Life After 50 - Cool, Smooth & Tasty

Last year I did an episode on being an empty nester for the first time.In this episode I'll comment on what's changed in the last 12 months and how we're feeling as we continue to navigate this new phase of life.

In this last of our miniseries on job seeking after 50 we talk about the two primary tools you'll need to get back into the job market: LinkedIn and your resume.Both need to be kept up to date more often as you cross over the 50 mark. At least twice a year reviews and updates are a good practice to maintain. That way, should the unexpected happen and you get laid off, your collateral is pretty squared away to begin your job hunt.

Ageism is a real thing and it's a challenge for older job seekers. If you are in the job market by choice or you were laid off you need to be mindful of the conscious or unconscious effect of ageism on your job search. There is nothing you can do to completely hide your age, nor should you need to, however, there are a few techniques you can do to mask it so that you get interview opportunities and have the chance to sell your experience, skill set and value to the person on the other end before your age becomes a consideration.

So you just got laid off unexpectedly and now what? Shock. Anger. Sadness. Uncertainty. This first of a 3 part mini-series addresses what to do next from an emotional as well as tactical  standpoint.Get over the emotion at least to the point where you can think semi-rationally. Assess what you really want in a next position as well as your plans for retirement. Getting a grip on what's possible related to your current situation and what dreams you might have are key to moving forward with pursuing your next role.

After the age of 50 change comes at us from all sides.  Career changes, health changes, transitions our kids are going through, the loss of parents,  friends and neighbors encounter issues or pass away.  All these things are happening at once while we're in this stage of life and dealing with all of it every day is, in itself, a huge challenge.Enjoying the calm days is key to managing this turbulent period in our lives.  Find some space to take care of yourself. Find support and know you're not alone. We've been managing change for our whole lives. We just either didn't realize it or we don't think of it that way. You've done it all along.  It's tougher now but you can handle it.

So it's been awhile since you've truly had a lot of dedicated quality time to yourself.  Your empty nest is getting a little boring and you're not sure how to deal.Here's a thought... reconnect with your spouse or partner!  Years of raising a family pulled your collective attention away from each other and now is the time to rediscover your partner and reconnect with each other.You have the time but you're not getting any younger.  Don't waste the opportunity.

So, you want to change your diet habits and you took a look at your alcohol intake.  Good idea. Tequila has less calories than other liquors and the agave (must be 100% agave) doesn't cause that middle of the night sugar spike that you love so much when it jolts you awake at 330am. It also has less congeners.  Huh? These little buggers are a byproduct of fermentation and have been identified as the primary source of hangovers thru scientific research.  All alcoholic products produce these but tequila has less... a lot less.So if you want to switch up your drink game to something "healthier", high end tequila is definitely worth a look. Start in the $30/bottle + range.  I've tried it.  I'm sold.  

Setting boundaries at work is essential for maintaining career, family and mental health.  We often times get trapped, or trap ourselves by trying to be a hero at work and not accurately judging the value of our extra effort against the negative impact of it on our lives with respect to time and stress.We, as leaders and experienced professionals, need to set appropriate boundaries for ourselves and coach the younger generation of employees about the importance of setting and executing on boundaries.

You're over 50 and you don't have a will?  In order to protect your assets and make life easier for your loved ones I'd highly recommend getting on top of your estate planning.It's not fun.  It's easy to put off to another time. But reality is reality and you're going to pass away. Take the time now to put things in writing so it's easier for your family to deal with your assets once you're gone.Also look into a medical power of attorney, a living will and a regular power of attorney.  In this episode we briefly talk about each and what they're about. Don't leave your assets in the hands of the courts.  Plan ahead.

How many app subscriptions do you have currently active and paying for.  No clue? That's the problem.This wonderful new world of freedom of choice can get mighty expensive if you don't manage your apps and services. This means starting an inventory and keeping track of costs and those pesky free trial end dates.  Those free trials suck you and before you know it, you forgot about a subscription here and another one there and the costs keep going up. These apps are like little vampires sucking the money out of your bank account.  Start a spreadsheet and manage it monthly, quarterly, something to save yourself some money.Twitter - https://twitter.com/lifeafter50podInstagram - https://instagram.com/lifeafter50podcastEmail - lifeafter50podcast@gmail.com

Sooo, the holidays are over and you're feeling sort of, well, bulky.  And worse, you live in a cold weather climate and have 3 solid months, at least, of dark, cold weather in front of you.  Surely, more pound will find their way to your waistline.Is winter weight gain a real thing? Yup.  What can be done about it?  Let's discuss...

Welcome to the new year!  But, womp, womp, the holidays are over and you're not feeling so great about getting back into your normal routine.I get it.  Post holiday blues or post holiday depression is a real thing and you're not alone.  Lots of folks go thru it every year and I'm one of them.In this episode I'll discuss what it is what might cause it.  The good news is that usually its temporary and will pass in a few days or weeks but still, it's sucks.

Ahhh the visions of sun baked beaches, tans, golf, outdoor fun....... in January.  This is what a lot of folks in the northern half of the US dream of when winter sets in.Being able to scramble away for a lengthy period of time (think months) has been reserved for retirees ... until recently.Nowadays being a snowbird and escaping the cold weather in winter can be done well ahead of retirement.  Remote workers can consider the option of being a snowbird and still working the whole while. All you need is an internet connection.So if you can swing it with your job, make a mental shift and consider escaping cold and lousy weather well ahead of retirement age.  You might not have thought of that before!

Who wants to hear Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville on a Monday morning?  That's a Friday song.That's what I thought for the last 30 years but I was pleasantly surprised when I let it play all the way through on a cold Monday morning in December.  I always skipped it because I thought hearing it on a Monday would depress me because, well, it's Monday.But it appears to have worked some weird reverse psychology on me because it actually fired me up for the week.Need a change in your perspective to start you work weeks?  Try playing some of your Friday songs on a Monday morning.  You might be pleasantly surprised too!

Very excited for the upcoming file, Spiderman No Way Home but... I have some concerns. The film's plot seems to involve multiple universes and thus multiple instances of the same characters.  I'm going to be lost.Can we stick with a solo-verse, a duo-verse.  I don't even know if those are words.  But the multiverse thing makes me nervous. There are certain types of movies where I just want to be entertained and not have to think.  Marvel films fall into this category.  

Extremism is front and center on the political landscape in 2021.  Bottom line is this...being all the way on the right... or the left... is non-productive and dangerous as we've seen with various clashes between groups over the last couple years.But politics is not the only area where extremism is dangerous.  Religion is another area where we've seen violence in the name of faith.  Even in sports fandom there have been incidents of serious injury from violent acts by fans against other fans.  Take the Bryan Stow story for one.  He is the Giants fan that had his life forever changed in the parking lot of Dodger stadium all in the name of what?  Baseball? We all need to chill the heck out.

We wrap up, for now, our introductory miniseries on meditation basics by discussing the biggest challenge to making meditation a regular part of your healthy lifestyle after 50.Your busy mind is in direct opposition of your mediation goal which is a relaxed, clear mind. Understand this truth: no matter now long you meditate, how good you get at it, busy thoughts will never go away.Acceptance rather than fighting these thoughts is the way to deal with them.  Acceptance in general is a tenet of meditation.  I share some tips I use to help manage my busy mind during my practice.  Hope it helps you!

Building off my Meditation Basics episode, I'll discuss using both guided and unguided sessions to help build your habit.  A beginners guided series is the way to get started as it will introduce you to foundational concepts and techniques to help you begin a healthy and enjoyable practice. I use the Calm app, calm.com , as my primary meditation tool.  There are plenty of other options from web sites to You Tube channels and other apps both paid and unpaid that you can try out.

Mental health awareness and maintenance is key to a healthy lifestyle especially when things don't go as planned. The combination of physical and mental workouts leads to better sleep, better mood, improved concentration and focus and better emotional health.In our 50's life is just as challenging as in the previous decades but in different ways. Managing your mental health is a critical component to maintaining happiness.  Its super easy to get started.

November is Men's Health Awareness Month.  Men, getting regular health screenings is not just about you.  It's about those who depend on you.  You owe it to them and yourself to get regular check ups to ensure you stay on top of health issues before they become a dangerous problem.  Annual physicals, blood work, prostate and colon screenings and mental health checks are all things you can do proactively to stay healthy and be around a long time for those you love and who love you.  Get it done. 

Restrictive diets that allow for cheat days don't work.  They actually reinforce the very bad habits you're trying to change.  How? Cuz the diet itself makes you miserable and the cheat day allows you to go overboard doing what you've always done.  What do you think wins out in the long run? Yep. You revert back to your old habits because you're sick of the diet misery. Changing habits over time is the only real way to achieve consistent healthy results.

This episode builds off my last one as it relates to the best way to achieve consistent weight loss and successfully maintaining it.  The combination two tools, a calorie counting app and a fitness tracker, are what have allowed me to successfully lose and maintain weight and keep a healthy lifestyle. Listen in and see if this combo will work for you.

Does your diet work? Sort of? Does your weight rise and fall in a certain range that you can't seem to break out of?  You reach a certain low weight and you can never get any lower and then it starts to rise again so you start the cycle over?  Plateauing is a common thing in weight loss.  Here's what I did to break thru mine and finally take my weight lower than I ever had before.

Once you pass 50, is it really a good look to wear a player jersey for your favorite sports team?  Let's have some fun and discuss it.  

Officiating sports as a way to stay fit mentally and physically.  It also provides access to a community of like minded folks and it serves the community you live in.  I highlight the benefits of being a sports official and being in your 50's is the perfect time to sign up and join in this rewarding and fun avocation.

Being a new empty nester feel s strange and brings with it 2 major gaps that we need to look to fill: an emotional gap and a time gap.In this episode I provide some perspective on what I feel being an empty nester for about 6 weeks and some suggestions on how to fill those 2 major gaps. 

Cool, smooth and tasty.  What does that tagline mean and how does it fit into Life After 50?  We discuss that and more in our first episode.Who am I? Why am I doing this? What can you expect as a listener? What is life after 50 years old supposed to look like or feel like? Take a listen!Super excited to launch this podcast and build a community of what I hope are regular and engaged listeners.  Welcome!