Fifty - the undersold decade - or so I tell myself :)

Self-deprecating humor is a superpower - well it is the one power I have and I think it is super and the other one I have is reflection. Read on as I talk about turning 50 and how I am looking forward to it.

I wrote this long, morbid, and morose email to all my friends and family at age 36 (which is an odd number I know) because I thought it was my downhill journey in life – I believed I would live to 70 and by extension at 36 it was the second half, the one where things would go south (literally and figuratively)

I turned 50 a month ago, I can’t help but wonder why it isn’t “sold” more. I truly feel this is going to my best decade yet: I am more confident than when I was 20, care less about what others think than when I was 30, have fewer care giving responsibilities for children and parents than when I was 40 and have more energy, more sassiness, more self-deprecating humor (if that is possible), more patience now that I am 50!

Besides the fact that I got my AARP card in the mail (this actually happens :)), I have spent the past few weeks scouring online to look for positive stories about turning 50 and I haven’t found many. I have found women talking about peri/menopause, becoming empty nesters, losing purpose in life and faith in their marriages, and a lot more. There are no positive uplifting stories and certainly nothing that resonates with how I feel.

So, I am synthesizing my takeaway for all of you (Above and below 50) -

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1. The best is yet to come – if you operate from that sphere, life will turn out okay.

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2. Were there tough times in each of the decades that preceded this one? You bet! Did I overcome them/ learn from them? You bet! Am I here looking forward to better times? You bet! So, think of tough times as character-building lessons, know “this too shall pass” and go back to point 1.

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3. Work is important, money is important, relationships are important, family is important, YOU are important. There are times when these are at conflict and as long as you give yourself grace and permission to fail at any of these knowing you recognize they are all important and you will get back on track, THEY will actually get back on track.

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4. Keep a learning mindset – stay humble, stay curious, and surround yourself with wicked smart people you can learn from (This includes your children who can teach you a whole lot).

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5. Health is not a milestone, it’s a journey – it isn’t about your weight; it isn’t about how you look. It is about how you feel physically, emotionally, getting comfortable in your skin and being kind and patient with yourself.

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6. Live your life spectacularly – people ask my husband, Sanjay, and I how we have lived apart, does he miss the boys? Do I feel like I have an unfair burden of raising them? etc. I can tell you this is our closest version to living our respective dreams, having faith in each other, and doing our best for our loved ones and families i.e living our lives spectacularly. That is a different version for each of us – find yours and live it.

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7. Have gratitude and show it – you don’t get anywhere in life without the people around you. Remember that and say it out loud every day.

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I founded, ran, grew, and exited my entrepreneurship venture back in India - KLAY - and then I moved to the US and joined Bright Horizons to work with an amazing set of people. AND I am watching 2 wonderful teenagers grow into confident men who will be good, happy amazing human beings. All of this after that morose, morbid note I sent out at age 36.

So, this comes from a place of having seen it, truly believing it, and looking forward to the joys the next decade will bring. As for the travails that might come along, I know I am better equipped to deal with them than I ever have been. I guess the only thing left to say is a BIG thank you to those wicked smart people I have had the fortune of surrounding myself with - YOU help me be a better version of myself everyday.