Today is my birthday. I don’t tell you this lightly. As a matter of fact, last year I didn’t even mention it because last year I turned the big FIVE-O. I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but I was so devastated and in such denial over that silly number that I refused to acknowledge it in any public way. But now that I’ve had a year to let the reality settle in, I see I did myself a disservice by allowing such a significant life milestone pass by without paying some sort of homage to it.
So here I am, a year later, ready to do what I should have done last year…reflect on turning fifty (plus 1) by sharing some of what that considerable span of time has taught me.
I share this as a birthday present to myself today….but my hope is that each of you will find at least one nugget of truth that resonates with you and causes you to reflect as well.
51 Reflections On Turning 50 + 1
I’ll start with one of my very favorite quotes:
1. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~~Eleanor Roosevelt
2. Time and experience heals pain. Even if you are going through an overwhelmingly painful event in your life right now….one day it will be part of your past and not nearly as significant as it seems.
3. Keep moving. We must keep putting one foot in front of the other even when we hurt. If we don’t, we will never know what is waiting for us just around the bend.
4. Be the first to say you’re sorry.
5. Kindness matters. A lot. Being kind is more important than being right. Wherever there is a human being, there’s an opportunity for kindness.
6. Mother was right….everything seems worse at night. Our isolation and insignificance seem so much greater when everyone else is asleep. Try to rest and take comfort in the approaching sunrise.
7. Find ways of doing service. It’s some of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. You come to love those you serve.
8. For better, or for worse….means just that. Probably the five words most taken for granted in the English language.
9. Forgiving yourself is FAR harder than forgiving someone else. And, I believe, it’s never complete.
10. When the chips are down (I mean REALLY down)…family is who will come through.
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11. Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
12. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” ~~Eleanor Roosevelt
14. Stop worrying…and start living! 99% of what we worry about WON’T EVER HAPPEN!
15. Choose happiness. Walk cheerfully on the face of the earth.
16. Let go of resentment. Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free in your head. KICK THEM OUT!
17. You don’t need everyone to like you. If the people closest to you love you, the ones who don’t, don’t matter.
18. Addiction is no respecter of persons. It will seek to destroy anyone who gets caught in its web.
19. Life is all about expectations. Stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others.
20. NO ONE gets through this life without some trial. Everyone is fighting a battle of some kind.
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21. Goal-setting is overrated. Problem solving is underrated.
22. Debt ruins lives. Try to avoid it all cost.
23. Never send an email when you’re mad. If you want to write an angry e-mail, do it. Just don’t send it.
24. You can’t change people. You either have to accept people for who they are or not at all. There is very little gray area here.
25. Learn to embrace Change, even when it arrives with its companions, Fear and Uncertainty.
26. Giving is better than getting. If you continually give, you will continually have.
27. Gratitude is the best way to find contentment. Personally I don’t think there is any way to find contentment without gratitude. It takes our focus off what we don’t have and onto what we do have.
28. Learn the art of empathy and practice it. Never underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, or a listening ear.
29. On being a parent….stay out of the way of your kids becoming the amazing people they are. It’s more harmful to overparent than to underparent.
30. Everyone yearns for validation, love, security, enjoyment and a better future.
31. Live in the now. Don’t let yesterday use up today.
32. Live by example. Personal example carries much more weight than preaching.
33. You can’t buy happiness. Everything that is wonderful about life doesn’t cost a penny. A long walk, a hug, spending time with a good friend are all free.
34. You can’t please everyone! If you share something with enough people, you will upset someone, no matter what. That’s their problem, not yours.
35. Mistakes are how we learn. Failures are the stepping stones to success.
36. Wear sunscreen.
37. No matter how lonely you might feel, there is always someone who can relate to you. Perhaps you can’t talk to them right now, but they are out there.
38. Flowers and gardening are medicine for the soul.
39. Passionate love is overrated. Seek a mate whose values and background echo your own.
40. Relationships are messy because life is challenging. A conflict doesn’t mean the relationship has to come to an end.
41. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. Not your parents, not your spouse. You.
42. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. Stay close.
43. However bad a situation is, you will get through it, one way or another.
44. Trust your gut instinct. It will be right 99% of the time.
45. Sometimes all you can do is B R E A T H E.
46. Failures are only lessons. So never regret anything that has happened in your life. Take it all as lessons learned and move on with grace.
47. The best is yet to come.
48. Experience is the greatest teacher of all.
49. This wise prayer….”God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
50. Find your passion. Discovering something you love to do has an amazing effect on your entire life.
51. I have a lot left to learn. Life still has many lessons left to teach me, and I’m looking forward to them all.
I want to thank each of you for being here to celebrate with me today….and every day! The community that this website represents truly is one of my proudest accomplishments, and one that wouldn’t exist without all of you incredible people!
Do you have a saying that resonates with you?
Perfect timing Jillee! I turn 50 + 4 the end of this month. You have the perfect list! Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday, Jillee! I’m celebrating right there with you! I also turn 51 TODAY! Blessings!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday for yesterday Jillee!! I will be 55 this year in April and have a 13 year old daughter so I have no excuses for staying young at heart.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just wanted to tell you that I love your posts and am ever grateful for finding you!
Love and hugs from Cape Town, South Africa xxxx
I work in retail and people (mostly women) will come in and tell me, “I’m a size 6,” and then they try on a size 6 and it’s too tight and they refuse to accept that they may need to go up a size. And I tell them, “Nobody will know what size you’re wearing but you. The tag is on the inside because nobody cares what it says.” I feel the same way about age. Nobody knows how old you are just from looking at you, especially if you’ve followed rule #36 above :-) People don’t have a tag because nobody would care what it said.
And just remember this: lots of people like grape juice, but they pay the big bucks for fine wine. Age adds value!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wow. I don’t know what to say! I am quite literally SPEECHLESS! (which is rare!) Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the amazingly kind words and birthday wishes! I’ve read every single one and will cherish them all.
I wish I had time to answer every one individually….but since I really need to get to work on tomorrow’s post…I’m just going to throw out one HUMONGOUS (((((((((((((((GROUP HUG)))))))))))))!!!!!!
Thanks for making my 50 + 1 birthday one I will never forget! :-) xoxo
Please log in or create a free account to comment.HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We both LOVE your blog~
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hope your day was magical! Thank you for bringing my days such joy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday, Jillee! Thanks for all you share – Celebrating the gift of YOU!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y J I L L E E !! Hope this has been a great day for you and all your wishes come true. God Bless You and many, many more of course.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday! I’m glad you are reflecting on the positive side this year! I try not to look at birthdays as a day to be depressed but a day to celebrate with my loved ones….any day spent with our loved ones is a day to treasure….I’m learning as I get older that those days can come to an unexpected end much sooner than we ever anticipate…. Have a wonderful celebration day! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday you brave and beautiful lady!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday Jillee! I love your thoughtful words. Here is hoping you have learned to be comfortable in your own skin and to love yourself.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday, Jillee. May God bless you with many more birthdays & years of good health & happiness. I love getting your great e-mails every day with so many good ideas to save time and/or money I’m near 75 & your’re teaching this old dog some neat new tricks. Thank you.
p,s, I treated myself to a solo camping trip in Yosemite for my 50th.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday Jillee! Hope every year gets better than the year before.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday! You are 51 years young! I turned 54 earlier in the month. I love the candles on your cake. So much great wisdom! Gratitude is one of the keys to making life more joyful and we can all always learn something new which makes us feel young!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for this post. I should read this every day. I had never heard the first quote by Eleanor Roosevelt and I LOVE it! So, so, true! May God bless you in the coming year!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday Jillee! I turned the big 50 a month a go and feel so blessed. Had a bilateral mastectomy 12 yrs ago and a hysterectomy 4 yrs ago so each year that goes by I’m lucky to have had them. (My mom past away of best cancer in 2005. )
I turned 50 and the hot flashes became better so I’m hoping with each passing year they’ll move along!
Love your blog is the best!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.HAPPY day to YOU:) Isn’t it a true accomplishment when we take time to realize
Please log in or create a free account to comment.“Hey, isn’t it marvelous that I’m not only a survivor but an amazingly blessed woman who has wisdom to share?” Thank God.
Thank you for taking time to share a little each & every day. :)
Because one definition of wisdom is having abundant know-how to use the knowledge we have accumulated. LS
Thank you for your wise and wonderful words. I ALSO turned 50 last June and refused to celebrate the day. Here is to 50 plus 1! You have inspired me. This June, I will have cake!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday Jillee! I hope that you had a wonderful day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Well said, Jillee! You are right on with all 51. Thanks for a great blog, it’s a joy to read each day!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday, may you enjoy many, many more!
Happy Birthday :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday! 30 was the birthday I did not want to face. After that I stopped worrying about all the rest of them. I am amazed sometimes that I am 55! In my mind I am still young and capable of many things. In reality, I have a bad back that gets me into trouble thinking I can do this or that, not to be able to finish and being genuinely surprised that I can not do it afterall! : )
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday, sweet daughter, Jill. May it be as bright and happy as you always make me feel. I have loved life, all 83 years of it, and you have helped to make that possible. Your father and I love you more than you will ever know. Have a great day!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Happy Birthday Jillee,from all your fans in Australia.
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