Tag: 50 plus

How to Find the Advantages Aging Has for You

During my 50’s I began to question our cultural notions about aging, loss and deterioration. I had people close to me just give up on life at this point in their own lives. Something within me knew that growing older shouldn’t be so dark and gloomy. So I began a quest to find what was good, and positive, and promising about midlife and beyond. You can read about the advantages I invite you to use the steps that follow to start on your own quest for the advantages aging has for you.

Change the Conversation

“Get out of the cage of age” are the words that Christiane Northrup, M.D. uses when she urges us to change the conversation around aging. Before trying to change the conversation in society at large, she says to start with the conversations you have within yourself around aging. Dr. Northrup, an expert in health and wellness, gives some excellent tips on how to do this in her guide 12 Ways to Remain Ageless.

Change Your Mindset and Focus

Rather than looking for and finding only the physical changes that came as I grew older, I turned my attention to some of the nonphysical perks I was enjoying. I promise if you look, you’ll find some. They may not be the same as mine,  but they will be there. That’s your start. Just be aware of what you feel good about and grateful for. Make note of it. Write or talk about it. Then just practice it. Daily and consistently.

Look Beyond Your Own Aging

Once  you are aware of the benefits and practice feeling good and  grateful, you’ll pick up on more and more reasons to believe that you and your life have value and meaning. You will see other people 50+ living lives of joy and purpose in ways that you never imagined. Look for examples and pay attention to what comes your way. Celebrate possibility. Then look for your own opportunities.

Answer What Calls To You

Usually the first sign that you have a calling to something more is a strong desire to share. You have a skill, a talent, an idea or opportunity that you know can add to general  good. That’s when you’ll know that there’s something next for you. Take the time to sort out your gifts and your blocks to sharing. Then you can get yourself ready to make a commitment to answer the call.

Find Resources That Resonate

This is the part where you get to take joy in the journey. The gift that you have to share is already within you. But the path you are to take will show just one step at a time. There are people, happenings and things that will serve as door-openers and guides. You’ll know them when they show up by how well they resonate with you and your purpose. It’s taking the steps that will be so rewarding.

What advantages have you found in the aging, and how have you been using them? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Self-Expression is Your Gift to the World

Desire To Share

Chances are the first inkling you had of a calling to do something new, or great, or different came to you in the form of a desire to share. You want the world and the people in it to be better in some way. Whatever shape your next thing takes, you are probably looking to make a positive impact. Since you want to share it, you know you already have it within you. You can’t share what you don’t have.

Release Your Blocks

Even when you have already received the gift you’re meant to share, you struggle and it may look like this:

  • You fear that you will be judged by others.
  • You doubt that you can really do this or that this is yours.
  • You feel guilty for not doing “real” work or for having something good.
  • You believe you don’t know where or how to start.
  • You worry that someone will take it away from you.

The anecdote to this negative thinking is to give yourself permission to feel, be grateful for, and express your gift. That’s the magic that allows you to share. Take the first steps, even if they’re wobbly ones. It gets better as you go.

Express Your Gift

Maybe you’ll write a memoir, create beautiful stained glass artwork, teach kids to read, start a business, perform on stage, or encourage someone else to grow. It’s your gift to express in your own unique way. That’s not to say that you have to do this alone. Probably you won’t. For the things in ourselves that we cannot see and the path that remains hidden to us, there are door openers and guides that serve us. Train yourself to be aware of them when they show up.

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How do you want to express your awesome gifts to the world? Share in the comments below.

Life Over 50 – How To Make It The Best

How do you view the continuum of life?

I am changing. I accept my time left is much less than my time already lived. I realize my body will deteriorate and eventually die. But while that process  goes on slowly (I hope) in the background, I challenge the accepted notions of life over 50 based on loss.

I believe:

  • this time of life has as much purpose and joy as any other.
  • this is a time of reinvention, based on all that has gone before, where I am now, and the legacy I want to leave.
  • the continuum of life does seem to follow that standard curve that we all know so well.

    19759236753_6cd2cd8e1f_n flickr post 2 curve PicM

    When we enter the physical realm at birth, our physical-spiritual paths are still very closely entwined. Through childhood, teens and earlier adulthood, our path becomes increasingly more focused on this physical plane. At midlife, the spiritual-physical paths weave back together again. This puts us in an good position, with the wisdom of experience plus an expanded sense of possibility. We’re meant to make a mark that pleases us and is good for others before we return fully to the spiritual plane.

These beliefs have evolved over time for me. I’ve questioned why some people give up on life as they grow older. Do we have to follow a set pattern, or do we have more choice in what we believe and how we age? I think that choice is the key. If we’re not figuring out our path for ourselves, we are definitely missing out on some of the best that life has to offer. 

 Share in the comments below 

What are some commonly accepted ideas and attitudes about aging that simply are not true for you?

 

 

 

What’s Possible For You?

There were hints that new possibilities awaited me.

  • I didn’t stay in a job for long anymore.
  • I was getting job interviews always, but job offers never.
  • I had to answer yes when my husband asked, “Do you think that maybe it’s because you really don’t want the job?”
  • I felt called to pursue my desire to write

I spent the next ten years overwhelmed by the possibilities of what I could do next. While I was grateful to see them, I’d have preferred focus and forward movement much sooner. I let all of the coulds and shoulds get in my way.

Here are some valuable tips that I learned along the way.

  • Just because you are good at something, it doesn’t mean you should be doing it.
  • Be open to the unexpected and consider the uncommon.
  • Let other people serve as door openers, but don’t expect  them to make things happen for you.
  • Trust your “knowing” when it comes to you. It’s your greatest gift.

Once I began to listen to my heart and pay attention to what came my way, things became clearer. It took awareness and practice, but I finally had the direction I wanted to commit to.

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Share your experience and tips in the comments below.   Where are you on the path to your next thing?