I may or may not have a big birthday this week. OK … I may.
Believe it or not, turning 50 has not been as traumatic as I thought it might be. Actually, it’s been remarkably satisfying and gratitude-inducing. I have so much for which I’m thankful.
If you’re a younger reader (which most of you are), I have some great news. At 50, I have as much or more energy than I did a decade or two ago, a much better sense of who God created me to be, and I’m surrounded by people I don’t deserve. And I’m honestly more excited by the next 20 years than I’ve ever been about the future.
But maybe the best part of turning 50? You see things you just couldn’t see at 20, 30 or 40. OK, maybe you can see them. I couldn’t. At least not as clearly.
In light of that, what follows are life and leadership tips I picked up in my 20s, 30s and 40s that I’m so thankful I did.
How you live your life up to age 50 likely matters more than you think.
How You Live Your 20s, 30s or 40s Matters
I was recently talking to a friend who had turned 50 a couple of years ahead of me. He surprised me by saying that your 50s and are largely pre-determined by how well you lived your 30s and 40s.
Live your 30s and 40s well, and your 50s turn out great.
Live them poorly, and all the problems and issues you never resolved when you were younger sabotage your later years, even beyond your 50s.
When he said that, I gulped. Literally.
I’d seen that reality so many times in my life but never connected the dots.
So in an attempt to help you live your 20s, 30s and 40s well, here are 25 random pieces of advice I hope can help.
1. Deal with your issues early.
You have issues. Everyone does.
As tempting as it is to believe otherwise, it’s not your wife, husband, kids or job who are causing all the pain in your life. You are the common denominator in everything that’s happened to you. So deal with you.
Go see a trained Christian counselor. Hire a coach. Read some books. Do what it takes to deal with your junk.
