Is 50 too late to Change Your Life?

Is 50 too late to change your life? No way! Age 50 and beyond is the perfect time to change and create a life you love. Get started today!

The second half of life can be just as full of purpose, fun, adventure, and passion as the first!

When I wrote this post four years ago, I was 58 and thought my fifties had been challenging but also wonderful. Since then, I have gone on to continue creating a life full of meaning and purpose.

My life through my fifties and sixties has had adventure, passion, life transitions, and lots of new things to learn and explore!

Here’s something you may never have even considered before. The years you have after 50, may turn out to be the best years of your life.

In fact, I can guarantee that they are the best years of your life, because they are the only years you’re going to have at this point.

You can’t go back in time. Those days, whether good or bad, are in the past. One of the most useless things you can indulge in, is thinking your best years are behind you.

Now, from this minute on, you have a clean slate and you can do whatever you want with it.

Isn’t that exciting????

Is 50 too late to change your life?

I don’t think so. But I know a lot of you still think it’s too late and that your best years are behind you. Take this one thing away; that is not true. 

You might think things like:

• I’m too old
• I’m too overweight
• I’m tired
• I don’t have any motivation
• I don’t have anything to offer
• It’s too late to start something new
• I just don’t know what to do

How to Deal With The Regrets You May Have

Look my friend, everyone by this time in life has regrets. We regret some things we did and we regret some things we didn’t do.

This self-awareness does not have to hold you back. While you know how you were in the past, the future is unknown. But with courage, you do have this opportunity to create your best life.

I’ve written previously on regrets and I know that they can hold you back. But you absolutely can find new meaning and a different path going forward.

One way to deal with regrets is to acknowledge them. Feel the sadness or grief. Find some appreciation for the you, you were then.

Often we look back from the vantage point of who we are now. However, you were doing the best you could at the time.

Another way to let go of regrets is to live purposefully in the present moment. Here’s how to be present, be happy, and stop worrying.

Finally, forgive yourself. There are a lot of things you can’t change and the past is one of them. You are on your way to a better time. 

Creating a New Life After 50

You probably have a lot of beliefs about what life will look like as you age. Did you know though, you can have significant influence on your future, just by thinking differently?

Sometimes we think things over and over and it begins to feel like the truth. While they might seem true, they probably aren’t. This is really true about our thoughts on aging.

Sure, we are getting older and there will be changes but you have more power than you think about how that happens and how you have to feel about it.

Your younger years had their own challenges; it wasn’t perfect either. Yet, we bemoan the passing of years instead of being happy that we are still here and we can still love life.

To tell the truth, at 62, I feel the happiest I have ever felt. I spent the second half of my fifties creating my ideal life, investing in my mental health, and creating new habits. 

I did this while dealing with anxiety, uncertainty, and losing my social circle because of divorce and a move to a new city.

The positive changes in my life did not happen by accident. My intention has been and still is to make the most of my life. I don’t aim for imaginary perfection. My aim has been to live as authentically and purposefully as possible. 

And while my social life did change, my family grew as my children married and I gained in-laws, grandchildren, and additional connections.

My personal life is perfectly suited to me. I spend less time wishing things were different and more time expanding what is important to me.

Why People Don’t Change Their Lives After 50

Here is where most people go wrong. They try to change what they DO, without changing their beliefs and feelings first.

When you are thinking things like the list above, you probably feel defeated before you even start anything. From there you don’t have the power to take effective action.

Another reason we don’t try to change our lives is because we can’t do it perfectly. We get stuck with an idea of perfection that we can’t live up to.

Diets are a perfect example of this. We try to change what we are doing but we can only keep doing this for a limited time before mess up.

Then we go back to our old habits because we think that one mess up means we can’t get results ever.

It’s not because you are lazy or have no willpower. It’s simply because your brain likes things to be easy. And doing what you’ve always done is WAY easier than creating change in your life.

How to Change Your Life After 50

But here’s the secret to all change. The worst that’s going to happen is that you will have some uncomfortable feelings. Yep, you’ll FEEL uncomfortable, sometimes.

And when you feel uncomfortable, you are going to have some very normal thoughts like, “This is never going to work.” “What are you doing? This is no fun!” “I’m too old for this shit.”

When you try to change your life by saying, “NO” to some things and saying “YES” to other things, you are going to feel some emotions such as:

• Nervous
• Afraid
• Tense
• Resistant
• Anxious

None of these feelings mean you shouldn’t change. They just mean that you are having some thoughts about the change and those thoughts are creating some uncomfortable feelings.

When you learn to be uncomfortable with discomfort, then that is when you can truly change your life!

We are not meant to live in a comfortable nest with no disruptions. To stagnate is to die quietly long before you leave this physical world.

How to Get Our of Your Comfort Zone

I am so far on the other side of 50, that I’m going to have to start writing about life after 60 soon! But back when I was turning 50, I did think that I was getting old.

My 50th birthday was the beginning of a period of withdrawal and depression. By 53 I was divorced and living in a big city. 

I was cannon-shot out of my comfort zone! I don’t recommend that. In my work as a professional life coach, I help women find purpose and joy in their personal life without blowing it up like I did.

Much of the way we’ve been raised and taught is to think excitement, passion, adventure, and achievement are for younger people.

How many of you think, honestly that you can’t possibly do great things after 50?

That, my friends is the biggest lie, that we’ve been taught.

Of course, none of us knows how many years we have left, even if we’re 20. There’s an assumption that a 20-year old will have many years to achieve something and a 50-year old is about done.

But why?

At 50, you might have 30, 40, or even 50 years yet!

Even if you just have a few years, wouldn’t you want them to be the best ones of your life?

I sure do!

It requires doing some things that might feel uncomfortable. Here are things I’ve done that have been incredibly uncomfortable. While some are because I’m single at times, others would be the same even if I was married.

• Creating a website and writing for it each week
• Sending out an email every week to readers
• Buying a house on my own
• Cleaning out the big house and moving to a smaller space
• Taking a new job at 54
• Going on over 50 first dates
• Learning to cycle and going on organized rides
• Hiking in the mountains
• Going on retreats with strangers
• Dressing however I want
• Growing my hair long
• Having a craft/painting table instead of a dining room table

If you can let yourself be uncomfortable, you eventually have your new normals. These new normals will feel so good and so like you that you won’t even be able to imagine life before.

Why settle for what doesn’t fit anymore?

You don’t have to and honestly it won’t help you.

What Does it Take to Change Your Life After 50?

While you may still think 50 is too late to change your life, I hope you are now entertaining the possibility that it is definitely not.

To change your life after 50, you need to feel for that little spark inside of you and believe in the possibility that life can be amazing at any age.

Try to find that spark. Maybe it’s tiny or burning brightly. But if you still have some spark, then you’ve still got some living to do!

The first thing it takes is belief that it is possible to change your life after 50.

What is it you want? To be thinner, wealthier, happier in your relationships, live with purpose, love yourself?

The changes you can create are endless.

Maybe you don’t even know right now. Maybe all you know is that you want more out of life.

That’s enough to start changing.

What to Do if You Hate Change

Change and getting out of our comfort zones is good for us. Yet, so many women hang on for dear life to what is.

Let’s face it. Life is going to throw curve balls at you anyway. You will be forced to change at times, in not so fun ways. 

I can’t change that. But I will tell you this. If you willingly learn to change, grow, and adapt for your own personal growth, you will weather life’s challenges much better.

You don’t have to even do anything outrageous to change your life. Believing in yourself and your value in the world is a huge change for most people. Accepting that and contributing to the world is also great fun.

Changing in ways that you want and that are aligned with your values is life-giving. Every single thing in your life can change for the better.

Instead of dreading these next years—you can enjoy and even look forward to the life you will have!

And that my friends, is the answer to the question, is 50 too late to change your life?

No, 50 is not too late to change your life! It is absolutely the perfect time to create your best life ever.