When we're younger, many of us feel we must fit in, toe the line or follow the crowd. Social media makes it tougher still, showing us what everyone else is doing, wearing and buying.
Yet after 50, it becomes clear that your values and priorities have shifted from a decade ago. That's good news. It means you're human, and still growing.
Usually, three things drive this:
You've ticked the boxes expected of you, or the ones you chose.
Life's challenges and experiences have changed you on the inside.
You've felt cognitive dissonance, that jarring gap between what you believed and what you've actually experienced.
Two encouragements for the road ahead
First, don't wish for what was. It's gone, and you've moved on. What you need now is not the same as it once was. And it shouldn't be either.
Second, decide what does matter now: which beliefs make sense, what lifestyle feels right, which pursuits bring you life, who do you care about most.
As the saying goes, choose what matters rather than what's expected.
It's the way of clarity, freedom and genuine fulfilment.
I go more into this in the 17 minute podcast episode below:
