7 Top Tips to Moving Forward After Fifty

1) Notice your ageist prejudices

If you didn’t know your birthday, would your age make you feel different?

In my interviews for my book Forward After 50, The Rising Reinventors, the resounding answer is that we don’t feel our age. 

Are you acting your age?

“Act your age” must be one of the most harmful expressions said to a small child. The expression to admonish so-called childish behaviour; the very words could become ingrained into your psyche.

Acting your age can define your capabilities. You could be entering the danger zone of age stereotyping. Exercise and technology are great examples. I started jogging at sixty-six and my sister at fifty-seven; if there’s a new technology system, I’m curious to try it. If you or I listened to the “Act your age” lobby, we’d give up before the next breath.

Stop making assumptions about what you can do

You now have more tools than ever to keep your mind and body healthy. Isn’t it time we all saw the importance of respecting each other? Stop making assumptions about your abilities or worth based on age. Once you are aware of your ageist tendencies, dealing with others will be easy.

Take action – Wind yourself up

Speak positively and be optimistic about the years ahead. Some cultures would have you believe that winding down is the right attitude. I challenge you instead to wind up and start living your best life. You’ll be amazed how it makes you feel inspired, excited, and enthusiastic for what could be thirty/forty years plus.

2) Recognise what you have to offer

Share your wisdom and experience

Over the years, you will have gained many experiences, some good and some bad, each adding to your story. Everyone has something to pass on to the next person, including you. You may not have imagined that your life journey has much significance, but it can be inspirational to someone else. Your wisdom, skills, and experiences are valuable; don’t hesitate to share them.

Don’t discount yourself

When my coach suggested I write a book, it felt surreal as I had never allowed myself to believe that I had anything book-like to offer. However, slowly it became clear that wasn’t true. Ultimately, my mission is accomplished if this helps just one person see the positivity and opportunities after fifty. Sharing can mean learning new skills and diving into the unknown, which was the world of writing for me.

Pay attention

You may be unable to describe what you want to create in your life. However, paying attention to what others say can inspire and help you better understand your desires and aspirations. It can also allow you to identify the things that matter to you and make you happy.

Take action

Like me, you may need help figuring out where to start. So spend time brainstorming or journaling ways to share your experience and wisdom—e.g. Volunteering, intergenerational connection, teaching, writing, or speaking in communities.

3) Be clear about your boundaries

What are boundaries

The dictionary definition of Boundaries is a line that marks the limits of an area. As women, we tend to lack boundaries and put others first. Recognise the boundaries you need to put in place, and then learn how to maintain them.

Ask for what you want

There’s nothing wrong with asking for what you want in life. But first, you need to articulate to yourself what you want. However, education may have tainted your thinking around this inequality. It’s not selfish to look after yourself; it’s vital. If family and friends are going to be surprised or threatened by your wanting changes, start by communicating that it’s your turn now.

Put yourself first

Putting yourself first is essential, so you are in good stead to help others. There’s no retirement at any age when it comes to responsibilities. Over-fifty can mean the addition of looking after your parents. Ideally, it would be best to look after yourself and become healthy, wealthy, and wise, which means taking care of your finances, investing in an exercise program, and using your wisdom to create a future life that works for you.

End relationships that don’t serve you

It’s essential to feel confident and empowered. Certain friendships/relationships can be unhealthy; they can drain your precious energy mentally and physically. Set some boundaries, let go of toxic relationships and spend time only with people who make you feel good.

Take action

Your boundaries can be challenged as an over-fifty woman if you want a change in your life. Create a happy environment with people you want to be with and where you want to live/stay.

4) Reset your perception of time

 Are you worrying about time?

Time can seem to fly by, and worse still, you might think it’s running out; after all, you are over fifty. It isn’t! Reset your perception of time.

In my book, one of my interviewees, Carol Evans, summed up her fear of lack of time with the following.

“I have a little bit of fear that time is running out. I have become much more conscious about time. We do not realise what we’re exchanging time for. Time has become even more precious to me. I’m much more conscious about what time I’m giving away for each day that I exchange. Time is our most precious commodity. And yet, for most of our lives, we treat it like we treat our good health; we take it for granted.” Carol Evans

Your concept of time

Why does time seem to fly the older we become? There are many theories. The logical one is your day is full. Time seems to slow down when we have nothing to do, and boredom creeps into our lives. Have you ever sat at a desk and twiddled your thumbs wishing the day away because you were not inspired by a job or challenged enough?

As a young adult, you may find your life purpose; however, until you do, you may feel that life is grinding to a stop. Ironically, when you’re young, you often see time as endless and might not know what to do with yourself. But, conversely, when you’re older, you see time running out, and your timetable is endless.

Change your thinking

You have a lot more time than you think. Life expectancy has changed, which means if you are approaching fifty today, there’s a high chance that you will live to one hundred. We are living longer due to improvements in health and the continuing growth in longevity knowledge, allowing us to improve how we age.

So, rather than considering this a catch-up time, view it as the right time to move forward and reinvent after fifty. Then you can live without regret. Don’t let age define your time.

Take action

Make two lists of things you love doing and things you’re good at. How can you build these into everything you do?

5) Give credit to bad experiences and mistakes

Bad experiences and mistakes deserve more credit

We all want life to go smoothly. However, the reality is that we make mistakes and have bad experiences. At the time, these can feel painful, but as we know, you can also learn more about yourself and others from them.They can be helpful warning signals helping you to refocus, resolve and reinvent. Mistakes can be necessary steps on your path to success.

Grow through your mistakes

Take a different view to mistakes, and consider what you can learn from them, or better still, how you can grow through them. Although sometimes taking an unexpected path can seem daunting, your view of it can change your experience. Positivity will move you forward, and negativity will hold you back.

Learn from your experiences

You can learn valuable lessons from losing a job or an illness, and other life events. I can think of two relationships that went wrong in my life, both I found hard to let go of for various reasons. Still, imagining if I was in either of those relationships today fills me with horror. I would have missed out on so much due to staying put. These experiences give you another chance, another facet of life. You can choose to stay stuck or let go and move forward.

Take action

Reflect on your bad experiences and mistakes to identify positive opportunities for growth and redirection. You’ll likely find that those experiences have somehow enhanced your life. (Naturally, personal tragedies are not included here).

6) Build an independent life

We expect age to take our independence away, a widespread fear. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Look after yourself

You can gain independence when you are physically and mentally in good shape. Your age does not necessarily have to take away your independence. There are ways to maintain autonomy and independence, such as staying active, seeking support when needed, and adapting to new circumstances. Don’t stop looking after yourself.

Manage your environment

Independence might mean changing or managing your environment. The environment can relate to physical aspects and or people.

What kind of environment do you live in? Have you considered a move or changing your surroundings? It doesn’t have to be radical; it could just mean a new lick of paint. However, if it is radical such as a move to another part of the country or even another country, are there ways you could prepare for that change now instead of putting off what might be a lifelong dream?

What about your community and the people around you? Do they support you?

Plan for the future

Are you independent now and continuing to be so in the future? You want to be in charge of your destiny rather than just waiting for life to happen to you. Think about how your finances can serve your independence. Keep your mind flexible through learning new skills. Move your body. If you address these areas now, you can remain independent.

Take action

Choose one focus area from the above three points to boost your independence, e.g. improve your health and well-being, manage your environment, and plan for your future.

 7) Reinvent yourself

If you could be/do anything, what would it be? This time in your life can be the perfect time to start reinventing yourself.

Create a reinvention plan

A reinvention plan typically involves identifying areas of your life that you want to improve. It could even be saying ‘yes’ to a new career. Yes, I did say a new career.

Dare to set big dream goals and timelines. Even if your children are still at home, or you are in the role of carer to ageing family members, how you can work has changed.

There’s an opportunity to work remotely on your terms, which might mean more flexibility and even doing something you’ve only dared to dream about, such as developing new skills, like technology coding. Lots of online work is open to any age group.

Change your mindset

Changing your mindset is a must. Focus on what you can do instead of concentrating on what you can’t. No excuses are standing in your way, especially the overused age excuse.

I chose to seek guidance from a coach or mentor as I was forming my new business. They can help you stay on track and make progress toward your goals. Since starting, I’ve created a networking group and online courses, written a book, created two podcast series, and a website after the age of fifty-six.

I have never looked back. Why would I?

What’s stopping you?

Many things could be stopping you from reinvention. For example, you may suffer from self-doubt, fear of failure, and worry about what people would think or say.

You deserve to live how you truly want to live. My hope for you is that you don’t look back on your life in years to come regretting things you didn’t try.

Will you make mistakes? Quite possibly, but remember, you can learn and grow from them.

Let go of those nagging limiting beliefs

Don’t let thoughts of failure stand in your way, those nagging limiting beliefs. Remember, if things don’t work out as planned, you can rest knowing you tried. You’ll never know what you can do if you don’t try new things. These years can be a time for you to put yourself first instead of others, to explore and learn, and to understand what’s right for your life.

Take action

Spend some time thinking about what’s stopping you.

Spend some time thinking about what’s stopping you.

In this blog post, I’ve shared 7 top tips for moving forward after 50. Here they are again as a reminder:

1. Notice your ageist prejudices
2. What can you offer?
3. Boundaries
4. Think about your perception of time
5. Bad experiences and mistakes
6. The fear of dependence
7. Reinvent yourself

If you’re ready to let go of your limiting beliefs around ageing and start reinventing yourself, you’ll love my workbook, The Secret to Ageing Positively, where I share:

• Common limiting beliefs around ageing, so you don’t feel alone
• A strategy to release your destructive thought patterns
• 20 questions for self-reflection to help you recognise your superpowers and feel empowered

You can change your beliefs around ageing today, own your uniqueness and become what I call a Rising Reinventor*.

Download your complimentary copy of my workbook here

“I believe we, as women, can be a powerful force for good. I like to collectively call us Rising Reinventors. We can reinvent the way people perceive ageing. I see Rising Reinventors as part of the up-and-coming movement of women over fifty who feel they have the same rights as every age group to rise up and be heard.

We’ve got a great deal to say and to contribute and want to have access to all the opportunities out in the world – a reference to frustrated wise elders looking for respect rather than ending up on the retirement heap.

A rising reinvention is a new way of looking at age and oneself with pride and excitement. Generate and regenerate, not degenerate. Rising relates to the phoenix and is a reference to what is happening in today’s world, albeit slowly yet happily surely”. Forward After 50 – The Rising Reinventors Rebecca Ronane

Download your complimentary copy of my workbook here