To wish I’d prioritised meeting someone when younger?

[redskyatnight19]

I thought when I was younger that I didn’t need a partner and that I could be self sufficient and have a career.

I’m now 40. Lonely, unhappy and experiencing real grief at what my life is now.

My mum was widowed in her 70s and is now OLD. She’s prepared to put herself out there because she wants to extract every ounce out of life. Nearly a year ago I found myself in a terrible rut in my life... work, commuting, chores, etc. I have a DH and DD but it felt like all the fun had departed.... and it had because I’d allowed it to happen. I made a New Years resolution to take advantage of everything London has to offer and that’s what I have done. We all have periods in our life where we need to make some changes. No one can know if you will meet a partner or not but the potential is always there. For every single one of us with a partner there was the moment when we met them for the first time. Up until that point we had no knowledge that they were coming into our orbit. Someone could walk into your life tomorrow but you’ve got to have your head raised to see it when it comes. If you’re too busy shuffling your feet and decrying the failures in your life you will only attract negativity .... you need to send a positive confident feeling into the world and if you’re lucky good things will come your way.

my boss (60) just got engaged tonight to his lovely girlfriend. his first wife died a few years ago but he found this lady and theyre very well suited. dont give up

40 is still young and I'm sure you've got plenty to offer the right person!

I'll share a secret with you... most people's lives are 'dull' to an extent. We all have to clean the house, but the shipping, wash clothes, go to work, service the car etc. I've literally just signed up to an OLD site for the first time this week. And I'm older than you!

Already having some nice chitchat with a couple of people and a coffee meet is on the cards. It seems like a bit of fun. It's easy enough to see through and avoid the idiots on the first message.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!!
You'll not find someone by just thinking about it, put yourself out there and give it a whirl. If in doubt, just ask loads of questions of them x

You don’t need a partner to be happy (and many people with partners are not happy).

I think you should find ways of enjoying yourself and giving your life meaning now. Find what you love doing and do it.

My cousin married for the first time at 58. No previous LTR. Not through OLD. It's possible, op.