Women Over 50 Reveal What They Wish They’d Done Before Reaching The Milestone

Most of us have an internal list of things that we'd like to achieve in life, whether that's a specific goal like a promotion, a wedding or becoming a parent, or something more ephemeral like wanting to feel happy and comfortable with oneself.

There's no reason that you need to put a deadline on your achievements, but it's normal and human to see milestone birthdays as a time to reflect on what you've achieved and what you'd still like to experience.

Researchers for Elizabeth Shaw spoke to 1,500 women and asked them what they thought was the most important thing to have done before reaching the age of 50. The answers were varied and, in places, pretty random, looking at everything from relationships to sex and holidays.

Learn what’s important to you in life - 63%

Know your worth- 55%

Quit the job you hate - 48%

Forgive someone who has wronged you - 36%

Sip a cocktail on a tropical beach - 26%

Have a complete makeover - 25%

Find love again - 23%

Be your own boss - 22%

Fly business class to New York - 21%

Go to a festival - 20%

Dance until sunrise - 19%

Make time for volunteering - 19%

Learn to meditate - 18%

Learn a language - 18%

Get a tattoo - 16%

Date a younger man - 16%

Have a career change - 16%

Visit the Maldives - 13%

Dance on a table - 12%

Write your life story - 12%

Have a holiday romance - 11%

Drive a convertible – 11%

Go skinny dipping – 10%

Learn to salsa dance – 10%

Introduce role play to your marriage – 10%

Sneak backstage at a gig – 8%

Try a pole-dancing class – 5%

Learn to scuba dive – 5%

Go to a burlesque club – 5%

Run a marathon – 4%

It's quite a long list of things to have managed by the time you turn 50. The good news is that lots of the things on the list are achievable in the space of an afternoon. Getting a tattoo, taking a pole-dancing class, skinny dipping and dancing on a table could make up one really heavy night out.

Driving a convertible is easy peasy if you've got a licence as most dealerships will let you take a test drive, and learning to salsa dance, meditate or speak a language can all be done with the help of a local class, App or a Youtube tutorial.

Other items on the list, like knowing your worth or quitting your job might require more than a few shots of tequila and some free time.

The interesting thing about the list is that it largely focuses on fun, flippant and even silly experiences, which presumably make you feel free and irresponsible. There's nothing on the list about losing weight, working longer hours at work or leaving snide comments under someone's Instagram post. It seems that when you reach the age of 50 the idea is to have had as much fun as possible and to have done at least a handful of pleasingly transgressive things.

If you want to make a dent in the list, you might want to try:

The Pole Studio

PADI scuba diving classes

Duolingo language app

Volunteer UK

Headspace meditation app

Salsa dance class finder