40’s Is The New 30’s?
How many times have you heard that? As excerpted from a great article by Shane Kreider, you probably have heard that expression a lot. And guess what, “From a financial viewpoint, it means our money has to last ten years longer, but we also have ten extra years to make it. It also means we have ten extra years to apply our entrepreneurial skills to make us happy.”
According to Shane, “The expression also has a scientific explanation. It’s a different way of looking at age - it’s not how long you’ve lived, it’s how long you’ve got left. As our expected life span gets longer, ‘middle age’ happens later; some say we are therefore in the same cycle of life at 40 that our parents were in at 30. And as our life span is supposed to continue to increase, middle age is coming later and later. Expected life span is different from country to country but in Germany, for example, scientists say that by 2050, middle age (for Germans) will begin around age 52.”
And there is also a great way to look at this and that is about the attitude you have. Many of us refuse to buy into the idea of “getting older”. I personally feel the same way now as I did at 30. Maybe there are some bones cracking more often, but in my mind, I am 30. I have another 50 years at least, to learn, grow, prosper and excel in all my life areas.
So as Shane says, “If you get out of bed some mornings feeling old, remember this: scientifically speaking, you’re actually ten years younger. Then have a good day.”
Steps 5 - Be Optimistic
