I made it! I survived 50 years on this planet. What a gift. Amazing, indeed.
I thought I’d celebrate BIG for this milestone. I considered throwing a party, and didn’t. Instead, for the first time in a long while, I didn’t travel anywhere or do anything “special.” And it sucked.
Ironically, I spent the day working, on the computer, stressed about whether my 50 Years Young episode would be edited correctly and published on time on its new release date.
I did receive a few birthday texts and kind acknowledgments, and I made a donation as a gift to someone else. But mostly, I kept wondering: why was I working so hard?
Haven’t I learned anything from all my travels about how precious life is? What did my inner child want on her big birthday? Cake? Ice cream? For the past two years, I celebrated my birthday in the Maldives, and I’d imagined being back at my favorite hotel, Gili Lankanfushi. But a trip wasn’t in the cards this year. The timing was off.
The timing was off. The timing was off. The timing to celebrate myself was off? How could that be? I set my own schedule.
So what have I learned? That only I get to decide when a cycle stops repeating. It stops when I stop beating myself up for not doing the thing, whatever the thing is, and when I release the guilt that I have to do life a certain way. Our lives change day to day, the charts move, the energy shifts, and we’re all doing the best we can. And when it feels like we’re not, that’s the moment to pause and change direction. It starts with recognizing the pattern, saying “no more,” and knowing that one simple word can shift everything.
That’s what 50 years has given me: it gets easier to say no. Easier to say yes to what we truly want, and no to what we don’t. We’ve earned it.
And there was light shining on me, too: an early birthday gift I didn’t see coming. I was nominated for a Signal Award for Best Video Podcast Host for The Wisdom Channel®. What an honor, especially alongside nominees like Oprah, Anderson Cooper, Monica Lewinsky, and other remarkable voices. After all the hours behind the scenes, recording, editing, and sharing these messages, being recognized felt like a sign that the work is reaching people. It was a reminder that what I’m building matters, even on the days when it feels like a grind.
And of course, the universe has a sense of humor. Right on time for my birthday, an AARP invitation arrived. Apparently, surviving this long comes with benefits! Here are the golden years, yes? We made it.
If you’re 30 years young reading this, may you live the very best life you can and make it to 50 years young and beyond, so you can share everything you’ve learned with your friends, family, and even strangers. Keep going with a zest for life! (And benefits and discounts.)
All the best to each of you doing the best you can, every day. Happy day you were born. We’re so glad to welcome you into this weird and wonderful world.
Listener’s Choice voting for the Signal Awards is open through October 15. If The Wisdom Channel® has brought something meaningful to your life, I’d be so grateful for your vote: Vote for Lisa Eve in the Signal Awards
Listen to the full episode, “50 Years Young: What I’ve Learned,” on The Wisdom Channel®.
