Now I’m 50… what’s next? :-)

On 11.11.11 I turned 50, but I don’t feel them! 🙂 A half century seems a lot, but where did all these years go? Especially the last 5?
When I turned 35, a friend told me: “You’ll see, after 35 you’ll start to have health problems, life will not be the same!” I didn’t believe her, and I didn’t have health problems all these years, except my knee injured at ski in 2002, and again last May (caused by another incident). And both times, after having a radiography to verify is anything is broken, I refused medical assistance… and allowed my body to find its way to healing (without surgery or medication). I always paid attention to catch the early symptoms that my body gave me, so I can adjust accordingly… so I ended up trusting my body’s wisdom.
What else helped me to get here without health problems? Eating small portions, several times a day (when I feel hungry, not when “it’s time”), and paying attention to what I eat. When seeing my salad for a lunch, a colleague told me: “You’ll live 100 years, I don’t want to live so much!”. But is it about how much you live, or about living a healthy and happy life no matter how long it turns to be?!
I always felt the need to go in nature to reconnect with myself … at least in week-ends. And it always helped me: no matter how stressed, tired or lacking energy I was… nature was always there to nurture me! Especially in my first Canadian years! I should give her an award for being so supportive! 🙂 And with going outside in nature comes also being active… which turns out to be healthy also!
Ok, what else got me here? Paying attention to myself, and my own insights … no matter what external advice I received. I had a strong feeling that I was not going in the right direction, all those years when I worked in the technical field (engineering, IT, Quality Assurance). It was so strong that I’ve started to look for alternatives, and didn’t stop until I really found what I love. And by taking this new path, everything started to change so quickly, that time went by without noticing. Some people asked me how can I do so many things?! The answer is easy: when you do what you love, you get much more energy… and you can “spend” it the way you want. It’s much more rewarding to do what you love, then what you think you should do. I guess you know how to find reasons (why you do what you do, we are so good at finding reasons!), but that they don’t help us become happier and more successful!
Taking the path of coaching and self-growth had a double effect: on my clients, and on myself. It increased my creativity and sharpened my intuition. I became more aware of a world that many of us ignore or are not aware. I also became more patient and persistent to continue on my path of heart without frustration… even when the results are not visible yet!
This morning I wrote a letter to myself, jotting down my thoughts as they came through. It ended up with: “Now get up and run into your next 50 years with a smile on your face, because life is so beautiful!”. It is, isn’t it? 🙂

Gabriela… joining the selected club of 50+ 🙂