To quote the late, great Nora Ephron:
My teeth aren’t doing so well either because dentists and breakfast cereal manufacturers in the 1960s didn’t think about the fact that our mouths needed to last 100+ years. But enough about my funky body parts…
We all know that aging creates various challenges, but here are 10 terrific things I discovered about getting older.
If you’re afraid of aging, just keep these 10 things in mind.
- Awareness of the passage of time can be a good thing. I fritter less of it than I used to and I marvel at the small changes and innovations that happen every day.
- We get to watch young people evolve. Although youth-bashing has become a popular sport among my generation, I have watched my own kids and past employees change and get wiser as they age. Sometimes they even ask for my opinion, which makes me happy.
- You care less about what other people think. Being voted “most popular” is not as important as being respected and viewed as kind.
- I am more fearless than ever. Although you won’t see me skydiving, I am willing to give anything else at least one shot.
- Learning is unlimited. Those of us who remember the card catalog should be truly delighted that we have Google.
- Socializing and making business connections are unlimited. Some of my colleagues poo-poo social media, but we need to focus more on the social aspects of it. I’ve met most of my best friends and most interesting colleagues in my new home city thanks to LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Entertainment is unlimited. Last night, I asked Alexa to play the Kinks and the English Beat. No shuffling through albums (although I do still love my vinyl collection). Speaking of entertainment, I use my senior movie discounts to their fullest! I’ve been seeing a first-run film every couple of weeks, as well as big-screen reruns of old faves like The Goldfather, Dirty Dancing, and (coming soon) Planet of the Apes. When you view old classic movies, you see new things you didn’t appreciate in your youth.
- We need less sleep. That’s three extra hours a day to do fun and interesting stuff.
- Our wisdom and wit can be helpful to others. What have you learned that you can impart to others? What causes do you care about? Non-profits are always looking for volunteers and other resources. Yes…finding corporate gigs may be tougher these days, but think about what other skills you have and how you can use them to benefit the world.
- If you’re living right, you stress less. Apply that time and energy to focusing on good things.
Writing a column like this one and sharing it with thousands of other 50+ people would have been impossible even 10 years ago. And perhaps that’s one of the coolest things about aging for me.
As for my neck and teeth…I’m very confident I’ll be able to get new versions 3D printed and installed during my lifetime!