The Advantages of Getting Older

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Others wiser than me have written about the pleasures of getting older.

Our culture glorifies youth. In doing so, we cast fear about advancing age. We make it scary. We turn getting older negative.

Yet aging has so, so many positives.

Given that I’m relatively young still, I don’t yet know all the advantages. Yet here’s what I’ve noticed so far:

Appearance

The personal and societal expectation to look magazine-model perfect goes away. You know what looks good on you and have defined your own style. You feel pretty thankful for a body that does amazing things—and not as negative about every single flaw or every last pound.

Personality

The notion that you should like or do certain things or be a certain way or have a certain personality may still exist, but you don’t care about it as much. You grow comfortable with yourself and what you like and what makes you happy—and you feel less pressure to pretend otherwise.

Experience

With enough experience, you know that every tunnel ends in light and that the hard times come and go—just as do the good times. And, in some ways, you realize that the sour moments make the sweet ones so much sweeter.

Achievement

Also, experience teaches that you can achieve more than you sometimes think. Your head will get in your own way if you let it.

Investment

You know what matters in a person and in a place and in a thing. Where to invest your time and your money becomes a lot clearer.

Values

Your values crystallize. You know what matters to you. You know the principles by which you want to live, which makes decisions so much easier.

What do you see as aging’s advantages?