5 Ways to Use Midlife Wisdom to Find Happiness

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As middle-aged adults, we’ve raised a family, navigated a career, experienced love and loss, and had our share of successes and failures. All these experiences give us insight and wisdom that can help us find happiness.

Most of us have begun figuring out what’s important in our lives. We have a better idea of who we are, what we want, and what makes us happy.

It’s true we have many responsibilities in our 40s, 50s, and 60s that may include high-pressure jobs, raising teens and young adult children, and caring for elderly parents. However, you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate or reduce with just a little bit of wisdom.

Here are a few simple tips that really work:

• Make healthy, life-affirming choices by saying no to meaningless requests and saying yes to what excites and scares you.
• Avoid people who stress you out. As you get older, you should have enough wisdom to walk away from people and situations that don’t work for you anymore and end relationships that drag you down. If that isn’t possible, at least limit your time with people who continually step on your last nerve. Instead, concentrate on the people that truly enhance your life.
• Use wisdom to control your environment. If the evening news makes you anxious, find a comedy show to make you laugh. If traffic is literally driving you crazy on your commute home, take a longer but less-traveled, scenic route.
• In some cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept the situation. Some sources of stress are simply inescapable and although acceptance may be hard, it’s better than fighting circumstances you can’t change.
• When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor judgment contributed or caused a stressful situation, reflect on your choices and learn from your mistakes. As Maya Angelou says, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

These are just a few ways you can embrace your midlife wisdom to enjoy a happier life.  Brainstorm and I’m sure you can find more ways to make insightful, knowledgeable, astute decisions to improve your life.