They say being over 50 is living in the best years of your life. The crazy, reckless days of our youth are long gone, and the stressful, time-poor ‘middle’ years of kids, career and mortgages are now giving way to a much more carefree, time-rich and affluent period in our lives.
So, what do you want out of this next phase of your life? After all, this next phase can be as long or longer than the previous ones leading up to it. Statistically, a person in Australia at 50 years of age can look forward to 30 to 35 more years of life. That’s a lot! And way more than our parents and grandparents could ever expect.
Options we have as we age
But set against the wonderful feelings of freedom, experience and maturity is the fact that as we age our body is perhaps not as agile and capable as it once was, or we will not be able to do some of the things that we did in our younger years.
But in reality, how true is this? Does our physical capability really start to wane as we grow older? Well, it could be. If we neglect our health, don’t watch our diet, or fall into a long pattern of negative habits that inevitably restrict what we can do, physically and psychologically. Then yes, we can, and probably will, find our senior years become dominated by a calendar of visits to the doctor or having to say no to the things we hoped and imagined would define our retirement years. Outings with the grandkids, travel overseas, actively participating in sports or even gardening and walking the dog become things that are increasingly restricted or difficult to do.
We should be smarter than that
So, what’s the solution to this? Are we prepared to just accept a deteriorating physical condition as inevitable – just something that happens as we age? Or are we going to use our decades of experience, our maturity and our clever resolve to overcome adversity to make sure that any such restrictions do not define who we have become? After all, once we are over 50, we should be smarter than that. Life has taught us that problems can be overcome, but better still, problems can be anticipated and avoided if we are smart enough to think about it and take steps to prevent potential problems before they directly impact our lives.
Your physical health and overall wellbeing really is in your hands. We are bombarded every day with messages (and products) that tell us health and wellness is within our reach and what to do to achieve it. Even if you ignore these messages, you still have the powerful personal motivation to give yourself the best possible outcomes in your senior years and to be able to enjoy the fruits of your lifetime of hard work.
The best investment you can make
Don’t do yourself the disservice of saying its all too hard to stay fit, or I don’t have the time, etc. Think about how much time you will have sitting at home because you are unable to go out and actively participate in all those things you promised yourself you would do in your retirement years. I bet sitting helplessly in front of the TV was not one of them!
As Over 50’s, we know that nothing in life is free. If we want a healthy, active, enjoyable life in our senior years, it requires some investment now. Otherwise, there will be no dividend later when we dearly need it.
Take this opportunity to invest some time and effort in the most important investment you can make – a fit, healthy and active lifestyle that lets you embrace the Best Years of Your Life.
Start today and contact the team at Renewed After 50, and we’ll show you just what is possible to make your time ahead as rich and rewarding as it can be. You won’t regret it!