1. Doing things just because you feel like you should
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You no longer feel obliged to say yes to things you don't particularly want to do. Reaching the age of 50 sort of gives you a free pass to say no without guilt - though of course, that should apply no matter what age you are! You no longer feel the need to put yourself into social (or otherwise) situations you really don't want to be in!
2. Putting up with annoying behavior
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You're past the point of having patience with people with bad behavior, who act rude or just rub you up the wrong way. You don't feel any guilt in simply getting up and walking away from someone who is annoying you, or else choosing not to have that person in your life.
3. Trying to change people in your life
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When you're young, you sort of have this extra energy for trying to help people be better, or do better, especially a romantic partner or a family member. When you reach 50, this sense of acceptance can come over you where you're okay with the way people are - flaws and all!
4. Worrying about that crack, click or ache!
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Likely the aches and pains started many, many years ago, so you're past caring about it now! You're not going to flinch away at your knees cracking every time you stand up, or your back aching every time you get out of bed. It's just the perks of your age and your body, and you've learned to accept it!
5. Fretting over whether people like you
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Worrying about whether people like you is a younger person's game, and you just don't have the energy for it anymore! By the age of 50 you should by now be surrounded by the only people you care about and have spent many years deciding who to have in your life -so you don't need to worry about anyone else liking you!
6. Worrying about the weather
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Once upon a time, you might have cried about it raining when you were supposed to be going on a trip away, or snow blocking your car in when you needed to get to work. Now, you've accepted you most definitely can't control the weather, and come rain or shine - or snow - you're prepared for it.
7. Dressing up just to go to the store
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You're past the point of putting makeup on just to nip to the grocery store for some frozen yogurt - you no longer feel the need to dress to the nines just to nip down the street. You'll happily venture out with your hair a mess, skin free of makeup and your favorite cozy loungewear!
8. Feeling anxious over money woes
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There's so much to worry about money wise when you're younger. You're thinking about a stable income, about saving for your retirement and all the hopes and dreams you have to spend your cash on. When you reach 50, you realize there's no real point worrying about money anymore - hopefully, you'll have enough saved, and you're more carefree with it!
9. That you aren't using your brain enough
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There's a lot of pressure on people getting older to make sure they're using their brains, take in a puzzle or two, do regular sudoku. You've reached a point where you've stopped worrying about it and will take every day as it comes. If you feel like doing a puzzle, you will, but you aren't going to force yourself!
10. Letting go of life goals you haven't met
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Most people will have a 'things I want to accomplish by the age of 50' list when they're much younger, and sometimes, things just don't work out. Maybe you didn't climb Everest, or you didn't get that four-bedroomed house in the suburbs. Instead of hanging onto it, you're realizing which goals are okay to let go!
11. Feeling self-conscious on the dance floor
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Go to any wedding these days and it's pretty much guaranteed that the first people on the dance floor will be young children and people over 50 - because neither are worried about how they look! You've reached a point where you're feeling more carefree than you did when you were younger, and you'll happily dance the night away - no matter how good (or bad) you are at it!
12. Feeling judged for what you're eating
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It's true that you should take care of yourself no matter your age, and especially when you get older if there's more of a risk of health issues, but you're past the point of being judged for what you're eating! You make sure to be as healthy as you can, but you aren't going to let anyone make you feel bad for having some cake!
13. Worrying so much about making other people happy
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You should have reached a place of contentment where you know you've done your best for your friends and family and you're now at an age where you just don't worry about straining yourself to please others. The people already in your life are happy to have you, and you never worry about it anymore.
14. Caring about what other people think of you
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The same goes for caring what other people think about you, like co-workers or strangers you meet on the street. You're past the point of finding validation only from what others think of you, and you've reached a happy place with yourself where the only validation you need is from you!
15. Accumulating so many material things
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It's likely that you decided on a HUGE declutter reaching the age of 50, because you realize how much stuff you simply don't need anymore. Your priority is now donating as many clothes and random stuff as you can to charity, rather than hoarding it all in your home.
16. Rushing to get through your to-do list!
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It feels like time is slipping away from you when you're a busy young adult and there just aren't enough hours in the day. When you reach middle age and beyond, you sort of realize that it's much better to take things at your own pace and you don't want to stress yourself out about that to-do list anymore!
17. Avoiding asking for help
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Some people are too proud to ask for help, or else don't want to bother anyone by admitting they're struggling. At the age of 50, you know it's important to ask for help when you need it, and you're happy to say 'actually, I can't do this on my own'. You don't feel any shame about asking!
18. Dwelling on the past
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It's never good to dwell on the past, and by this age, you're way beyond worrying about it now! You no longer cringe about embarrassing things you did when you were younger because you can look back and laugh. You don't dwell on anything because it won't change where you are now.
19. Being bothered by what people are saying about you
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If you happen to hear someone doesn't like you, someone has been talking about you or someone says straight to your face that they don't agree with, you remain supremely unbothered! You don't care if people don't agree with you or even like you, and you definitely don't have the energy to care if they're talking about you.
20. Not taking risks with your haircut
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You've reached the point of "oh well, it'll grow back" which means any sort of hair cut or hair dye mishap isn't the end of the world! You'll happily try new cuts and colors because you've likely had most hair dramas up to this age now so you're more carefree if things don't go to plan with your hair!
21. Being mortified when you forget someone's name
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There has to be a moment in everyone's life when they forget someone's name and they go home thinking about that for the next 10 years and wondering whether the person hates them for it - but when you reach the age of 50, you don't hesitate to blame your age for forgetting someone's name, or even saying the wrong one.
22. Feeling bad for taking a day off
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Most young people these days would admit one of the scariest prospects is having to phone in work for a sick day, or having to deal with a bad boss who expects them to work no matter what. But when you reach a certain age, you're not going to feel bad about needing to take a day off.
23. The fear of rejection
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You're much more comfortable in shooting your shot these days in the dating pool, or even just willing to try something new and being fine if it doesn't work out. You're long past the days where you'd worry about being rejected, because these days, the worst thing they can say is 'no' - and that's fine.
24. Taking food expiry dates as gospel
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There's something completely acceptable now about picking up a questionable item from the fridge, sniffing it and saying it'll be fine. Once upon a time, you might not have dreamed about ignoring the expiry dates on food items, but you've learned through trial and error what you can and can't do!
25. Saying no to that dessert
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It's gotten easier and easier to say yes to dessert without the guilt as the years have gone on, and you have no qualms about being the only one to ask for that dessert menu when eating out with family and friends. You're feeling much more adventurous with sweet treats these days, too.
26. Worrying about the state of the world
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Keeping up with the state of the world has suddenly become too exhausting - you can no longer keep up with the news every time you put it on the TV, or browse online. You try to stay in the loop, but you're past the point of worrying too much about what's going on (and you secretly hope the 'youth of today' will do better!).
27. Comparing yourself to others (whether your age or not)
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You've stopped comparing your body to other 50 year olds, or maybe even stopped lamenting that your body isn't as 'youthful' as a 30 year old, because of course it's not - and that's not a bad thing! You've learned to accept your looks and body just the way they are, and stopped overly comparing.
28. Wallowing in regret
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Regret will get you nowhere, and you've reached a happy place where you don't look back in regret on anything in your life anymore. There might be things you wish you did differently, but you don't let it consume you, and you focus more on where you are right now.
29. Trying to look younger
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You've realized that it's much more important to just take good care of yourself, and understand how to care for 50+ skin rather than stress yourself out trying to look like the latest TikTok trender in their 20s. You no longer have the time, money or patience for lotions and potions to make you look 30 years younger!
30. Trying to keep your home perfectly clean
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Whether it's because you have a busy family life where kids like to make a mess of your living room, or because you're too busy living life to care about the mess you're leaving behind, you've settled on a 'liveable' clean home rather than an obsessively pristine one!