At the age of 50 one is neither young nor old.
At the age of 50
physiological, psychological and even philosophical changes start taking place
which a person is not oblivious of.
These changes quite
often are different for men and women partially because of physical, social and
economic conditions.
Men at 50 in most
cases are done with their career unless they are in business where they may be
at the peak of their performance. Men become careless with their health and
fitness. Unfortunately, the damage is done to the health of men mostly in their
50s but gets noticed in early sixties.
Women in 50s are
more stable in terms of maturity. Their health conditions are also affected quite
often due to menopause but generally not as much as is the case with men. In
terms of career women are more cool as compared to men.
One may observe, at
least in India, woman gets stronger and stronger from the age of 50 whereas man
generally gets weaker and weaker in 50s 60s and 70s. Lady is in the ascendent
and man on decline. Lady is in control of house, home, children, family and
social context. Man, willingly or unwillingly, mostly automatically, gives
control and command to the lady of the house.
Career wise it is
late in the day to take mid life retirement, as social responsibilities and
economic burden increases. It is also difficult to make career changes at that
age unless a person is in the category of CXO.
At the age of 50 or
in 50s, especially early 50s one should rejig, reinvent and reorient one’s life
and priorities. Many office goers soon after their retirement die of heart
attack due to depression and sense of emptiness as they did not plan their post
retirement activities when they were in 50s - busy in their daily routine. Men,
in employment, should discover and rediscover their interests and hobbies and
start working on them. Men in business, if not consider passing on the baton,
may like to give major chunk of decision making to next gen. Women tend to
think and work inwardly, paying more attention to family matters as that is the
time to become grandmother. Women in career may think and work laterally in
exploring opportunities where their interest, experience and knowledge and
skills are served.
To sum up, one
needs to be careful at this age with regard to one’s health, priorities and
interests by applying oneself in good time.
Vinay K Nangia
vinaynangia.com
