# 50 or older? What is your philosophy of life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875 "2016-10-07T18:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/21 "2016-10-07T22:34:07Z")
Just applied for Medicare, and just retired. Plenty of money, so my goals are to do all the things I didn’t have time for when I worked, and catch up on the piles of things around the house I meant to get to some day. Being my own boss is a nice change. And people who work for themselves have customers as bosses - I’m not saying they have it any easier than I did - probably harder. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/22 "2016-10-07T23:21:47Z")
Do what you love. And love whom you do. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/23 "2016-10-07T23:48:30Z")
“Life is like a beanstalk. Isn’t it?” That’s pretty much sums it up for me. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/24 "2016-10-08T00:37:21Z")
My biggest contribution to this thought: "It is now somebody’s else’s turn to do all those wonderful, stupid things we did all those years ago. Your kids are now inventing sex for the 12,000,000th time? Good for them. Be there to pick up the pieces for the first 10 years or so. They want tattoos? Remember bell-bottoms, paisley, long hair? They are entitled to their version. Just limit yourself to trying to keep them in places easily covered with clothing. They are finding drugs? Amazing, ain’t it. If you did your job, they know where to draw lines. I don’t get annoyed nearly as often as I did. My blood pressure is much easier to control. I have confidence that the next generation won’t screw up much more than we did. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/25 "2016-10-08T02:24:07Z")
I just turned 49. So… sorta 50. Philosophy? I don’t have one. But I’ve learned a few things over the years. 1. Don’t get emotionally wrapped up in _anything_. This includes pets and people. I have somewhat of a “Clint Eastwood” personality, and it has done well for me. 2. Learn how to identify bad people, and then _stay away from them_. This includes sociopaths, liars, bullies, users, charlatans, abusers, and thieves. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/26 "2016-10-08T02:37:19Z")
Over 50. “Take heart in the bedeepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese.” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/27 "2016-10-08T05:27:15Z")
I just turned sixty. My motto, for many years, has been, “I approve, without reserve.” ([It comes from a very, very bitter poem by Bertolt Brecht](http://wordcount-richmonde.blogspot.com/2011/10/ballad-on-approving-of-world.html).) I also believe that the secret to life is: “Move aggressively, fight defensively.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/28 "2016-10-08T05:33:04Z")
My philosophy of life, since well before turning 50, is that the apex of existence is the absurd. I try to laugh at the little things, sometimes inappropriately. And _let not the sands of time get in my lunch_. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/29 "2016-10-08T06:21:52Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Find something that you love. Keep doing it. Take it out for a nice meal once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/30 "2016-10-08T06:26:05Z")
I try to strike a fine balance between living one day at a time and planning for the future. So far, so good. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/31 "2016-10-08T13:13:14Z")
“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/32 "2016-10-08T13:50:16Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Very few battles are worth fighting. But there are some battles worth fighting. Just learn to pick them carefully. > [@usedtobe](#): > > "It is now somebody’s else’s turn to do all those wonderful, stupid things we did all those years ago. Very true. But what amazes me is they think it’s all new. And it is, to them. Just as we thought it was all new. Because it was–to us. They think they’re fantastic new creatures for growing up with the internet. We grew up with television; our parents didn’t. But they grew up with radio, where their parents didn’t. And our grandparents grew up with the automobile, airplanes, telephones, electricity in homes, where their parents didn’t. But their parents grew up in the Industrial Revolution with steam engines and locomotives, which was a huge advancement in its day. And so on, back to Homo Erectus. And beyond. Another thing I’ve learned is not to take anyone for granted. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/33 "2016-10-08T14:19:57Z")
On your death bed, you will not regret what you’ve done, but what you have not done. At 50, you still have a chance to do some of them. Learn to be a stoic. Shit’s gonna happen – shrug it off and get on with your life. Prudently, but without irrational fears… Would you rather learn to live contentedly like a poor man, or try to earn the cost (plus taxes) of living like a rich one? Keep you weight down. You burn fewer calories in old age, so stop eating them. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/34 "2016-10-08T14:25:25Z")
61 here. I live for TODAY! It’s amazing how you can do something every day that would kill you if you had to do it for the rest of your life. Everyday I think of three good things that happened. Not jumping-up-and-down Happy Dance Things, just good things. If you can’t find three good things in one day, you are not trying hard enough. And I agree–do not try to change other people. It’s hard enough with a child, and impossible and insulting to a grown up. And do not fuck with other people’s time, other people’s money and other people’s people, to avoid about 85% of the problems in life. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/35 "2016-10-08T15:13:27Z")
Notice. Choose. Find Yourself Trying. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/36 "2016-10-08T15:13:46Z")
“…and whether you can hear it or not, the Universe is laughing behind your back.” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/37 "2016-10-08T15:38:12Z")
Try to ride out the rest of your years as painlessly as possible. You can’t recover as well as you used to. When you ever get to the point where you can’t wipe your own ass, look for heavy traffic to wheel out in front of. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/38 "2016-10-08T16:15:00Z")
Well, if you do feel the need to make an early exit, remember, _you can’t take it with you_, but you _can_ take a bunch of other people with you, if you do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/39 "2016-10-08T16:38:28Z")
I can’t say I have a philosophy but more just a collection of pithy bits of fortune cookie wisdom that I’ve collected a long the way. Such as this triplet: 1. Believe in yourself 2. Respect others. 3. Have a good sense of humor. (I used to think the order was important, but I’ve come to see 3 is the mainstay.) And these Golden Oldies: -The tree that doesn’t bend, breaks (i.e. stay well-rooted but not too rigid). -The past that never was is more hidden than the future that is yet to be. (That one was in Readers Digest.) I concur wholeheartedly with **Qadgop** ’s thing about how you can’t change others, and **Annie** ’s thing about not f’n’ with other people’s stuff. Avoiding those traps will save you much aggregation indeed. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875/40 "2016-10-08T16:42:37Z")
Just one life, that’s all you get. So run, like you’re on fire, toward your wildest dreams! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-or-older-what-is-your-philosophy-of-life/767875.md?page=3)