Three words, very similar, but all from different unrelated roots. Yet, the three most important things to keep a sense of uppermost in your life.
Humanity, Humility, Humor.
Until your own house is completely in order, STFU!
Not quite 50 yet, but I’ve already figured out the secret to happiness which is: Be yourself. Don’t waste time pretending to be anyone else.
However, the really tricky part is figuring out who “yourself” actually is – that part generally takes an entire lifetime to accomplish.
Also remember, no matter how bad things get, it’s only temporary because you’re gonna die eventually.
73 now!!
Happiness is an inside job.
Being your friend is my choice, not yours.
Stop wishing you can do what your body can’t do anymore.
No one cares what you used to be good at, did. it might be in a book and a few actually remember, but no one really cares, get over it.
And what can ‘they’ do to you, make you live longer?
Can’t wait for it to end.
I’m 76, retired and I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.
Philosophy: Very few things matter and those things that do matter don’t matter very much.
Two more golden oldies I’ve always liked;
“When you are lying on your deathbed, taking your last breaths you won’t be wishing you had spent more time at work.”
“Man plans, God laughs.”
Be turning 63 in four weeks. The last couple have aged me a decade. Have a gut feeling that my end is no longer on the horizon, but just around the corner.
I realized some time back, that I spent most of my life just going through the motions, waiting for whatever happened to happen, and then simply reacting to it.
I would be much happier with who I was and who I am now, if I had endeavored to have ACTED in life more often, and REACTED less.
You can’t always know the outcome, and you will certainly make mistakes, but whenever possible and you can gather the courage, do more acting through life instead of just reacting to the life around you. You will end up enjoying life and respecting yourself more, even when it doesn’t go well.
Turning 60 this month.
When I was in my 30’s and 40’s it was tragic when someone I knew died. It should be against the rules!
During my 50’s I have just thought about the randomness of it all, who makes it through, who doesn’t. Accidents, illness, you really can’t predict or prevent almost any of it. The most healthy athletic guy I knew died of ALS, quickly.
In my upcoming 60’s I expect to see more of my friends, family, and people I know in my community die. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore.
I think that this is why when you see really old people (60 is not yet old) talking about death you never see them in fear of it.
My current philosophy now is “better you than me”.
When you turn 50 it is time to examine your own “expiration date”. You have probably already passed your “best if used by” date.
Choose your grandparents well and you should be fine.
60, and contemplating retirement.
Many years ago I was a newbie ambulance EMT and taking unwise risks to rescue a victim. An old hand took me aside and said: “Remember, it’s not your emergency; it’s his.” The admonition was to not get hurt trying to be a hero. There’s a limit sometimes to what can be done.
My philosophy is taken from that:
“Selfishness is not always bad. The human problems of homelessness, poverty, discrimination and hate were here before you, and will last long after you. They are not only constant, they are infinite and insurmountable. Do what you can to help, but it’s OK to walk away and take care of yourself.”
No different now at 57 than at any other time. Do the best I can with what I got.
Things are going quite well for us. We are in good health and looking forwards to a comfortable retirement.
An alternative philosophy for some could be this little nugget from 1972. 
I agree with this.
Since retiring 8 years ago (at 55), I have:
- been to Las Vegas (I live in the UK)
- been on my first cruise
- taken up teaching bridge
- bought a model railway*
*it’s got a lot more scenery now 
I disagree. The best with what you got ain’t the same as the best with what you used to have, so you have to reconsider what you got and what’s the best you can do with it. Success will come from accurately re-evaluating what you got, not how well you do with what you think you got.
57: it’s been a big year for me. I don’t have kids to be proud of and maybe that made it more important for me to have done something that ‘made a difference’. I did that finally - made a qualitative difference to a few hundred lives. It’s not Gandhi but I’m relieved.
I kind of also semi-retired in my late 20s, crucially without money. I still don’t have money - $2,000 tops. I work part-time and get by but i know when my health and mobility go it’ll be time to tidy my accommodation, put out some charity bags and bail out.
I’ve come to know myself so much better in the last 18 months, understanding better why I am so damn difficult in so many ways. It’s way to late for family but I hope for companionship and occasional kindnesses and perhaps even tenderness - a line that always stays with me is from Desperado ‘your prison is walking through this world all alone’.
Philosophy? I dunno, try and do some good somewhere, and try to not harm others.
What can you tell us about how you made a difference? Congratulations on that feeling.
“Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.”
― Adam Lindsay Gordon
“Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and vigor”
Although this is more of a hobby than a philosophy I suppose …
Yes, up the junction, what did you do? Good job. 
Along those lines, I returned to college three weeks ago to double major in sociology and psychology. I have a marketing degree, but after a cancer scare I realized I want to do something more meaningful in the years I have left. I’m 52.
It’s been interesting. I’m the oldest or nearly the oldest in all my classes, but the “kids” have been great and are interested in me and why I’m there. I don’t feel out-of-place at all. The experience so far got me percolating on my latest philosophy tenet about not worrying about small crap. Twenty-somethings can get so worked up.
This MPSIMS thread about doctors’ offices asking people to come 15 minutes early is the perfect example of what I mean. It’s not worth the energy to get as upset as some of those people are.
Not seeing where you disagree.
I am not a static entity and the world in which I need to do my best in is not.
Duh.
At all points I try to the best I can with what I got. Not with what I had. Fortunately I have more now than I used to have in many ways. What drops off when, who knows, but when it does I’ll use what I got then as best I can. Same as always. 30, 50, 60, 80, and hopefully older … no different, no change.
Although it does remind me of something else - my definition of “old” and “young”. Old is someone older than me and young is someone younger than me. There’s a lot more young folk than there used to be is all.