by Sir Don
At 50, you will realize the importance of time.
Money can give you more quality time, but deciding how much money you need can be a balancing act.
Money comes and goes, and so does time. And it passes surprisingly more quickly as you get older.
You won’t change the irrational or crazy.
The people who were problematic in your life at age 20 will not automatically improve with age. There are a few exceptions to this, but not many.
Some of your interests will change.
You will become more passionate about a smaller number of things as you age.
Certain things that were so important to you in your 20s will cease to matter at all.
Quality family and friends will become more important.
Desire for recognition will fade, at least somewhat; desire for security will increase as you get older.
If you don’t start to take care of yourself by age 30, you will wish that you had.
Some of the people who were the “life of the party” at 25 will have major medical issues or even die, beginning in their 40s.
Your liver and kidneys weren’t meant to process alcohol or drugs on a daily basis; your lungs weren’t designed to be filled with smoke. Stay away from that stuff. You will be 50 and you will regret not having taken care of yourself.
If you do take care of yourself, you’ll still feel like you’re 20…and you’ll be surprised when people refer to you as “Sir” or “Ma’am.”
And then you’ll realize that they are half your age! And it will be their turn to be shocked when you can run, swim, hike, or bike longer and harder than they can. Trust me, that feels good.
Get negative people out of your life fast and save your positive energy for those who build you up, and who can benefit from your positivity. You only have so much time, and so much energy, use it wisely.
Inside every old person is a young person who’d like to get out…you’re not yet old at 50, but you’re far closer to the “other” side.
You start to realize the value in the life experiences of the 70, 80, and 90+ year-old crowd.
They were once young and they were once as strong as you are now. They did things that mattered. Many of them still do. And some of them have the stamina to match you, yet.
Don’t discount them.
Younger people in positions of authority tend to discriminate against selecting you if you’re 45+.
That’s just the way it is; get used to it. You may have once been in their position! Be aware that you may have to try harder or jump through higher hoops. And the fact that you still can may surprise even you.
Experience often outweighs brute strength.
Life is not fair. You’re told that at age 20, but you really understand it well by age 50. What wrecks your day at age 20 is often just a bump in the road at 50. You deal with it, and move on.
When you encounter unjust opposition, sometimes after weighing your various courses of action, your best option really is to fight back. Strike hard, decisively, and to win.
You’ll realize that you can’t change the world. But if you can change it for just one soul, you will have succeeded.
How can you do that?
The ways are many:
Help a child, whether yours or someone else’s. Hire someone and give them a chance. Adopt a dog or a cat. Become a vegetarian. Volunteer. Smile at people who are exiting a store as you’re entering.
You get the idea now, right?
You have the greatest gift to offer in the entire world, whenever you choose to…and that is YOU.
And by age 50, if you’ve done some things right, your presence in the world will be more valuable at age 50 than at age 20, because you’ve touched more lives.
