Plan On Having An Active Life in Retirement!
This is a real milestone when you consider that it’s a half of a century. Some choose to celebrate their 50th birthday, while others would rather let the day go by with the less fuss the better. Whatever your feelings are we can’t stop time but we can choose what we want to do with it.
To Celebrate or not
Turning 50 is not the end. It’s the beginning of a new chapter in your life. It’s a time when most of us will spend some time reflecting on our life. Our accomplishments, our disappointments, where we’ve been, and what we’ve done and where we have yet to go. It certainly a good time to consider and get inspired about what we haven’t done so far and still want to do.
Life is full of ups and down at all ages
As we age this doesn’t change. Around your 50s life can bring lots of change and challenges. With aging often come more health challenges for us, our family and friends. We are often faced with things we haven’t had to face before like our kids leaving home coming to terms with an empty nest, dealing with aging parents and thinking more about our retirement years just to name a few.
Physical changes within us.
Then there are changes that become more apparent within ourselves, we notice more wrinkles, our eye site isn’t as sharp. Other issues like arthritis, high cholesterol, and blood pressure are more prevalent as we age. But keep in mind many challenges can be overcome with the right attitude. When challenges arise some people will be overcome by them and give in to them right away while others will become proactive to overcome or improve them and maintain their health and independence well into old age.
By no means old
Turning 50 or even 60 today is by no means old. When you consider that you could be around for another 30-40 years maybe more, its lots of time to do many of the things that you never got around to. It’s in your own best interest to figure out what you want to do with this next third of your life. Many of these years can continue to be very productive. I’m sure we all know of people that continue to ski, golf, enjoy travel or run a business way past retirement age. There are those that still continue to try new things into their late 80’s and 90’s.
Take advantage of opportunities
There are lots of great opportunities to learn new skills, like learning to paint, play an instrument, learn a new language and pick up on neglected hobbies, travel to new places, and meet new people. At this time of life it’s time to think more about you and what you want to achieve. When it comes down to it life is more about experiences than stuff. Stuff doesn’t create good memories and friendships, it doesn’t fulfill or inspire you; it’s positive experiences that do that. So create fun, happy adventures for yourself!
It’s not all down hill from here!
Of course there are some that think it’s going to be all downhill after 50 that the best of their life is over but that does not have to be true unless that’s what you want. In fact it’s far from true for most. If every 7 seconds someone reaches their 50th birthday there are a lot of people out there dealing with turning 50. We can decide what attitude we plan to have! Do you plan to have a negative attitude toward your life over 50 or one of hope, fulfillment and purpose?
Changing retirement plans
With changes in the economy many are forced into changing their retirement plans by having to work longer than they intended. Some will find they have to postpone or trim back on plans. Even if this is so, keep in mind that it’s important to do what you can, because for many after a certain age they don’t feel they want to travel far anymore. And if there are activities that you want to participate in do them while you are able. There is no denying that finances play a big factor in what we are able to do but we can’t let that keep us from doing the things that are possible. This may also include finding ways to make some extra income.
Don’t put things off
If you are retired, or planning to retire soon you will be having different thoughts than someone in their 50s that is still working with a family to support. Even so the nest will be empty before you know it and you still need to think about you and your life. There are times in our life when we are more able to do and enjoy certain things more than others. We can’t put everything off until tomorrow.
Making a difference
If you have worked hard and now considering retiring you may want to think about having some fun and doing things that you really want to do. Use your time to make a difference to your own life and the lives of others.
Join us
Lifbydesignover50 is here to offer ideas, information, support, and to share experiences with like minded individuals. Please join us and participate in forums and share your ideas and experiences with others. Membership is free.
Link to this page
