Seeking more alone time at middle age.          Shutterstock Photo

When you reach that certain age, middle age, or after, life changes, your outlook changes and you see every single thing in your life in a different light. It has its pros and cons, but life is just that, a series of continuous change, sometimes subtle and sometimes abrupt.

What happens at middle age?

1. Life seems to speed up! Days, years, weeks fly by and you wonder when it will slow down so that you can enjoy the journey a bit more.
2. Time becomes your friend and your enemy. It becomes your friend because you start to realize that you have little time to waste. You develop a sort of tunnel vision where you select more carefully how and with whom you spend time. Your enemy, when you want more time to relish those moments and time spent with people.
3. Your family becomes more important as so do your friendships. You realize how they play a big part of your wellbeing.
4. You become less selfish. It’s not so much about you, but about others and how they enrich your life and you enrich theirs.
5. You care much less what people think of you and become more authentic and true to yourself and others.
6. You start keeping your promises more often than not.
7. Your priorities change. Work sometimes takes a back seat and your personal fulfilment doing things that your enjoy becomes centerfold.
8. The decisions you make are more rational and well thought-out.
9. You are not so anxious about the future because you realize that your future is now.
10. Changing people is not on your list anymore. You let go of those who weigh you down and keep those you are more in tune with your values.
11. You cease crossing out days on the calendar and try to live today. One day at a time, you realize is all you can and want to tackle.
12. You accept, finally, that middle age is not so bad. That life is not only for the young!
13. Probably, this might be also the toughest time, when you start to lose friends and family members and have to deal with loss, mortality and learn the importance of appreciating people who are still with you.
14. You overcome some or most of your fears because they just get in the way of your enjoyment, realizing how they keep you from living.
15. Adventure becomes more appealing and some, for the first time, decide to travel solo.
16. Relationships become deeper and stronger.
17. Being alone is not so scary. You start to seek more time alone and enjoy your own company.
18. Maybe you have aches and pains, realizing how whatever you did in your youth is now coming to haunt you.
19. Walking away, turning things down, is easier.
20. You become more aware and sensitive about the world around you.
21. Your looks, finally are not that important. You cannot change how you look and start to appreciate yourself as you are, wrinkles and all.
22. Lastly, although the list goes on and on, if you are lucky, like myself, you’ve reached that point where you have finally become the person you always wanted to be!

What would you add?