【推荐1】As we get older, we realize that time is short, which often leads to a readjustment of our priorities—whether it’s wanting to spend more time with family, or doing something we really love. As such, many consider upskilling or retraining, to pursue a new passion, or even achieve a lifelong childhood dream that they never had the chance to do before.

However, there may still be apprehension—and you may be wondering, “Is this really something I can do at my age?” Victoria, a 50 Plus Champion at Jobcentre Plus, says, “It can be daunting (令人畏惧的) to change jobs at any age, but it’s never too late. In fact, the older you are, the more you understand what you enjoy and what you’re good at.”

Then how can you get into a new job? The key is to understand your strengths and be able to recognise the transferable skills you have. It’s crucial to make a list of all the skills you’ve acquired from different occupations and life experiences, for instance, attending to children or elderly relatives or managing a household budget. Consider trying the Midlife MOT which can help you plan your work, health and money for the future on the website. It could help you when thinking about the sorts of roles you want to go for.

Numerous employers place a high value on the contributions that seasoned professionals can offer, hence it is advisable not to restrict your job search. For instance, further educational institutions, such as colleges and training centres, are constantly in pursuit of individuals with extensive experience in a particular industry to pass on their knowledge. Additionally, the healthcare and social services sector, including the National Health Service(NHS), acknowledges the significance of incorporating experienced workers into their workforce to enhance its overall efficacy (效力).

People aged over 50 bring life skills and experiences, communication skills and emotional intelligence, which creates a really multi-generational workforce.

【推荐2】Do you have a suit or dress in the closet that you haven’t worn for years but are reluctant to get rid of? Maybe you say, “I can’t throw that away because I paid good money for it?”. If you recognize this in yourself, then you are suffering from commitment to the sunk cost fallacy (谬论). It occurs when we feel that we have invested too much to quit. This psychological trap causes us to stick with a plan even if it no longer serves us and the costs clearly outweigh the benefits.

Arkes and Blumer conducted a survey showing that people are influenced by sunk cost fallacy in their decisions. Participants imagined spending $100 on a ski trip to Michigan and $50 on Wisconsin, realizing later they were for the same weekend. They were told Wisconsin would be more enjoyable. When asked which trip to take, 54% chose Michigan despite the reasonable choice being Wisconsin, because they had made a greater initial investment.

Sunk cost fallacy takes place when we let emotions cloud our decisions. Once we’ve invested in a choice, we feel guilt or regret if we don’t follow through. We fail to realize that past costs won’t be recovered. Instead, we base decisions on past costs, ignoring present and future costs and benefits. This may be due to loss aversion (厌恶), where losses feel worse than gains. We avoid losses, making choices based on avoiding the “loss” of our past investment instead of considering the benefits gained if we don’t continue our commitment.

No one can deny the fact that we benefit a lot from perseverance. So our society loves to emphasize perseverance. Never give up! Don’t waste. But only you know the right path for you. Sometimes walking away is the hardest choice of all. You might realize a path you’re on is no longer the right one or never was. That’s a painful realization.

【推荐3】It was dinner time, yet I hadn’t finished my work for the day. Cheery people who were enjoying their holiday time buzzed around me. But with my head down and headphones in, I had interacted with very few of them. The day passed more like a fast-forwarded video than something that I actually fully experienced.     1    

This was my first week living the digital nomad lifestyle. I had left my corporate role and found freelance (自由职业的) writing work online to afford me the freedom to travel.     2     With enthusiasm, I expected my attitude would also change. Instead, the first surprising realization of my travel journey had hit: despite changing my formal suits to casuals, I was the exact same person I had been at home.

I had prepared excitedly, surfing online about digital nomadism.     3    While you might expect finances to be the biggest killer of this lifestyle, unrealistic expectations are the death blow that I hear about most often. After six years abroad, realism is now the primary message I share.

    4     Instead of an office room, you’ll work from a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean or a sunny rooftop in the heart of Marrakesh. Instead of waiting at the coffee machine next to complaining colleagues, your daily coffee run will lead you down dusty cobblestone streets into tiny cafes. These dreams exist and are waiting for you once you clear customs.

But that’s not all that’s waiting for new digital nomads.     5     At-home life and life on the road can at times feel shockingly similar, or, if bad work habits take over, even worse. It’s an important expectation to understand before you set out on your digital nomad lifestyle: your surroundings will change, but you take you everywhere that you go. No matter how ultra-light you pack.

【推荐1】If you’ve ever been in a cheerful mood, then met up with a bad-tempered friend, you’ll know how infectious emotions can be. Before you know it, you realize that you’re feeling down too.    1    . When you’ve been sad, perhaps your friend’s liveliness has helped to lighten your mood.

You might wonder who wins out—if you’re feeling happy and your friend is feeling sad, do you yield to their sadness or do they catch your happiness? Part of the answer is likely depending on their and your levels of expressiveness and receptiveness.     2    . If you smile a lot when you’re happy, you’re more likely to infect your friend. Likewise, if your friend is impressionable and more prone (有做...倾向的) to copying facial expressions, then they’ll be more likely to catch your smiles and start feeling happier.

    3    . For instance, there’s evidence that fear has a smell, and that smelling the sweat of an anxious person can initiate activity in parts of the brain involved in empathy (共情) and processing emotions. In fact, there doesn’t need to be any physical contact at all. Researchers have shown that emotions can spread through social media.     4    .

If and when you encounter an opposite emotion to your own, the experience will likely vary depending on how invested you are in that other person or people.     5    . And if you’re feeling sad and a bunch of strangers surrounding you were laughing their heads off, you’re likely to find it really annoying.

【推荐3】We all have friends that need a little advice, but one of the problems with those types of conversations is that it’s really easy to come off as a know-it-all when you’re offering help. When you do that, nobody’s going to listen.

    1     But it’s not an easy conversation to have someone, especially when you know all the extenuating circumstances of the situation. I talked with relationship and family therapist Roger S. Gil to get some advice for dealing with these situations.

Obviously not everyone is looking for your advice. Before you go offering up your point of view, make sure they’re interested in hearing it. As Roger Gil points out, often friends aren’t looking for you to solve a problem. They just want you to listen and maybe ask some questions. So, ask if they’d like to hear your input or insights on a problem, but also ask questions about why thee feel a certain way. If they say “no”, let them finish their story and listen politely.     2     Just wait for them to finish complaining before offering advice (or asking if they want). Sometimes the best way to figure something out is to do it on their own.

Speaking of listening. It’s also a good idea to figure out right away what your friends want from you. Gil describes this as differentiating between opinions, expert advice, and being a “sounding board”. Essentially, don’t pretend like you know something you don’t.     3    

Now that you know whether or not your friends or family actually want your advice, it’s time to learn how to advise without sounding like a know-it-all. This is a lot harder than you might think. As Gil points out, one way to offer advice without sounding pretentious (自以为是的) is to avoid “You should” statements.     4     By offering up your opinion clearly defined as your opinion, you remove the implication that “you know best”.