Your advice to 40-year-olds: #8 Life is beautiful

In the 2025 National Seniors Social Survey we asked you what advice you’d give to people in their 40s to prepare for a possible time when they can no longer live independently.  

This series of Connect articles showcases the top 8 pieces of advice from our 2,965 survey respondents.

Today, for the penultimate instalment in our series, we have a very straightforward piece of advice for any people in their 40s who may be reading this.

It is to enjoy life while you can. 

Exactly 100 survey respondents offered this advice in their comments, which puts it at number 8 on our list. 

But just because it’s last in our top 8 doesn’t make it bad advice. 

Reasons people offered this advice included:

• the bodily limitations that ageing can bring, preventing some older people from participating in demanding activities

• the large number of health appointments needed later in life, consuming money and time and thus preventing activities like travel

• not knowing what’s around the corner at any age, so making the most of the days you have

• our need to make happy memories throughout our lives to take with us into older ages. 

Seventy-five commenters mentioned travel, ticking off a bucket list, enjoying life (or enjoying yourself, enjoying today, enjoying this time), living life to the full (or similar), or doing things ‘while you can’. 

The other 25 used different words to refer to the same concept, saying things like: 

“never say ‘no’ to invitations to do anything”

“Party to the max”

“have fun”

“live a good life for as long as you can.”

“Do as much as you can over the next couple of decades.”

“Get busy living.”

“Do some things NOW - don't continue to put them off.”

Indeed, this theme is so uniform in its sentiment that it feels like there is little more we can say about it.