Celebrating 50 — Things to Look Forward to After Turning Half a Century

Congratulations on turning 50! You’ve just unlocked access to a whole new world. Trust us on that! Not to forget, you’ve become a bit wiser. Turning 50 is your chance to celebrate a long, healthy, and fulfilling life. Most importantly, it marks the start of something new and exciting. With time for some healthy introspection, passing the 50 year mark may just be the right time to book that holiday or pursue that hobby.

It’s not every day that you celebrate half a century on this planet. This is your chance at looking at life through a new lens. It’s also about making empowering changes to live your life with poise and optimism. From changing your eating habits to traveling more, the opportunities are endless. Let’s explore some truths of turning 50.

Facts About Turning 50

Life 2.0

Becoming 50 can be the start of so many wonderful things. Think about it this way – you start living independently after 18, or basically after college. This means you’ve lived just close to three decades of adult, independent life. Although that seems long, believe it or not, you’re only halfway through your adult life. There’s so much more to explore. There’ll always be something left on that never-ending bucket list of yours. Turning 50 is your chance to fulfill those visions. It is an opportunity to embrace the next phase of your life with much more love, kindness, and acceptance.

Youth is Temporary

Let’s be honest, most of us wish we had our youth back. It was a time when everything seemed possible and nothing seemed out of reach. The zeal and passion with which you did things remained unmatched. It was also the time where all of us probably made a lot of mistakes and learnt from them as we grew. Just like different milestones in life, it is important to know that yes, youth is an important part of your life, but it isn’t everything. Pining to be young again will not lead you anywhere. Instead, look back and see what youth taught you and how you applied those lessons to become the person you are today. Remember, those changes brought you to celebrating your fiftieth birthday! Our youth teaches us important lessons in humility, starting over, taking risks, and learning about responsibilities – all of which are important in leading a fulfilling life. Rather than longing for something that won’t return, focus on your life ahead and building better relationships. You can do this by sharing stories from your youth and passing on your wisdom to loved ones.

Your Perspective Improves

When you turn fifty, there are new realizations that set in. You tend to get the feeling that nothing is permanent. With this new insight at hand, you start to live each day to its fullest. This also involves saying yes to more things that make you happy, and moving away from emotions that take up too much of your energy. Letting go of negativity from your life becomes important, and you now possess the experience to weed out people or things that don’t make you feel good about yourself; some even joke about this being a sign of aging as you turn 50! If anything invokes feelings that don’t bring out the best in you, it’s better to remove yourself from those situations and relationships, and focus on what makes you happy. Throughout your life, you’ve learnt to manage your emotions gracefully, and now you bear the fruit of being patient. Once you turn 50, it’s time to prioritize your needs and invest your energy in things that bring happiness to your post 50 life. This is the time to be curious again and explore things you’ve always thought of doing.

Turning 50: The New Age of Exploration

One of the many benefits of turning 50 is that you have the freedom to choose your adventures. Let’s take a look at some of the activities to explore once you turn the big five-oh!

Learning to Cook or Bake

Now that you have some downtime on your hands, exploring the art of cooking and baking can be one of the most cathartic practices. While you most probably already know how to cook, considering you’ve spent half your life eating delicious meals, some of which you have made, it is also the time to explore recipes that were unexplored previously. Did your eating revolve around some simple and easy to make dishes for yourself and the family? Have you always wanted to explore different cuisines and styles of cooking? Now is the perfect time to experiment. If you’re a bit unsure about cooking, baking is another creative endeavor to take up. Learn new techniques, and know that you can offer yourself and loved ones more than your famous chocolate chip cookies!

Join a Book Club

Reading is an activity that requires much patience. As you turn fifty, you now probably have more time to yourself, are feeling more relaxed, and you can refocus your attention on your personal growth. Books are a great way to help you do that. Joining a book club helps you easily form new social bonds with people who enjoy the same activities as you. Moreover, it gives you a safe space to share your thoughts and ideas. Cherry on the cake? Reading keeps your mind engaged, which is a great way to maintain your cognitive skills.

Be the Book You Discuss at Book Club!

Okay, not exactly, but how about writing something of your own? Spending half a century on this planet sure does mean you’ve seen years of change, evolution, wins, failures, and so much more. Why not share your experience with the world? Writing a story takes a lot of creative focus and energy, but most importantly, it helps you trot down memory lane and relive some of the best and most challenging moments of your life. If you are someone who has kept a journal, you will probably be able to go back and relate to some of the things mentioned in them and have a revised perspective on an experience. Your story and life lessons, however mundane, may contain some nuggets of wisdom for the world out there. Even if you aren’t aiming to be a best selling author, it is still an opportunity to connect with some impressionable minds navigating life. If you’re wondering if it’s too late to start, remember there are some best selling authors who started their career after the age of 50, including Raymond Chandler, Frank McCourt, Bram Stoker, Richard Adams, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and many more.

Woodwork or Pottery

Both of these activities require you to work with a material, hard or soft, and carve something creative out of it. This can be an extremely relaxing activity and depending on where your interest lies, you can explore both. If you are someone who likes to work with clay and loves the process of making something new, pottery can be a calming activity. In fact, some may also suggest pottery over woodwork if you are dealing with arthritis or joint pains. But if you really enjoy creating art out of wood, then there are ways to still do what you love. Adding these clay and wood pieces to your home and sharing this experience with your loved ones will be worth the sweat.

Find New Avenues to Stay Fit

If you are someone who has been athletic all your life, why not dedicate more time to your athletic interests now? Of course this doesn’t mean you must train the way you did in your youth, but you can definitely engage in activities that keep your body fit and healthy. In fact, focusing on strength training activities and balancing exercises are encouraged at this age. Exercises like swimming, yoga, tai chi, golfing, and even bowling are all fun activities you can be involved in. Ask your friends to join you and create a group for your athletic and fun adventures.

Finding joy in activities like dancing, gardening, photography is also something to look forward to. A lot of people who enjoy gardening also start their own kitchen garden with the aim of eating healthy and preparing their own meals. Kickboxing or pilates can also be explored. These activities are especially important to keep your bodily strength up and help you maintain muscle mass.

Art and Craft

Some people may enjoy the leisurely activity of creating art with or on paper, like painting, origami, or coloring. This keeps the creative juices flowing while preventing decline in cognitive skills. Other types of art that can help you stay creative are resin art, mandala art, zentangle, portraits, among others. In fact, when you are working with clay art, you can also add sculptures to your activity once you perfect some techniques.