5 Reasons Life is Better After 50

May 19, 2017

You’re getting better.

That’s right! Contrary to popular culture’s sometimes irritating depiction of people over 50, recent university studies prove you actually get better with age. ^[1]

How?

Here are just 5 of the reasons your best days begin after 50.

1) We hit a low point in our 40s

A 30-year study of thousands of people showed that, when it comes to happiness, there’s a U-shaped curve that trends throughout our lives.

There are exceptions, but this curve is incredibly consistent.

Be it biological or social, for a majority of people, the mid-40s are the time when we feel the least fulfilled about our place in the world. ^[2]

2) You turn 50, and the light goes on

The same studies show that something happens to us around 50. Our biological midlife crisis ends, our moods improve, and, even though we may joke about our occasional lapses in memory, in many important ways we actually become mentally quicker and more efficient.

How?

According to scientists, it’s probably because the sections of our brain become more efficiently connected. For the sake of example, let’s say you have 5 related concepts that are stacked one on top of the other, and which were learned sequentially (1-5). Earlier in life, to get to destination #5 (whatever it is), you still had to go through the sequence of #1, then #2, then 3, 4 and finally 5.

You may have gone from #1 to #5 quickly, but your mind still had to travel the sequence.

As you get older, around 50, your brain learns to take a more direct route, and you can more quickly and directly go from thought #1 to destination #5.

This is called crystallized intelligence.

3) You finally know what you really want

Greater clarity comes with age. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t feel this way, and I’ve spent my career not only working with people over the age of 50, but watching as my clients zeroed-in on what they most wanted from life.

Knowing what you want makes it infinitely more likely that you’ll reach your goals.

4) You’ve survived and accomplished things, and that’s satisfying

For many people I’ve known, the first decades of adulthood are like being caught in a storm as we fight to accomplish … something. Anything. Many of us had no idea what we were trying to do, but we sure as heck spent a lot of time and energy trying to do it.

I enjoy talking to my long-term clients, and sharing the sense of accomplishment about all of the things—raising a family, selling a business, a home, finishing a career, projects, achievements—that are under our belts.

No one can take that away from you.

I tell my kids, and I consistently remind myself, that life is an amazing gift. Try to take a minute every day and appreciate what you’ve overcome and accomplished to get to where you are right now.

Appreciation is one of the keys to a happy life.

5) It’s likely you’ve saved money for the future

Obviously, one of the best things about being over 50 is that you’re more likely to enjoy a level of prosperity the younger set can’t touch. People over the age of 52 possess a lot wealth. How much? Boomers control almost 2/3rds (63%) of all the assets in America.^[3]

Conclusion

Faced with a popular culture that has traditionally pandered to the young, it hasn’t always been simple to locate the positives around getting older.

But that’s changing.

Remember, if you are over 52, you are a member of the most-influential, wealthy and successful generation in history. And, if you pay attention to trends, you may have noticed changes in media as advertisers and marketers get up to speed and pander to your power and influence.

As Humphrey Bogart might’ve said: “They’re looking at you, kid.”

[1] Los Angeles Times August 24^th, 2016

[2] Readers Digest April 2017

[3] Huffington Post march 17^th, 2015

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