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Fifty

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Fifty

#61

Post by Frondo »

mistermann wrote: post #48
jacalata wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what in life do you have to be proud of about yourself at this point?" I like to think that at least by not killing myself I've made a huge contribution to the happiness of my friends and family, even if the world as a whole is a hopeless cluster of growing misery.

I agree - the older you are, the more chances you've had to peek behind the curtains and see how truly corrupt the machine and people within it really are. Sure, try to make a difference here and there, but I'd advise not going too far out of your way, and never put your personal livelihood on the line. Better to focus that energy on family, friends and community, where you can make a difference.

Never put your personal livelihood on the line to make the world a better place?

That's terrible, cowardly advice.

Re: Fifty

#64

Post by sp332 »

cstross wrote: post #8

I hit 51 next month, and that's ... well. These decadal anniversaries seem to get more onerous each time. 20? No problem, it just means you're not a teenager any more! 30? Okay, you're officially a grownup, but you can still party! 40 was pause for concern, but it isn't what it used to be, the threshold of middle age: that's 50. Oops ... Well, as Terry Pratchett observed, inside every old man there's an eight year ol…

It's old age and guile (or treachery!) that trump youth and enthusiasm :)

Re: Fifty

#66

Post by paul9290 »

I just turned 40 and whoa I've never felt such a drastic change previously, as ...

- Im starting to lose my hair

- I gained ten pounds a week or two after my birthday (lost it now after getting back to the gym); 5'10 178 now.

- I suddenly succumb to a foot disease older men have to deal with... it came and went, but could come back. WTH?

- Slight depression from all the above.

I want my 30s back!

Re: Fifty

#68

Post by JoshTriplett »

fweespeech wrote: post #47
mistermann wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But the biggest thing I've noticed? What look like big opportunities, vanishing in the rear-view mirror of age.....So you get locked into whatever track you set yourself running down twenty years earlier. Changing is hard because you have less of a future ahead of you to change for. Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace wh…

> Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace when you're older, maybe with a family, and don't have the time or motivation to learn yet another way of doing for the umpteenth time. For younger people I would recommend keeping a close eye on that situation over the long term and if possible have a plan B if you want to get off the…

> The plan B is always saving enough money to bail early on employment and retiring at 50-55.

Or 35-40, which is not that hard in this field. Live like a college student, earn like a professional, and you'll be able to retire pretty quickly. Which doesn't mean you need to retire at that point, but it means you can.

See https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement and http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim... . The number of years you have to work before retiring depends entirely on what fraction of your income you save.

Re: Fifty

#69

Post by Jtsummers »

saiya-jin wrote: post #31
elorant wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, I’m on my early forties and my physical condition is way better than it was twenty years ago. I exercise a lot, eat much healthier food because now I know whilst on my twenties I’d eat any crap that came my way, I have a steady sleeping pattern trying to wake up early each morning so I can make the most of the day and generally speaking I feel like I have at least another twenty energetic years ahead…

>The only thing I find harder as I grow up is to fall in love. It’s not that it doesn’t happen, it just doesn’t happen with the frequency and the easiness it did twenty years ago. But then again that might be a good thing, not to fall in love with every gorgeous woman that crosses your path. I don't need to be even near your age to know for sure that love is a term used for something different than this. Much deeper,…

There's love and falling in love. The latter is really just infatuation, but it can be hard to tell the difference early on in a relationship.

Re: Fifty

#70

Post by pronoiac »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #42
crusso wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I'd give to be 30 again...

Out of curiosity if I may, what'd you be doing if you woke up 30 tomorrow morning?

There's an Ask Metafilter question about what you'd say to your 30-something self: https://ask.metafilter.com/224770/The-timetravellers-advice-...

And also forty-something: http://ask.metafilter.com/268248/Advice-to-your-forty-year-o...

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