Ever notice how the new people hired at work seem to be getting younger and younger but the face in the mirror doesn't?
Are you nearing age 50 or have already passed it and you've noticed that the voice in your head is changing from “ I’ve got plenty of time to do that” or I’ve got my whole life ahead of me” to “How is it I REALLY want to spend the rest of my life?”
Or maybe your looking for some positive motivation and inspiration on how to become a better you at any age. Are you thinking you’d like to contribute more to the world around you but don’t know how to fit it in to your busy life? Or has life become so complicated because of problems at work, with your family,or your health and you don’t know where to turn? Maybe you've lost your job or are worried about losing your job, or want ideas on how to gain focus and strength but lose some of the stress that has become a constant companion. Worried about your aging parents and their abilities or disabilities, or maybe about keeping your own mind sharp? Perhaps you've just gone through a life altering event, or someone you love has experienced health issues, and its made you rethink and redefine what true success means to you.
My name is Connie Minnell, and I'm truly grateful that you are visiting here today. This is so exciting and rewarding, but I'll also admit, for me to even get to this point of delivering this to you has been overwhelming, challenging and …..intimidating! I mean, Abraham Lincoln said it best, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Well, here I am doing just that– speaking out!
But I’m speaking out because it seemed that no one else was —I couldn't find what I was looking for in a helpful podcast and website for people in midlife. I was looking for a podcast to motivate me to become a better person all around – INCLUDING physically, mentally, and spiritually. Sure there are lots of websites and podcasts that address many issues separately, but I couldn’t find one central location where someone in midlife could find all these things in one place. A place that provides helpful research, interviews with specialists and with courageous people who have accomplished great things in their forties, fifties, and beyond; a place with inspiring words of wisdom from people who have “been there”. I needed to know that there positively is life after fifty!
Today, I'm going to tell you a bit about myself, and then I'd like to look at two ideas that changed my life's story and I believe can make a positive impact on the next chapters of your life, as well. Like many of you, I am reminded daily that we all have but one life, an undetermined amount of years to pursue our dreams before either our heart or our mind quits working, one chance to show the ones dear to us how much we care about them, one chance to make a difference on future generations.
Currently, I am reaching those future generations. I'm an elementary school teacher in a public school, a job that I love and have dedicated my life to. Through those years, I have learned how the children, parents and often-times, grandparents cope with the harsh realities of life. My love of helping others through teaching is in fact, one of the reasons why I wanted to start a podcast –To help bring a positive influence to people who are in the middle chapters of their lives. My desire is to help people, and myself, make sense of this time of life that brings such changes and uncertainty. Teaching and learning goes to the very core of who I am.
Now I said earlier that I was going to include two ideas that recently made a big change in my life, so here they are:
Point #1: The only guarantee in life is change, how you respond to it is your choice
Big changes do happen in your life – weather they happened by your choice or not – and these changes are always are intimidating in the beginning. Yet there is nothing more sure in life than change. Children, plans, dreams, people—they all change. Most of the time change isn't a bad thing, but inevitably – it is a hard thing. That's when you need the help of friends, of family, of professionals, all who are there for you to listen, guide, and hold out a helping hand.
When faced with changes, it's easy to have your mind fill with doubts and negative thoughts.
But don't allow your mind to be overpowered with words of negativity: A simple, light-hearted example of that is the phrase “Over the Hill” –Americans are fond of throwing “Over the Hill” parties when people have their milestone birthdays of turning 30 -40 and 50 years old—-“Over the Hill” is a tongue-in-cheek term used frequently in the US and abroad –which means you are past your prime. As a matter of fact, according to the latest report from the CDC (the Center for Disease Control. The average life expectancy in the US is 78.7 years. Does that mean “the top of the hill” would be just a few months past age 39? So by age forty, we're already beginning the downhill slide? Well then, what's fifty and beyond?
That's what I hope to help us define- or better yet, to help society RE-define- what getting older looks like. You've heard all those depressing “D” words that USED to describe life after fifty — downhill, decline, difficulties, degeneration and disease, this group of D words was compiled by authors Dr. William Sadler, and Dr. James Krefft, from their book Changing Course Navigating life after Fifty.
Instead of allowing our focus to concentrate on the D words, lets try replacing them with “RE” words worthy of our 21st century world of positive living—or at least the knowledge of healthy living:
Words like renewal, reinvention, rejuvenation, redirection and regeneration —–these from Dr's Sadler and Kreft—- and another one I'd like to add – re-career.
We've all heard stories of people we know who retire to a life of leisure, some of my own relatives included, only to enjoy that life for a few short years, just like we all know of someone who kept working –volunteering—busy—far into their eighties or nineties. Dr. Mehmet Oz addresses this in the article “Living Long and Living Well” – Dr. Oz states: “have a purpose — your family, your work, your community. There may be no better longevity booster than simply wanting to be here. You have one life; it makes sense to love living it.”
Point #2: Find unusual ways to stay positive – like going OUTSIDE your comfort zone
Staying positive could mean taking on a challenge and going outside your comfort zone. I experienced that recently by signing up for a class . Now , I'm a life long learner, so taking another class was definitely within my comfort zone. But this was just ANY class, this was an online class- never did that before – and it was a class that taught all about podcasting- something that didn't even exist a few years ago.
Learning podcast production has taken me far outside my comfort zone, but an amazing thing happened: I began to notice little things: Like, I didn't seem as tired after putting in the usual long day at work, my energy became renewed, my spirit was revived, my life seemed to be regenerating. I was becoming more positive just by being challenged and putting myself out there.
Taking this course seems like a small step, but many people out there are taking giant leaps—
For example, in a report on the Mother Nature Network by Melissa Breyer, the celebrity MSNBC's star cable news anchor and best-selling author Dylaln Ratigan took a giant leap of faith. He gave up a powerful career, sold his Porsche and Manhatten, New York loft, moved 3,000 miles across the United States to the west coast, and bought land with an old log cabin that he now lives in. Ratigan then used his own assets to start a hydroponic organic vegetable farm, and is in the process of creating a network of greenhouses cared for and run by veterans. These vets are gaining new skills and a new lease on life. Dylan Ratigan re-careered and seems to be very passionate about his new life. Moving through fear takes courage, but it means you're moving, you’re alive! Maybe its time to pursue some dreams, maybe its time to let go of others and make new ones.
Please subscribe to my feed, because we'll be hearing from some amazing people who have taken giant leaps of faith in the act of reinventing themselves in the second half of their lives.
During the following days until my next episode, I'd like for you to remember these two words that are intertwined; challenges, and choices. Each choice brings challenges, and every challenge has its choices.
If you have read this far, then I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. I encourage you not to miss out when I have a new post or a new podcast. And while you're here, please leave a comment, questions, or tell me what topic you’d like to have discussed in future podcasts. CLICK HERE to leave a message.
Thank you so much for joining me today, and remember, there is Positively Life After Fifty!
