Is It All Downhill After 50? That’s Up to You

Do you remember being 25 and thinking, “Oh crap, 50 is so old and horrible?” I kinda do. I also kinda remember at 35 and 45 thinking, “Oh snap 50 is coming soon! Eeeeep!” What is life over 50 gonna be like?

And then 50 showed up, and I was like, “Oh, wow, that happened fast. Now what?” What happened after that? My attitude changed….a LOT! Life after 50 turned out to be way better than I expected.

You know, my life has had many twists and turns. Many frustrating moments and many wonderful moments. TONS of *what the heck* moments and just as many *this is freakin’ awesome* moments but I have to tell you, in all honesty, 50 kinda scared me.

I was certain that by the time I hit 50, it was all gonna go downhill from there. Yup, I thought that. I truly believed that life over 50 would be bleak, boring, and depressing.

Finding purpose in life after 50

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50 came. My ex had a big 50th bash for me. I drank myself into oblivion and prepared for the end- the end of a fun, youthful life as we know it. I spent the next little while wondering what the rest of my life would be about.

What will it all be for? What am I supposed to do? What haven’t I done yet? The bigger question for me was, Is it too late? Did I miss the boat?

Whatever boat that was. I needed to start finding purpose in life. I had none.

What did happen, as time passed, was that I became more aware of who I was, what I had done so far and what I still needed to do.

One of the biggest things, which proved to be the most life-changing thing, that I had to do was leave my emotionally abusive relationship. Top of the list it was. And halfway into my 50th year, I did just that.

Transforming life after 50

I started figuring out me and my life. For the first time in my life, I was on my own to find out who I was and what was I here for. Age suddenly didn’t matter. I was too wrapped up in getting my life together and discovering my path, my purpose, my passion, and living.

I really just wanted to start living. Something I feel I hadn’t been doing.

51 came and then 52, and then the numbers suddenly didn’t really matter anymore. Life over 50 was proving to but much more exhilarating than I had anticipated.

I was finally living and having fun and being me. I was finally me and enjoying this life. The more I lived and enjoyed, the younger and more youthful I felt. I didn’t feel 50-ish anymore. Some days I felt 16, others 25, and I think some days I may have even felt and acted 10!

Life was good. Life was so good and it just didn’t matter how old I was.

I traded in my 25+ yr hairstyling career and became a freelance writer. I totally transformed my life over 50. A complete overhaul if you will and it was amazing.

You might really enjoy this semi-viral article I wrote recently about how to start over at 50.

How to Start Over at 50 With No Money and Little Hope

Can you find happiness after 50?

Oh, hell ya!! This is what I did after I left my relationship.

Off I went to do the biggest, baddest, and bravest thing I have ever done in my life. Sold my entire life, packed up two suitcases, and bought a one-way ticket to Guatemala. Why?

Because it was time to live- I mean really live- and not care about my age or the ticking of the clock.

It was time for Iva to go be free and embrace this gift of life that, for far too long, she had taken for granted, bitched about, was afraid of, and even, once or twice, thought about ending.

Yup, it was time to enjoy life.

I don’t know if I was looking for happiness or if happiness found me, but I’ll tell you one thing for certain, you can find happiness after 50—ridiculous awesome mind-blowing happiness.

How to live your best life

If you want to live your best life after 50, it all starts with changing one thing: your attitude.

I had to face fears, pull up my big girl panties and get on with life. I had to change my attitude from *life is horrible and I’m too scared to do anything* to *hey life, let’s rock this*!

Does attitude matter? You bet!

You can argue with me ’til the cows come home, and you’ll always be wrong. When your attitude changes from bad to good, your whole world changes.

When you go from *I’m too old to do this* to *Weeeeeeeee I wanna live!!!!* the world opens up and shows you exactly what’s out there. it doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 75. It’s all in your attitude.

I got ballsy and curious. I took risks and laughed in the face of danger.

I started doing things that I didn’t do enough of:

• • laughing

• • having fun

• • playing with kids

• • giving, sharing and loving more

• • not caring what others think

• • facing fear and going on adventures

Life was waiting for me and it didn’t care how old I was.

Life after 50 is more beautiful than you can imagine

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I look in the mirror and never once think OMG, I’m getting old. I look in the mirror and see a youthful, glowing spirit. I see a woman who, at one time, was desperately afraid of getting older and dying, to now a woman who feels and acts like a kid and is living life to the absolute fullest.

So, what keeps me young? It’s my youthful spirit, I say. It’s my zest for life. It’s me taking care of myself and enjoying this wonderful thing called life.

They say you’re only as old as you feel and I want to hug the person who said that. It’s so true. You can feel miserable and depressed or you can feel amazing and love your life after 50. It’s entirely up to you.

I choose amazing and I’m totally loving my life.

Who’s up for splashing in the puddles in with me?