Fifty for Fifty

Lessons I’ve earned, forgotten, and remembered.

Friends,

I turned 50 this week. A hundred years ago, reaching this age often meant the journey was nearly over. I’m hopeful I still have much more to give.

This milestone came faster than I was ready for. I don’t usually dwell on birthdays or the passing of time. But this year has been tough personally, giving me space to reflect. Not on achievements or milestones, but on quiet truths that have stayed with me through chaos, stillness, work, failure, love, and time.

I want to share some of those truths with you this week. They’re a little different. A step away from tech, a little deeper than blowing out candles or noticing another grey hair!

These aren’t rules, a guru’s guide or advice, but more markers on the path - messy truths I have stumbled into. Some are unfinished. Some might not resonate with you…yet. But they’re mine. And if even one speaks to you, I’ll be glad I shared it.

And if you are here for tech insights and recommendations, bear with me this week as I step away from AI to share something close to the heart. And if not, you could always read what I wrote last week.

50 Truths from 50 Years

1. The person I pretended to be cost me peace, while the person I really am cost me nothing.

Wear what makes you feel good and speak like no one is watching.

2. Peace is not a reward for achievement. It is a decision to stop performing.

Sit in silence for ten minutes with nothing playing, nothing to prove.

3. Your energy is more finite than your time. Guard it.

Cancel one thing that drains you and spend that time on a walk. Even for 10 minutes.

4. Not everything impressive is meaningful. The world rewards spectacle. Your soul does not.

Smile at someone instead of trying to impress them. Watch what softens.

5. Letting go is a skill. Practice it often.

Delete one goal that no longer reflects who you are becoming.

6. I have never regretted choosing presence over performance.

Put on a piece of music that slows you down. Listen to it fully without doing anything else.

7. My children do not need me to be perfect. They need me to be here.

And I’m bad at it. Sit with someone you love without your phone.

8. If you wait for the world to validate you, you will perform instead of live.

Do something kind today without sharing it with anyone. Let it stay between you and the moment.

9. I used to want to be understood. Now I want to be clear.

Say no to something today without apologising for your clarity.

10. Simplicity is not minimalism. It is knowing what matters.

Clear one small space in your life and leave it empty. Let it remind you how light feels.

11. You become the story you keep telling yourself.

Rewrite one old story in your head and tell it from a place of strength.

12. If you do not define success, someone else will and sell it to you.

Write one sentence that describes success on your terms and keep it visible this week.

13. Stillness is not emptiness. It is where everything real begins.

Close your eyes and follow your breath for five minutes.

14. I have never met a wise person who rushed to speak.

Take one breath before responding in your next difficult conversation.

15. Family is not about blood. It is about presence and kindness.

Reach out to someone who feels like family and say something you've never said before.

16. Productivity is addictive. It will never love you back.

Let one task go unfinished today and spend the time stretching or lying in stillness.

17. Curiosity saved me more times than certainty ever did.

Ask someone older a question you have never asked. Let that answer shift you.

18. There is no arrival. Only deepening.

Return to something you have done before and go one layer further.

19. If you are always proving your worth, you have already forgotten it.

Give someone a compliment today that you do not expect to be returned.

20. Love is not found. It is revealed when the ego gets quiet.

Help someone without telling anyone else. Let that be enough.

21. Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about choosing freedom over control.

Write down the name of someone you are ready to forgive. Move on.

22. Knowledge has become cheap. Wisdom now has all the value. Knowledge is no longer power

We’re moving into a new era. Bring someone with you who is being left behind.

23. There is no such thing as balance. Only alignment.

Adjust one habit today to match what you say matters most.

24. When I resist the moment, I suffer. When I welcome it, even pain becomes bearable.

Next time something irritates you, pause and follow your breath for a full cycle.

25. You can find life’s meaning in traffic, silence and your breath.

Your search can be found while you sit in quiet awareness.

26. Power is addictive. Influence without ego is rare.

Let someone else take the credit and notice how little it costs you.

27. Most of what I thought was urgent was not. Most of what I ignored was.

Make a call to someone you've been too busy for and ask how they're really doing.

28. The person you are when no one is watching is your legacy.

Leave someone a kind note or message anonymously.

29. Not everything needs to be monetised. Some things are sacred because they are untouched.

Make something with your hands today and do not share it. Let it stay yours.

30. I no longer chase clarity. I create space for it to arrive.

Take a walk without your phone and let the movement untangle your thoughts.

31. Longevity is about subtraction: fewer toxins, fewer lies, fewer regrets.

Drink water slowly, stretch your spine, and say something you mean.

32. If you want truth, look where you avoid.

Open the message or task you have been putting off and sit with it for five minutes.

33. My body tells the truth faster than my mind does.

Stand still, breathe deeply and ask your body what it needs today.

34. Leadership is regulating yourself, not others.

In your next stressful moment, stay quiet for 30 seconds before you speak.

35. A strong life is built by quiet rituals, not grand gestures.

Make tea or coffee slowly and with care. Drink it without a screen.

36. Self-worth is not earned. It is remembered.

Look at a photo of yourself as a child and speak to that version of you with kindness.

37. Ambition without reflection is just well-dressed fear.

Write down the goal you are chasing and ask why three times.

38. You do not need to heal everything. You just need to stop hiding from it.

Let one honest tear fall today and let it stay on your face a little longer.

39. Presence does not require silence. It requires undivided attention.

Next time you eat, take the time to chew slowly. Taste every bite.

40. There are no life hacks for integrity.

Keep one promise today, even if it costs you comfort.

41. I trust people more by how they treat the powerless than by what they say.

Thank someone today who is often overlooked and mean it.

42. The most generous act is listening without needing to reply.

Let someone speak without interruption and hold the silence after they finish.

43. Rest is not a reward. It is the foundation.

Lie down for twenty minutes. No screen, no guilt.

44. Every day I wake up is borrowed time. I am finally living like I know it.

Look out of the window. Be grateful for three things you see.

45. Most of the world runs on unresolved grief.

Light a candle today for someone you miss or someone who is hurting. Legacy matters.

46. You cannot outsource your values. You live them or you betray them.

Say yes or no to something today based only on your actual beliefs.

47. Love that endures is love that has survived disappointment without retreat.

Hold space for someone even if they have disappointed you. Stay gentle. I think that’s what my wife does with me!

48. Not everything is a message. Some things just are. Let them be.

Sit in nature for a few minutes and let the moment pass without trying to interpret it.

49. I met peace, and it did not come with fireworks. It came with less.

Turn off your notifications for a full day and let your mind settle.

50. The most sacred truth: this moment, just as it is, is enough.

Take one breath with full attention. Let that be the whole practice.

And one last thing - Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,

Rahim

PS. I’d love to hear a truth you’ve stumbled into - email me or share in the comments if you feel comfortable.