What’s So Great about Aging?

Here are great reasons to have a positive outlook.

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I started The EndGame to celebrate the positive aspects of getting older. As you and I are well aware, positive aging flies in the face of conventional wisdom and omnipresent stereotypes, which paint old age as a pitiful one-way path consisting only of suffering, senility, decline, disability, decrepitude, and ultimately, death.

If that’s what you believe, you’re right!

If you believe old age comes with positive benefits that make living more satisfying, you’re right!

The difference is a matter of mindset. As the oft-cited 2002 study led by Becca Levy of Yale University revealed, people who have positive beliefs about aging live an average of seven and a half years longer than those who regard aging as a negative.  Later research has found that positive mindset is associated with lower blood pressure, reduced dementia risk, and a longer, healthier life generally.

You don’t have to be a Pollyanna, papering over the real physical and mental challenges as if they’re mythical. But you can be a realistic optimist. For example, you accept that you’re no longer an Olympic contender, but you can still swim or run or play basketball just for the enjoyment of it.

On the Bright Side

So let’s accentuate the positive. To help adjust your mindset, consider some of aging’s better attributes:

You’re wiser. All that experience you’ve socked away is proving useful. You’ve been around long enough to have seen it all at least once, and you can recognize the patterns. It may be new to younger folks, but you’ve seen this movie before, and you even know how it ends. If someone compares you to Yoda, take it as a compliment.

Your mind is sharper in some areas. Forget dementia. You may slip an IQ point or two because you’ve lost your lightning quick, Jeopardy-worthy recall, but your emotional intelligence and social intelligence generally improve with age.  

You’re better at resolving conflicts. Perhaps it’s because you understand relationships better, or because your greater empathy lets you see more than one side to a problem. Whatever the reason, research shows older adults have greater ability to resolve conflicts.

You’re a better problem-solver. You’re better able to deal with complex problems. Alan Cohen, a professor in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center,  says that’s because older adults have greater psychological resilience and tend to be “more we-focused than me-focused.”

You care more about connections. Relationships with family and friends matter more as you age. And with paid work out of the picture, or at least off the front burner, you have time to cultivate them.

You don’t care what others think. You’ve reached that level of self-confidence and self-acceptance that frees you from giving a flying flip about society’s expectations of you. It’s nearly impossible to embarrass you. You’re not crazy anymore – you’re eccentric. So fly your freedom flag: Do you want to wear white after Labor Day? Go for it.

You’re still alive. It’s a miracle! You’ve managed to survive this long, despite all. And who knows? You may have 20 or 30 years left in you if you keep exercising and eating your kale. So do yourself a big favor: Enjoy the heck out of it!

What are other advantages of aging? Please share your own ideas in the comments.