Is 50 The New 30?
At 18 you want to have a love affair. At 21 you pursue your ambitions with dogged persistence, but at 50 you simply enjoy a sense of calm fulfillment. You could hold on to the memories of reckless bike rides and slow jives, but why move languorously when being fifty can be just as exhilarating! This is the time to wrangle with fear… go bungee jumping, river rafting, hang gliding, sky diving… just go wild!
What's Making 50 The New 30?
Falling In Love – Commenting about the tomfoolery of the couples in Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck says to Oberon "Lord what fools these mortals be". No better time to be a fool for love than at 50! Economically secure and emotionally responsible, you are now at a stage where love comes with more maturity. True love may have eluded you these many years, it may have spurned you, or maybe it enraptured you and sauntered away… whatever the case, you always have a second chance for an amorous swoon. Put failed marriages and relationships behind you and start with renewed hope and excitement.
Turning Entrepreneur – There is no such thing as a retirement age anymore. You can be sitting on a beach sipping a pina colada, while running your internet business or completing your freelance design/writing assignment. Since you've gained not just the respect of your colleagues in the industry, but also voluminous experience in your field, you can now begin your very own business. Will Bontrager, ezine publisher, blogger and web site software developer, is one such entrepreneur who works with his wife from his motorhome. He provides web development techniques to webmasters, while also enjoying holidays with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Take a cue, open up that music store, Italian restaurant, or online retail store you've always wanted to! Before you start investing in a business however, assess your goals and the manner in which you want to spend your years.
Having A Baby – So you've reached menopause and you now feel you want to have kids! The fear of having a child with birth defects, of a miscarriage and many other health risks, keeps you from even thinking about getting pregnant at 50. Here's some news for you; there were about 148,055 assisted reproductive technology procedures conducted in the United States, in 2008 alone, to help infertile couples get pregnant. In cases where genetic problems or health conditions could jeopardize the pregnancy, you could even seek the help of a surrogate to carry the pregnancy to term.
Taking Up A New Hobby – At 30, you're too busy trying to make the money you need to buy your dream home, car and obtain that elite club membership. Social networking and hobnobbing with the corporate elite becomes way more rewarding than taking up that music class over the weekend. 50 is a good time to develop a passionate hobby. Pack your bags for a weekend pottery workshop or an exercise class. Aches and pains are more pronounced at 50 and amnesia seems to come unannounced. Calisthenics and yoga are a great way to get started if you're passionate about fitness. Fifty-one year old actor George Clooney does aerobics, pushups, jazz-exercises and yoga to stay fit. Lose yourself in a hobby and open yourself up to newer possibilities. For the more adventurous non-conformists there's always sky diving, caving or glacier surfing!
Becoming A Political Leader – Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States who led the country through the American Civil War, was 51 years old when he got elected. "I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end" said Linclon. If you are fired by the same conviction, to use what you know best, to help and better the society you live in, then don't let the fear of failure, or naysayers hold you back. When you look at a political situation, spend some time thinking about how you would have managed it better and don't ever rest until you have shared this idea; you know you were meant to do great things and it's never too late to begin.
... may the force be with you!