

And when you rise, don't forget what it felt like to need somebody to hold the door open.

Your Pause May Be Preparing You for Your Next Chapter

So, if life feels a little slower right now, don't automatically assume something is wrong.

Maybe you're not stuck.

Maybe you're recalibrating.

Maybe you're grieving an old version of yourself.

Maybe you're finally recognizing that the dream you had at 30 isn't the dream you have at 50.

Maybe you're healing.

Maybe you're preparing.

Maybe you're becoming.

And maybe this season isn't asking you to do more.

Maybe it is asking you to listen more closely.

Because sometimes the greatest rebirth doesn't begin with a leap.

Sometimes it begins with a pause.

A breath.

A decision.

A boundary.

A quiet realization that says:

"I want something different now."

And sister, you are allowed to want something different.

At 25.

At 35.

At 45.

At 55.

At 65.

At any age.

You are not behind.

You are not too late.

You are not finished.

You are becoming.

And there is still so much life waiting for you on the other side of the pause.

A Rebirth Reminder

This week, give yourself permission to pause before you react, answer, commit, explain,

or continue.

Ask yourself one question:

What is my life trying to teach me in this season?

Then listen.

Not to social media.

Not to everybody else's expectations.

Not to the version of you that existed five years ago.

Listen to you.

Because your next chapter may already be speaking.

You just have to get quiet enough to hear it.

— Simone O. Higginbotham

Founder, Rebirth Magazine