Woman Explains The Things She Does In Her 50s That She Wishes She Would've Done Way Sooner

A woman in her 50s shared some real “life hacks” with the people of TikTok, hoping to share the things that she wished she had done sooner in her life in order to lessen the amount of stress in her life.

We only live once so trying to get through it in the best way possible is a goal that everyone should strive to achieve. Following her six rules will help you work towards a stress-free life.

Here are the six things that a woman does in her 50s that she says she should’ve done sooner.

1. She stopped fighting with her family and friends that ‘don’t get it.’

“I don't fight with friends and family members that I know that aren't going to get it,” she explains at the start of her TikTok video. “Instead, when they say something that makes me crazy, I say things like, ‘Oh, I'm gonna have to look into that.’”

Just because you’re family, doesn’t mean you’re always going to agree on everything or about everything — and this goes for your friends too. Everyone experiences life in different ways, and perspective makes a massive difference in the way you treat real-life experiences.

It’s not worth it to fight about everything, so just try to assuage them for a moment and move on. Similarly, she says, “when they give me advice that I don't really want, I just say things like, ‘Hmm, that's a really great idea,’ because they never come back to see if I did it.”

She doesn’t see the point in making the effort to confront them. Pick and choose your battles — you might be surprised by how many are really worth fighting for.

2. She doesn’t share her thoughts and ideas with other people.

“I don't really share my ideas with people because I really don't need their opinion,” she explains, “and I know when I share ideas or thoughts or things that I'm going to do with people, it's actually an invitation into my life to give their opinion, and I really don't want it.”

Some people’s opinions matter in some specific situations, but in general, what’s the need for sharing? If someone’s response has the potential to ruin your thought, then why give them that power? Just keep it to yourself.

She also talks about how keeping the energy to herself helps her keep that same energy. “So like, if it's an idea for business, I don't really let it out of me because then that lets the energy escape.” She doesn’t want to let the energy out until it comes to fruition.

3. She doesn’t talk bad to herself.

She explains that the way she talks to herself is indicative of the way she will perceive her own worth. She has stopped talking bad about herself or saying bad things to herself in order to alter the way she sees herself.

“So for my weight, I might say how much I love myself and my body while still maintaining goals of maybe wanting to lose weight or get healthier or get stronger,” she says as an example. “But I am not going to talk negatively about myself.”

This is similar to repeating words of affirmation to yourself, except in reverse — once you stop saying bad things about yourself, you’ll stop believing those things are true. She also explains that once you stop, “it is completely jarring when someone else starts talking badly to themselves around you.”

It’s all about being confident and recognizing your inherent worth. Everyone is worth their weight in the world, it’s all about believing in yourself.

4. She switches conversations away from things she doesn’t want to talk about.

“If someone's around me and they start talking about a subject that I really don't wanna talk about or I know is going to go nowhere,” she starts, “I have a few key, um, conversation starters to switch the conversation away from what they're talking about.”

Think about the number of Thanksgiving dinners that could have been saved by employing this tactic. There are so many awkward conversations that could have been avoided.

If you run into a conversation that you don’t want to hear about or talk about, “Maybe bring up something else in their life that they can talk about to distract them from the conversation,” she says. That way, they still get to talk about themselves but you don’t have to talk about the thing that’s bothering you. It’s really a win-win.

5. She tries to leave people and places better than she found them.

If it’s about a place, whether it be a store or a restaurant, then she tries to leave with a positive experience — a better experience than the one she went in with. Maybe it’s about the items she shopped for, maybe it’s the people she was with. Maybe she’s being extra kind to the workers, which is part of the “person” portion of this tip. She says she especially tries to make the experience better if it seems like that person is having a bad day.

There’s no shortage of kindness in the world, so it’s always a good idea to give back some positive energy to someone who might need it.

6. She no longer tries to make people understand her.

Short, sweet, and to the point with this one, she says “The only person that really needs to understand me is me,” and she has a good point.

50 isn’t old by any means, but she’s certainly lived enough of her life to understand that some things are worth leaving alone more than others. Trying to impress anyone else or explain yourself just isn’t worth it. Look out for yourself and nothing else should matter.

Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.