How to Change Your Life at 50 in 6 Not-So-Easy Steps

In case you missed the memo, life really does start at 50. You’re welcome. Today, I want to talk to you a bit about how to change your life at 50 so you can finally be happy and live the life you have always wanted to live.

Grab your coffee or wine, and let’s go!

I wrote a similar blog a while back about how to change your life with no money, no job, nudda, and it’s a pretty popular one that garnered a poop ton of attention and comments, so it’s safe for me to assume that there are so many over 50 peeps trying to change their life.

Here’s the other blog:

How to Start Over at 50

That one talks about how to start over with no money and no job and sweet piss all. Like when you hit rock bottom, and you have gotta climb your way out, but this time you’re over 50, and it’s not so easy.

Today I wanna talk about how to change your life at 50 but in different ways, like the more personal, spiritual, and emotional side of you.

I want to discuss things like:

• finding your voice and using it

• how to stop being a doormat

• dumping all the toxic people in your life

• embracing change, and

• so much more!

How can I change my life in 7 days?

Before you think I’m going to show you how to change your life in seven days, just stop right now. I’m not, and you can’t. And if someone tries to sell you something that says, “Here’s how to change your life in seven days,” run away.

They’re lying. It’s impossible.

But you can get started working on changing your life ASAP. It can take 7 days to form one new habit, but honestly, you have to keep at it. Maintainence. It’s like showering. You have to do it daily.

Changing your life at 50

I have to say that changing your life at any age can be somewhat terrifying, but changing your life at 50—well, to be perfectly honest, it’s a tad less terrifying and more liberating. You start doing things you’ve always wanted to do but just never really had the balls to do, OR you were so busy making everyone else happy that your own happiness took the back burner. Amirite?

For many of us women over 50, we’ve just left our husbands/partners, some of us after many many years (yay you babe!!), and we’re trying to find ourselves; as cliché as that sounds, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’ve spent the first part of our lives pleasing everyone else and doing what they, and society, wanted and expected from us.

Well, we ain’t doing that crap anymore!!!

Here we are, alone. We have our own place and our own identity. But what makes us tick? So many of us are still trying to figure that out. I’m going to help you with that now.

You might enjoy this video from my YouTube channel Women Blazing Trails. Take a few minutes to watch and see if it resonates with you and how many “oh ya girl, I get you” moments you have. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button while you’re there.

So let’s dive deeper into how to change your life after 50.

Finding purpose in life after 50

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women say, “I’m having a hard time finding purpose in life after 50” or “How do I find my purpose in life?” First of all, I have to say that ‘finding your purpose’ is overrated. People read too much into this phrase.

What I want you to find is things that make your heart sing, things that bring you a tremendous amount of joy, and things that make you excited to get out of bed every morning. I want you to find things that put a skip back in your step and a smile on your face.

Is that how you know you’ve found your purpose?

I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know that that’s how you know you’ve found freedom in living your life the way YOU want to live it. And to me, that’s finding your purpose in life after 50.

Everything that is meant for you will show up for you at that moment and thereafter.

How to change your life for the better

Let’s get real for a minute. If you’re going to take the time to start making life changes, I can only assume and hope that you are changing your life for the better, no? I mean, I could be wrong, but the alternative seems kind of ridiculous.

Yet still, so many people want to know how to change your life for the better, and here’s what I have to say about that:

Dump everything and everyone in your life if they don’t make you happy.

Ok, so that sounds radical, for lack of better words, but hear me out. You are at a stage in your life now where you are questioning things like:

• who you are,
• why you do the things you do,
• why some people are still in your life,
• how you put up with bullcrap for so long, and
• who the heck am I?

You’re not here reading this because your life is full of joy and bliss, and everything is grand. Nope. You’re here because you’re probably miserable, frustrated, and sad, and you really want to know how to change your life.

So those questions and many more are going through your mind over and over again.

It really is a matter of taking time to sit down and take inventory of your life. That’s what I had to do, and what a game-changer, or should I say life-changer, that was for me. I realized so many things that I had been doing that were making me unhappy, and it opened my eyes to the things and people that needed to go.

So if you really want to know how to change your life for the better, look for all the things and people in your life that are robbing you of your joy. Start there!

How do I completely change my life?

Now if you’re ready and looking for a major life overhaul, then I love you! Ha! I mean, I love you anyway, but yay you for being so ballsy and brave that you’re ready to change your life completely.

The video above tells my story of how I completely reinvented my entire life, and honestly, it will blow your mind, BUT what I truly want you to get from that video is this message:

If I can do it, so can you!

And I’m sorry, I know that too sounds so cliché but it’s so true. This is coming from a girl who lived her entire life in Northern Ontario, Canada, where nothing and no one ever changes, and life just goes on. This comes from a girl who is afraid of her own shadow and hates being alone.

Is it possible to completely change your whole life? You bet!

It’s scary, it will take a while, and some things will shock you and make you want to stop and go back. Just keep plowing forward with persistence and patience. Throw in a dash of determination, and you’ve got life by the balls, babe!

How to change your life completely in 6 not-so-easy steps

So I want to get right to the point here and show you how to change your life, in every way shape and form possible. It’s not always going to be easy, you will cry many times, you will shout in glee more times than you cry (or your tears may turn into happy tears) and you will feel liberation like you’ve never felt before.

Let’s do it.

1 Dump the toxic people in your life

All of them. If it’s your boss or spouse, get rid of ’em. And don’t say, “oh sure Iva it’s easy for you to say” YES, it is easy for me to say because I did it. And if I can do it, so can you.

You need to eliminate the people in your life who are causing you grief. Why on earth do you want them in your life? That makes no sense. Dump ’em!

2 Use your voice more

Seriously, practice raising your voice a little and saying “NO.” Practice talking and listening to the sound of your voice saying things that bring you joy and don’t make you sad or angry.

Learn how to say “YES” to yourself. Practice telling people you are no longer free to be disrespected or a verbal punching bag to their anger. Say yes to adventure and no to dull, boring routine.

3 Chase your dreams

What are some of the things you’ve longed to do for so long but never had the chance to do (and now you do)? What lights your heart on fire when you think about it?

Every one of us has a dream that we put on the back burner for some reason and never chased or followed through with it. Do it now.

4 Do something alone that terrifies you

This is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. Doing something alone that terrifies me.

I packed up my entire life, bought a one-way ticket to Guatemala, and off I went, alone, with no clue what the heck I was doing. Yup. That was almost 8 years ago, and I look back now and just think, “wow-that was friggin’ crazy and I did it!”.

That’s the feeling you want.

5 Change careers

Yes, I get that sounds totally ridiculous and impossible, but I’m here to tell you it’s neither. It’s totally doable and so much friggin fun. Hard but rewarding. I know this because I did it.

I traded in a 25+ yr career as a hairstylist, became a freelance writer, and am now a website owner. So ya, you can do it. It’s up to you to create the life that gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning.

6 Do something that brings you great joy!

Go and do something you’ve always wanted to do but just never had the chance to do. Skydiving, surfing, traveling alone, karaoke, having hot, steamy fun with a 21-year-old, whatever!! You have been stifled and suppressed for so long now; it’s time for you.

Chase the things that will bring you great joy and finally do them. Yeehaw!!!!

How long does it take to change your life?

The million-dollar question. I wish there was an easy answer, but there isn’t. It’s up to you. It could take a year, six months, or a lifetime.

I can tell you for sure it won’t take 7 days.

How badly do you want to change your life?

How much effort, time, and dedication are you willing to put into it?

How bad do you want it?

Life after 50

You now have the freedom to create the life you want to live for yourself, not for anyone else. People who love you will understand. Those who don’t understand may or may not figure it out, and that’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for being yourself and how you live your life.

Life after 50 can either be horribly boring or totally exhilarating and liberating. It’s entirely up to you.

Before I forget to sign off, I want to share my self-improvement eStore with you. Every ebook, course, and program, I created myself from lots of experience and great love.

Please click here to check out my awesome and life-changing eStore and grab the right tool for you.

How to change your life and be happy!

I told you it was gonna be scary (wait, did I?), and I told you that you would have to do big bad brave, ballsy things. Please do it anyway.

Now that you know how to change your life at 50 and have some tips to get started, well, get started!

I want you to take a good, long, hard look at the last 50-something years you’ve been living, and that will remind you why you’re on this blog in the first place.

Yes, changing your life after 50 will come with many challenges and losses. You will lose people, and you will lose the old you; you will be faced with fear and have to conquer it.

You are stepping into a totally new you, and it’s going to feel super awkward and weird at times throughout your changes.

Just make them. Do yourself a favor, STOP living for everyone else, and START living for YOU!! Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes. It’s up to you to create the life you want, desire and deserve.

You so got this, babe!

mad love

xo iva xo