Seven Reasons To Stop Worrying About Stupid Sh*t After 50
By the time you hit 50 (60 if you’re a late bloomer like me) something magical happens: you enter your IDGAF Era stop giving a sh*t about dumb stuff.
Here’s why:
1. You're closer to the end than the beginning.
You’ve already lived more life than you have left. In 20 or 30 years, you’ll either be dead or really, really tired. So why waste another second stressing over things that won’t matter next week, let alone in a hundred years?
2. You’ve learned that if you won’t take someone’s advice, you’re not going to take their criticism either.
People who judge you, nitpick you, or plain don’t like you? Irrelevant. If they’re not someone you’d go to for help, their opinion doesn’t count. Move along.
3. Nobody’s thinking about you as much as you think they are.
They’re too busy obsessing over themselves, just like you are. So wear that inappropriate outfit, dye your hair pink, and (tactfully) say what’s on your mind. Nobody’s paying that much attention anyway.
4. Mistakes are no longer scary; they’re just unpaid internships for wisdom.
Everything you’re good at now, you were once bad at. So, why be afraid to make a mistake? Mistakes are how we grow, and frankly, they make for way better stories than playing it safe ever did.
5. If you can’t control it, f*ck it.
Worrying doesn’t give you superpowers. If you can’t change it, release it. Shrug dramatically. Drink vodka. Laugh with a friend. And put that sh-t in the rearview mirror.
6. Caring less is a power move.
Trying too hard is the enemy of happiness. Happiness doesn’t come from wishing you were happy and confidence doesn’t come from gripping tighter—it comes from loosening your death grip on everything and not white-knuckling life.
7. Regret stems from what you didn’t do.
Chances are as you grow older, you’re not going to sit around wishing you’d played it safer. Instead, you’ll wish you’d spoken up, taken the trip, made the leap, or taken the chance. Even failure feels better than wondering what if forever.
By the time you hit 50-ish, the nonsense starts to fall away—and thank God for that. You’ve earned the right to care less, laugh more, and unapologetically be exactly who you are.
Life isn’t about getting it all right—it’s about showing up, screwing up, learning, and occasionally saying, “F*ck it, I’m doing it anyway.” And honestly? That might be the most liberating part of aging—realizing that the only opinion that really matters is your own.