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Best of all what i have now is more time and freedom and resources to pick what i want to work on. That is a gift that very well should let me have my best days ahead of me. Now I see that happiness is all about attitude and looking forward - physical attributes are just one part of the equation. So i am glad the guy asked the question, and that I asked you folks. An excellent learning experience, thanks!
Isn't it a good feeling to know that you are in a position to do the things you want to do? I have had a wide variety of experiences in my life, some good, some bad, but all were an education. I did a lot of things that I'm glad I did but I have no desire to do again ( why did I want to leave a perfectly good airplane???) but everything we go thru makes us into the person we are today. We can't change anything in the past, but we can control the future to some extent.
Each decade of my life had different high points and low points. The things that we think are insurmountable when we are 20 are manageable when we are 50, because we have the experience to know just how much we can handle. By the same token, the things that we considered important in our youth no longer carry the same weight.
Sometimes life blindsides us with an unimaginable tragedy that changes everything in our life and completely changes our plans for the future. How we respond to such things, the decisions that we make, will determine if all of our best days are behind us, or will there still be good times ahead. I, for one, have decided that there is nothing to be gained in feeling like our best days are in the past. If we believe that then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is my intention to enjoy my fifties and beyond and be glad for what has come before now, and know that if what is now to come will be different than what I had always hoped for, it can still be very good in its own way.
I was at a media conference about baby boomers in New York recently and they had a number of baby boomer experts presenting information (e.g.; did you know 1 out of 3 adults alive today are baby boomers?). Anyway, this guy asked a very provocative question - do you think your best days lie ahead of you, or have you already seen your best days.
I would really like to hear how other people would answer this question ( i promise to give my answer, but later). Please qualify by saying if you are a boomer or not (born 1946 -1964)
Thanks
Born in 1961, so out at the edge of the boom.
I think it's a misleading question, too. Sort of like raising children, every age has an advantage and a disadvantage, and one age is not really "better" than another - it's just all different.
Right now, I don't have to get up to the alarm clock, I don't have to sit in a cubicle from first light to sundown, I don't have to worry about the mortgage and paying for the kid's college. On the other hand, I have to watch pennies a little closer than I did then, and my health isn't perfect.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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I am now 49 and all I do is think about what is past. I often look at my high school yearbook and other pictures and I look back at my life with a degree of dissappointment. Yes, it could have been worse but it could have been a whole hell of alot better too. I always think "if I had done this" or "if I had done that" maybe things would have been better. My little girl will finish high school and be gone next August to college. I will be left with nothing to look forward to but death. There are times I wish I could go back and do it all over again. There are other times when I hate it and would never ever want to do it again.
Wow. What a sad life. I'm in the half century club and I certainly don't think it is just waiting for god. I've got to get a lot older and sicker before that is all that is left to me. They used to say there was no life after 30. My mother is 89 and she doesn't feel she is just waiting to die. If you have regrets, then it's time to fix them. As long as we are alive, there's always the chance to do more and change mistakes. Life is what you make of it.
Not really. Once you hit 50, you are just waiting for the Lord to take you home. "life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone" John Cougar
Well, one thing you can do in your 50's is listen to some better music and read something with a little more depth than pop music lyrics written by 20 year olds.
Well, one thing you can do in your 50's is listen to some better music and read something with a little more depth than pop music lyrics written by 20 year olds.
Yes, what you fill your mind and time with does count, LOL.
I am going full circle on some things. Born in 1952. Things I have had to leave behind - such as my photography - want to pick it up again. DH and I will never retire. We just pray for decent health so we can continue doing what we are doing now . . . and perhaps add some new things to the list.
I am working on a business plan to make some money again w/ my photography. (used to do this - newspaper)
I would say - life has been a journey (okay - that is so cliche, I know). Wouldn't be at this place in time if I had made different choices, so I am fine w/ the way things have evolved. Can't say the best years were behind or are ahead - I don't think about life like that. It is just one day at a time . . . I try to make them all good days, deal w/ the challenges, forgive the mistakes . . . move on . . .
I used to know retired people who made money in photography by hanging out all day at a scenic overlook near a marina. They took photos of every single boat passing by, then sold the photos to the owners of the boats.
KevK, I agree with everything you've said so far. I personally have no desire to see what lies beyond 49. The thought of having to go through another 40-50 years keeps me awake at night.
KevK, I agree with everything you've said so far. I personally have no desire to see what lies beyond 49. The thought of having to go through another 40-50 years keeps me awake at night.
Wonder if you'll still feel this way on the day before you hit the big 5-0?
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Make it good
