There is something pretty spectacular about reaching a half-century. You suddenly realise you’ve made it to that age where you are meant to be old and boring but it just doesn’t feel that way. Yes, you’ve turned 50 and that means you are now a full-fledged adult, probably with kids and a career that is so far along that you’re now saving rapidly for retirement, but that hasn’t changed the fact that you still feel like a twenty-one year old.
With that in mind, we have pulled together a list of things you should do once you turn fifty. Some of these will cater to the child in you, others will help you grasp the fact you are now shooting down the hill toward wrinkle-ville. Whichever camp you are leaning toward, all of these are worth a little consideration.
1. Give out a bunch of heartfelt and genuine compliments this week simply because psychologytoday.com says it is good for you. Give them out to those your love, your nearest and dearest, strangers you meet on the bus or at the pub, anyone and everyone. If you have a nice thought, share it and see how amazing you feel afterwards.
2. Invite someone new in your life to go for a beer/wine/decaf coffee (delete according to your current diet). It could be the stranger you met on the bus or someone you got chatting to in the waiting room at the dentist, an acquaintance made at a friend’s drinks do or the new person at work.
3. Go and do a life expectancy calculator test. This will give you a prediction as to how many years you may have left, which will be baseless and nonsensical, but it could trigger something in you. With that in mind, write down the five things you want to do or achieve before that date comes around. Really plan it.
4. Go through your finances. All too many people bury their heads in the sand when it comes to finances, especially those that are riding a wave of debt. Don’t let this be an excuse anymore. Go through your finances, make a budget, speak to a financial advisor and start seriously putting money away for retirement.
6. Plan your retirement. All of it. Plan your retirement party, plan where you want to live, whether the assisted living at McKnightPlace.com is of interest or if you are planning on building a studio flat at the bottom of your son’s garden. Plan what parts of the world you will see and who you will socialize with. Plan what clubs you are going to join and how much wine you will drink. Plan it all.
7. Go and try that therapy thing that is all the rage. It could be one has always taken your fancy or you could work your way down the list, starting with aromatherapy at home, then reflexology, then move onto acupuncture, before finally laying on a couch and having a psychotherapist ask you a bunch of questions that will maybe-possible get to the core of who you are.
