CHECK-mate
What midlife teaches us about strategy, sacrifice, and finally playing by your own rules.
“If you know (or learning) chess, you will really get where I am coming from here. It’s such a complex ‘game’, yet life is sort of no different. It all depends on the player and the circumstances we find ourselves in. One thing it has definitely taught me – patience!”
creator of maison 1973, Nic
STRATEGY And Sacrifice
There’s a moment somewhere in midlife when the ‘board’ comes into focus. Not just the ‘pieces’ in play, but the patterns. The moves we keep making. The strategies that no longer serve us. The times we gave up the ‘queen’ to keep the peace.
Chess is a metaphor for life, that’s for sure.
Sometimes life is a journey, sometimes a game. Not in a trivial sense. But in the way that every move matters. That nothing is random? That timing is everything? And that, at some point, we get to choose whether we keep reacting or start directing.
So is life a chess game? Maybe. But we’re no longer playing by someone else’s rules.
So let’s play.
Opening MOVES: The Game We Didn’t Know We Were In
In your twenties, you’re the pawn. You move forward because that’s what you were told to do. Get the job. Date the person. Be agreeable. Stay small. Fit in.
You think you’re making progress, but you’re just following the board. You’re not taught to see the game. You’re taught to play your part.
And then one day something breaks. A job. A relationship. A belief. And you start to ask:
Who set up this board?
MIDDLE Game: Strategy, Sacrifice & Self-Trust
By midlife, you’ve sacrificed some things.
Some by choice. Some by force. Some in silence.
We give up comfort to protect our ambition. We give up softness to survive in male-dominated rooms. We give up time with people we love, to prove ourselves.
We’ve played defensively. We’ve waited. We’ve overthought the next move. We’ve stayed still because risk felt reckless.
But the longer you’ve been on the board, the more you start to see: The only way to win is to play your own game.
And maybe to redefine what “winning” even is.
Endgame Energy: When You STOP Playing to Be Liked
Midlife is the endgame energy you didn’t know you needed. You stop trying to charm your way through. You don’t wait for permission to move. You’re not trying to be the knight or the queen or the bishop – you’re the damn board now.
You’re not here to prove anything. You’re here to move with intention.
You’re not scrambling for checkmate.
You’re playing for peace.
“In business and in life, you’re not always the queen. Sometimes you’re the pawn. What matters is how well you know the board.”
creator of maison 1973, Nic
The Rules You Were GIVEN vs. The Rules You Now Write
Remember when the goal was to make it to the other side? To climb the ladder. To get the title. To own the house. To tick the box.
No one told you the game keeps resetting. That you can win by quitting. That you can gain by letting go. That you can love the game and still choose not to play it like everyone else.
Midlife gives you the luxury of rewriting your rules:
- You can opt out of performance for performance sake.
- You can prioritise presence over perception.
- You can stop moving just because everyone else is.
- You can take your time and still get to where you want to be.
- You can move left, when everyone else moves right.
- You can start a new game all over again.
- You can analyse all the moves you’ve made so far and decide which direction to take next.
- You can become better than you’ve ever been.
- You can play the long game. Or a quick one. You choose.
- You can set up the board yourself – you don’t need to wait for someone else to do it.
What They Never TOLD You About the Game
They told you it was about being smart. But they never said wisdom would come from mistakes.
They told you it was about staying ten steps ahead. But they never said stillness could be a strategy.
They told you to be tactical. But they never said intuition could be your most powerful move.
They never said you could change the board entirely. That you could burn it down and build something better. That you could play in a way that honours your energy, your values, your version of a good life.
But now you know.
THE maison 1973 Takeaway
Maybe life is a chess game. But at midlife, we stop playing to win by their definition. We start playing with joy, with clarity, and with the full awareness of every move we’ve made to get here.
And that changes everything.
You’re not just another piece on the board. You are the player. The strategist. The whole damn table.
Play wisely. Play freely. And above all, play your game.
Now let’s play.
