Guys between age of 45 and 55 do you think about death or does it seem far away

One upside about turning 50 for me is that I feel like "I made it." If I had died at 28 or 41 or when my kids were toddlers, I would have been gutted. But now, my kids are good. My wife is good. The house is paid off. The college savings are in the bank. And so on.

If I keel over tomorrow, I did everything I wanted to do and in most cases, did it 50 times! I was always very clear-eyed about living in the moment and making the most of each phase of life, so there isn't a lot that I wanted to do but didn't.

I would tell younger people "don't assume you can do it when you retire." Do it now!

That's so true. I sometimes find myself reminiscing about something, and thinking "next time, I'll do this differently", then coming to the sad realization that there won't be a next time.

This thread is depressing.

I suppose I've always had a fairly realistic attitude toward death, but my focus is on ensuring that if I do live to a ripe old age, I'm in as good of health as I can be when I get there. I have a sibling who is 5 years older than me who is in awful shape, and I'm older than either of my brothers and most of my Uncles when they died. I shed a decent amount of the middle-age pounds to help keep my knees and organs in better shape, I'm eating better, drinking less booze, and overall, just trying to address anything that could lead to crappy older health outcomes. My parents are still alive and doing well in their early 80s, so I have a reasonable probability of getting there if bad luck doesn't take me out first.

There are some choices that I made in my youthful days I wish I could take back, but to be honest, you shouldn't live your life soaking in nostalgia or regret. It's better to look back on my memories with fondness but also use the choices you would do over to inform the decisions you make moving forward.

God loves you despite your words. I hope you live long enough to realize that. I think if you stepped outside of your bubble, you'd find that the most intelligent and genuinely happy people are also believers.

What I have found is that I cannot run as hard or as long as I could in my 20s and 30s and recover. It just makes me feel much worse than it used to. I am 45, and just yesterday I put in 8 miles easy in the AM, and 6 miles threshold in the early evening with a younger running friend. My legs feel trashed this morning, and I will be testing them around noon on a lunch run.

Same thing goes for drinking. I can feel 3 beers the next day in a way that I never felt in my younger years. It just means I drink less, or at least fewer nights per week, but it is noticeable.

Age 58 and I agree about having your affairs in order. If I die my legacy as a provider is set and no economic suffering will result.

I'm retiring next year, and I've got a big long list of personal items to attend to, things that I put off for the benefit of the security of others. Just in the last couple of years my body has started to noticeably decline and every month I can hear a little bit less, see a little bit less, recover slower, lose distance in golf, etc. Time has moved up and is drafting behind me as I begin my last lap.

I have a generally positive feeling about progressing towards the finish line. I never wish I could go back and be younger again. Physically I feel young enough. There are more aches and pains, and I can't do all the things I used to do. Yet, I still can enjoy the challenge and benefits of athletics, and it feels rewarding when I feel stronger and faster after a good stretch of training, even if the times don't reflect it.

I don't believe in an afterlife, and the very small chance I could be wrong is slightly terrifying. My current expected life span is about right for my taste. I really like people, but am tremendously pessimistic about the future of human life on this planet. If I had the opportunity to live 150 healthy years, I'm not sure I'd take it.

Walter White

Bob Dylan

Think about it more? Sure. But I'm also much more comfortable with it. Time is undefeated and all we have is today or more specifically, right now.

That isn't true. There are some things I do (professionally) better than I ever did. You can also understand and appreciate things (and people/friendships) better than when you were younger. If you keep enough basic fitness you can also enjoy sports more - as a social recreational activity. Being grateful goes a long way.

The things I was thinking about were almost all physical, I should have been more specific. Agreed on your other points, I am a happy person and am grateful for what I have.

I remember what I used to be able to do as a young man. It's another universe from what I can do now. In fact I find the difference kind of funny. I've become my own joke. It's like I'm observing what's happening to me as much as I am experiencing it. If I can still do things I like to do that's enough and I'm especially grateful to be able to recover from or manage injuries and keep pain at bay. But the body is just something we get around in - "poor brother donkey", as Francis of Assisi said - while the spirit and soul are everything. They can grow throughout your life and be intact till the end. They are what you'll be remembered for.

This isn't true at all. I'm a way better mountain biker now at age 53 than I ever was in my 20s, simply because my focus was on competitive running at that time and not on biking. I don't regret all the miles I put in either. If I never trained that hard, I'd always be wondering what my lifetime potential was and what races I could have won.

Once I've had my fill of biking, there are tons of other hobbies and activities out there to discover and get good at, as well as some interesting jobs and careers. Airline pilot (well, maybe 53 is too old if you have dreams of being a 747 captain), track coach, starting your own small business, and so on. And when you think you've seen and done it all, it's still interesting to re-visit it again many decades down the line. Vegas in 2024 is different than Vegas in 1994, and so are places like Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. And what about all the new things that get invented? If he chooses, a 60 year old man can be a better video gamer than he was in his teens simply because video games were in their infancy back then.

You can still set bests in your 80s. Granted, your running PRs may be set in stone long before then, but you can still improve in other activities that you didn't have time or money to pursue in your younger years.

I am 46 and I am an Instructor to mostly 20-something year olds in the Army. I am in better shape than 99% of them.

I run, I lift, I don't eat too out of control.

I only think of death when someone in my family has a scare of some sort. My parents and inlaws are getting older and are having health issues. Within the last 5 years I have lost aunts and uncles. Cancer does not care how healthy you are.

Alan

You are gonna have a lot of extra time at the end. After all, you saved a lot of time with abbreviations, leaving off the 's', and never using capital letters.

The best thing in life is knowing at the end of it you made a difference in people's lives.

Went camping and fishing last week and the kayak was a little heavier than the previous year and fishing off the rocks a little more difficult. 57 is still not old but the best years are gone. Still enjoy a good run. I appreciate my health and still work on it every day.

Are you aware of your anger? Don't project it on God. And you might take notice that believers do not share your anger.

You should read "The Conversion of Ratisbonne". You sound just like Ratisbonne - before his conversion.

Think about it all the time.

I’m 45. My parents are at the very end of their lives. I have three young boys. Contemplating anything happening to them is terrifying.

It’s the point in life where mortality and its weight of responsibility kicks in.

That’s why college kids worry about the end of the planet. They have no sincere concept of what life means.

OP. At age 64 yes it seems closer and I think about it but it doesn't bother me. I feel much younger than what I used to think of mid-60s.

I'll always remember when my mother entered assisted living in her 80s. When a nurse asked about her "end" wishes she calmly stated that she didn't want any extraordinary measures taken - she was ready when the time comes. She was healthy and happy at the time and a few years later she passed peacefully.

But we're believers. I can't imagine "living" without my Faith.