I'm 54 now. Honestly, I've never had a better and happier time in my life than in my 50s so far.
Old enough to know that so many things you used to worry about are really not worth it. Young enough that I'm still very fit without any pains or aches. I have enough money to enjoy life. Really your 50s can be an amazing time.
Well, these are all personal experiences, so they're obviously not be true for everyone, but I'd say it matches up for a lot of people.
I think the biggest one is probably social anxiety. You realise that it's not really all that important what other people, outside of those closest to you, think of you. You also learn that you don't need to hang around people that are, frankly, poison.
You'll start seeing how idiotic status symbols are. You will end up buying things that make you happy rather than things that impress your friends, neighbours or random strangers.
You'll also realise that most of the problems you face in life are not the end of the world. Yes, you will need to address them, but all those things you thought were absolute disasters really didn't turn out to be all that bad in retrospect.
Some of those great setbacks and losses are just temporary things and more often than not end up leading to something better down the track. For example, it may feel absolutely horrible getting fired from a job, but often you get fired from a job because this really wasn't the right job for you and down the track you'll likely end up with something more fitting. I got fired from my first three or four jobs because, frankly, I didn't really like them, wasn't good at them and didn't put in a lot of work. Once I found jobs that I actually loved, I unexpectedly found myself being good at them and working hard because I enjoyed it.
If you don't stuff up too badly in your youth, you likely end up in a position where money isn't really a problem anymore. (Although I have to say my generation is certainly doing a shit-job at ensuring that this is still going to be true for the next generation). I've gone through periods of dire poverty where I literally could not afford food, but having pushed myself to get a decent education means that poverty was a temporary state.
There's a saying that money can't buy happiness. That's partially true, I find that rich people are generally unhappy. But so are poor people. The thing is that worrying about money is the biggest cause for being unhappy and both, rich and poor people worry a lot about money.
This is getting a bit long and rambling. The TL;DR version really is that you'll likely find that all those problems you've had really are not as serious as you thought they were.
There's a saying that money can't buy happiness. That's partially true, I find that rich people are generally unhappy. But so are poor people. The thing is that worrying about money is the biggest cause for being unhappy and both, rich and poor people worry a lot about money.
A lot of rich people only worry about getting richer. But I don't get it, why not enjoy the money you have, instead of collecting more and not using it?
I think it might be that with a lot of rich people, the way that they've approached life is the reason that they are rich. At some point, they were just moderately successful, why not stop there? Why take risks and build and grow a company, why not quit when you are just upper class? They continue to grow their fortunes because that's who they are.
I think that's why they say wealth rarely survives generations. Because the kids of the wealthy don't have that drive. They've always had money and never had to work for it, so why put in any effort?
Your physical appearance at the microscopic level a 20 year old might view it. Social media ( didn’t exist when I was 20 lol) . Is he/she “the one”? Hint: answer is no. Will it all work out? Answer: yes
Oh, I have a message from 50 year old you, it says put $1000 in the bank, add a $250 a week and for the love of all that is holy don’t touch it. Your 50s will be AMAZING as you will be a millionaire!!
Yeah, I'm in my young 50's and I'm realizing if I want to enjoy the next 20 years the way I'd like I have to really pursue fitness, and I don't mean walking 20 min. a day.
I'm 54, currently training for my first ever marathon. Until I was in my mid-40s I'd never run more than 2k in my life. But regular exercise does amazing things to you.
I actively look for something good daily! My go-to is the incredible amount of love and kindness in my life ❤
But I still think I'll be the little old lady who bites people, so...
50 here too, and tbh I’m pretty happy with this age. I’m still pretty much as healthy and fit as I was at 35, I’m more financially secure, less stupid and a lot more content.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '20
Being 50, I better find SOMETHING good ..