A (Good) Later Life Surprise! Yes, It Happens!

I firmly believe that loving our life is up to us. With all that life throws at us, we get to decide how we respond. Sometimes, life throws us opportunities to enhance our lives, if we choose to take risks. And sometimes it works out better than we could have imagined.

If you are in later life (which I assume you are since you are reading this on Sixty & Me!), you have likely come to the realization that there is more of our life behind us than there is in front of us. Heck of a way to begin this I realize, AND that means there is no time like right now. Right now is all we have, so let’s make the most of it.

Keeping Us Away from Change

Let’s face it, there are always very valid reasons, obstacles and challenges that keep us from making a change and taking a risk. Whether it’s taking a class, adding movement to your day, or you want to relocate, meet a new friend, potential partner, or find a new passion… the time is now.

When you think about what you’d like to be different in your life, does your brain fire off any of these subsequent thoughts:

That’s ridiculous you missed your window of opportunity to do that.

What will your friends/family think?

People will think you’re being selfish.

You’re being ridiculous.

It’ll never happen at this stage of your life.

You don’t have time for that.

You can’t afford it.

You’re not good enough.

Change is too hard at this age.

Whose Life Is This?

The question is, who are we living our life for? Someone else, or ourselves?

This made me think of a quote from the late, great, Dolly Parton: “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”

I haven’t been able to write much for Sixty & Me in the last 8 months of my life because of a major life change for which I was not looking. While life had become a bit of a rut, I was content. Then, on Christmas Eve, I was asked to dinner by a man that I should have said no to if I had followed the ‘rules’ as well as society’s unspoken judgements. He was also settled and content with his life and was not looking to change anything.

Our situation was less than ideal, and we both knew we had to find some way to make it work. It was a huge risk for us both and we took it, and we could not be happier.

Support and Inspiration

Once we were able to begin sharing our story with others, not only did we receive a tremendous amount of love and support… we also witnessed how people were genuinely inspired.

This is why we decided to publicly share our story on my podcast, Loving Later Life. In the episode, “Join Me in Conversation with the Man Who Changed My Life” we share our story and the challenges and risks we each took that changed the trajectory of both our lives. It is our story which begins with the magical night that led to our journey of finding unexpected love in a very unexpected place and life changes that most would think couldn’t and wouldn’t happen at this stage of life.

I can promise that you will laugh out loud from his impromptu humor and will be surprised by his vulnerability. By the end, you might even believe that it is never too late and you are never too old to make changes and take risks for whatever your soul is calling you to do. I hope that you will take a listen.

What About You:

Is there something you’re considering doing? Changing? Pursuing? What unexpected changes have you experienced so far this year? What would your life look like without them? Let’s talk about it!