Recently, yet another woman e-mailed me after a break up and said, “I gave him the best years of my life.” I’m amazed at how often I hear this, and how many women believe this to be true. Although you may lose time that you cannot get back in a relationship, you decide whether the best years of your life, are behind you or yet to come.

Yes, you are not getting any younger, but youth doesn’t determine happiness. Our experiences and our attitude do. By learning and applying timeless relationship principles, you can choose to make the future brighter by avoiding another relationship destined to end in heartache.

Unfortunately, some people feel that our bad habits cannot be changed the older we get. We think over eating, falling into bad relationships or smoking become part of who we are and we blindly accept the often horrible consequences that accompany them. We’ve all heard people say, ” I’m too old to quit smoking,” or, “It’s too late for me to regain my youthful figure.”

We can choose to change our habits and brighten our future. It is never too late. An 83 year old I knew was homebound due to poor health. Those who loved him encouraged him to quit and showed him a way he could do it. He managed to quit this bad habit that he had for years. Less than a month later, he was out playing golf with his buddies for the first time in years.

It’s wonderful that this gentleman accepted the support and encouragement of those who loved him, took the necessary steps to change things, and regained his life. It’s just unfortunate that he didn’t do it sooner. Imagine the years wasted being homebound.

The best years of anyone’s life are not determined by age, even in relationships. A lady I know became single again. She decided to continue to find ways to enjoy her life and continue on despite her heartache. Eventually she married again at the young age of 80, mainly because of her busy life and great attitude. She and her husband have a wonderful relationship, and enjoy riding their motorcycles, of all things!

If 80 year olds are still capable of bettering their lives and even finding love, so are you. All it takes is knowing the steps necessary to make real changes, having a good attitude, and having ample support while doing so. Life really is what you make of it. You choose the best years of your life. With this in mind, the best is always yet to come.