When I entered my fifties, I had a huge party. We had friends from my school days, who are Godparents to our children. I had friends from South Africa where we lived for 3 years, plus friends from our 3 years living in Nigeria.
Other friends locally were invited plus relations and, of course, our 3 children. It was a really happy event. It was MY party and I was therefore able to bore the guests stiff with a long speech!!!
However, it was a liberating experience. Although I realised that I was past the mid-point, and my life wasn’t going to go on forever I did feel fearless of the future. I was (am fit), and always mixed (and still mix) with positive friends.
How to thrive in later life
There are plenty of advantages to later life but also pitfalls. For example, your children are leaving home. If your life has been organised around your family, you might feel lost when your children become independent and less in need of your involvement, and then even more so when they eventually move out of your home. This can be a hard transition for many people over 50, especially women. Some welcome this new phase of life, but others seek to fill the void, often with more stuff.
You’ve focused on your work, and now you’re going through a change, whether you want to or not: Maybe you’re changing jobs, going back to work, or doing something completely different. Perhaps, as a woman, you are experiencing menopausal issues.
You could be happily planning your retirement but are aware that your life will change significantly once you do. Anytime you change roles, your identity can feel threatened, which can disrupt your view of yourself.
Your marriage is ending. : If you’ve been married for many years, or even a few, a shift in this area of your life has profound implications. Even if it is something you wanted, it still can create big changes in your life.
Create a personal theme that defines what your life will be. Ask yourself what you want your life to look like over the next few years, and you’ll come up with a vision for your future, which will be your personal theme. Once you have your theme, you can work on getting rid of everything in your life that doesn’t fit the theme, and you will be prepared to let go of the clutter.
Identify the different kinds of clutter that exist in your life. Clutter can take many different forms, but all of it can make you feel weighed down and stuck. Clutter is anything that is obsolete, time-consuming and de-energising. If you can call it clutter, then chances are good that it doesn’t belong in your life anymore.
I love to hear your comments on later life, so do contact me.