Remember when a birthday was cause for a big, streamer-strewn blowout? Turns out it still is.There's mounting evidence that midlife and the decades beyond are just as satisfying as the first half of life, if not more so. Here, five reasons to enjoy the present and look forward to what's ahead.
And the thing about having more energy well, I can't vouch for that. Consensus among my 20-something friends is we're tired. All.the.time. We're juggling young, new relationships, 60-hour workweeks in many cases, and the pressure to maintain the illusion of having "a life."
Truth be told, many of us are looking forward to aging, and getting to a point where we've passed most of life's major hurdles not spending our entire paychecks on the newest anti-aging serum to help us cling to our exponentially fading youth. Here's what we're looking forward to in older age.
1)Why you can look forward to another candle on your cake:
We're not going to lie: Getting older isn't always a picnic. Cracking knees? Annoying. Sensitive teeth? Blah. Gravity? Not terribly kind. But here's the thing: It's not all bad. In fact, some things that come with aging are downright fantastic. If you're skeptical, read on: We've come up with 50 things that simply get better with age.
2)Love:
Young love may be fun, but it’s also full of unrealistic expectations, drama, and hickies. Long-term love? It’s all about trust, intimacy, and feeling super-secure with your partner in the bedroom, too keep reading). Plus, according Maggie Scarf, author of September Songs: The Good News About Marriage in the Later Years, affection increases among older couples who are more apt to tell each other “I love you” and mean it.
3)Allergies:
Good news: Seasonal allergies, particularly hayfever, seem to dissipate over time, says Michael J. Welch, co-director of the Allergy & Asthma Medical Group and Research Center . “We’re not sure exactly why, but we do see that older people don’t have as many symptoms of seasonal allergies,” he says. “We tend to outgrow food allergies, as well.” And that’s nothing to sneeze at.
4)Self-confidence:
Older and bolder? “Self confidence, of course, varies from person to person, but it does tend to grow with age, head of the department of psychology at the Arizona State University. The likely reason: Accumulating experience and wisdom makes us feel more valuable, boosting our self-esteem.
5)Not worrying as much about things will "turn out." After 50 or so:
I'm guessing most major questions of life have been answered. Will I find the right life partner? Will I have kids? Will everything be okay?
My 65-plus father once told me that when he looks at young folks he feels sheer pity. Not what I was expecting to hear. But they're fit, healthy, and able-bodied I said confusedly. True, he agreed. But they just have so many hurdles ahead of them that they can't even imagine. There are so many uphill battles they have yet to face. I'm confident I've already faced the worst of my problems, he said. Let's hope he's right.
6)More mature relationships (hopefully):
As a young dater or novice boyfriend/girlfriend, everything is so much more fragile and every fight leaves you wondering if you're headed for a breakup that will cause the devastation of a nuclear bomb in your heart.
I can't wait to celebrate my 30th or 40th wedding anniversary with someone I've been through thick and thin with. Someone who has essentially watched me grow up. That's the sort of intimacy that easily trumps the passion and fireworks of a budding love.
7)You've carved out a career. Hopefully:
You're not developing ulcers wondering if the four years you spent in college were a complete waste, when you realize everything you learned in the classroom is not really helpful in your first job. With 8.2 percent of millennials facing unemployment, higher than any of the previous 4 generations, it's a very valid concern.
8)Looks aren't everything:
They never should be, but let's face it, younger folks have more pressure to look a certain way. As if it isn't bad enough that everyone and their mother is posting selfies 24/7 on every social media network under the sun, we're also being told by makeup counter girls that we should start considering preventive aging potions. Oh -- and living in constant fear of Facetime calls.
9)There's nothing wrong with a 9:30 PM bedtime:
There are few things better than a good night's sleep. Spending a Friday night in a sweaty, crowded club and waking up with ringing ears the next day is not one of them.
10)You stop caring what others think:
At 25, do I really care what teenagers or even underclassmen think about me? No. So at 65, I'm guessing you couldn't care less what a silly 55-year-old thinks of you. Hence, the license to speak your mind. Whenever. Wherever. However controversial.
11)Fewer major life decisions to make:
After doing a 180 and switching from my business degree to now an infinitely happier and fulfilling career in journalism, I often question how wise it is to let high school seniors decide what mark they want to leave in the world, when most of them haven't really been out in the real world. For many students, four years and $50,000 later, they end up disillusioned and trapped in their line of work. Besides that, you also have to choose your first car, home, city, political affiliation, and spouse. I have a hard enough time deciding what to eat for lunch plan to choose.
12) More stable friendships:
Your twenties are a shocking time. The college friends and roommates you ate three square meals with a day, crammed for exams with, and swore you'd never lose touch with are all pulling disappearing acts. People are flaky. Everyone seems to be running off and getting married, being consumed by new relationships, moving cross country, going to grad school, and generally disappearing off the face of the Earth. Everything is in flux and it can be really scary.
13) Having children:
After making an exhausting number of decisions for your own life, it must be nice to have the spotlight off you for once and meet your new family members. Nobody can understand the joy of becoming a parent until the moment they do, but I think an old colleague of mine put it best. At a certain age, you realize you've seen and done most everything, she said, and you start to lose your sense of wonder with the world. But when you have kids, you can see everything through their eyes for the first time again.
14)To stop having to keep up with technology:
It took me a solid two weeks to figure out Snapchat and then I accidentally sent a makeup free, first-thing-in-the-morning selfie by accident to some poor soul. I'm also convinced I was almost at the center of a political sexting scandal, with someone named "Enrique calamity" trying to send me pictures of god knows what.
15)With midlife comes peace:
The midlife crisis is a common theme in movies, but it is rarely a woman's reality. In fact, only 10% to 20% of Americans report having a crisis at midlife. study shows that most middle-aged people are very satisfied with how their lives are going, and many envision even better days to come.
And here's more good news: "Happiness actually increases as you inch closer to later life,"Midlife is seen as the halfway point, so there's still a lot of time to make progress toward your goals."
16)Life has meaning, finally:
When you were younger, you probably spent a lot of time uneasy about your place in the world. What should you do? Who would you be? Reaching midlife often puts these questions to rest, according to new data collected by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Experts found that people aged 40 to 60 are more apt than younger ones to say they'd found meaning and were no longer searching for it. That's not to say you'll never have moments of doubt, but trust that with all your accrued experience, you're on your way.
17)You're a font of knowledge:
Researchers at the Universitycreated computer models to simulate younger and older brains and came to this conclusion: Older brains are just as good as younger ones. They are also more jam-packed with knowledge, simply because they have absorbed so much information over the years. While it takes extra time to sort through that information sort of like the way your computer moves more slowly when you're working on a large file you are as sharp as you were when you were younger.
So when random facts or people's names are caught on the tip of your tongue, don't assume that you're starting to lose it. These little lapse bubbles are likely a sign that you know more (and are vastly more popular) than ever. "If you look after yourself, getting older simply means getting smarter,".Your kids may take a few more years to recognize that, but you can celebrate now.
18)Art:
only earned around as an artist in his lifetime. Fast forward 123 years and his paintings. But money aside, while that watercolor your son painted you in second grade may never fetch millions at Christie’s, its sentimental value will only appreciate.
19)Body image:
Remember how much you used to hate your nose back in high school? We’re guessing it doesn’t bother you so much anymore in fact, we're betting you even appreciate it's uniqueness now. “Younger people are much more concerned with themselves, whereas the older we get, the least concerned we are about personal issues.
20)Empathy:
The most empathetic group? Women in their 50s, finds researchers who found that women aged 50 to 59 were more likely to make an effort to relate to different perspectives. “The more we live through and experience, the more understanding we are about other people’s issues.
21)Stress levels:
We may never be stress-free (because, let’s face it: we’ll always find something to worry about), but the good news is that stress levels decrease as we age, according to a recent scientific analysis. Oh, and studies say that having a husband who helps around the house also makes women stress less over the years, hint (not-to-subtle) hint.
22)Negative emotions:
Goodbye, bad moods: Psychologists of Southern California say we seem to experience less loneliness, depression, anger, and boredom as we age.
23)Your home:
When you first bought your home, it was a blank canvas. But now? Full of countless memories, crazy wall colors you still love, sentimental souveniers, and all the other treasures you've aquired over the years.
24)Your smile:
Whether it’s those hard-earned laugh lines around your eyes, or the deepening dimples on your cheeks, there’s something simply stunning about seeing a smile spread across an older woman’s face.
25)Your vocabulary:
Studies show that our verbal ability improves with age, especially among big readers. And that daily crossword puzzle you do (in ink, no less)? That help facilitates an impressive array of antonyms and synonyms in your vocabulary. You wordsmith, you!
26)Semantic memory:
You may be a bit foggy about where you left your keys, but you’ll likely never forget how to make your famous Chicken . That’s because our semantic memory the recollection of facts and figures is relatively resistant to the effects of aging. Brilliant!
27)Scrapbooks:
As fun as it is to flip through snapshots in your phone or on your iPad, there’s something to be said about thumbing through a good ol' photo album or scrapbook. Besides, you don't have to worry about losing all of those memories if, say, your harddrive crashes.
28)Judgment:
The longer we live, the less likely we are to make snap (often regrettable) decisions. Years of learning from our mistakes certainly helps in that department.
29)Medical advancements:
Bioengineers are growing artificial ears that look and act like real ones and a 26-year-old vet received two new arms after undergoing a complex double limb transplant. And that’s just been in the last few months. Just imagine what’s to come.
30)Expertise:
Whether it’s job-related knowledge or your golf game, the amount of time you’ve spent practicing your skills surely makes you an expert in at least one area. Plus, researchers this kind of knowledge resists the effects of aging, meaning you should be able to own your expertise indefinitely.
31)Parenthood:
Bringing home a baby for the first time is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences a person can go through. But by the time that tot’s a teen, you've got the parenting thing down .
32)Investments:
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that solid investments and the interest you earn will bring many happy returns. “High quality dividend paying stocks can get better over time,”“If you purchase them at reasonable prices, they will hopefully increase in value. Just as importantly, the will likely increase their dividend each year." This means, regardless of what the stock does, you'll see your income grow.”
33)Trees:
As the stoic senior citizens of nature, trees take the cake when it comes to longevity. What starts as a tiny sapling eventually blooms into a towering tree that may stick around for centuries. Just consider the bristlecone pines of California’s White Mountains, which have been around 4,600 years. If those trees could talk...
34)Work-life balance:
The more advanced you are in your career, the better you get at the whole work hard/play hard thing. “Starting out, most people are eager to prove themselves in their careers and burn the candle at both ends to impress the boss and make their mark,“As we gain experience and build credibility with superiors and peers, we're able to relax some and be confident that we don't need to be proving our value every minute of every day.”
35)Sleep:
Sleep deprived? Rest on this: Experts say that healthy older people have fewer sleep disturbances and less daytime fatigue than younger people. As reported in the journal Sleep, after the age of 60, you should feel better rested than ever before.
36)Wisdom:
As the saying goes, you’re older, and yes, you’re wiser. “Wisdom isn’t something we’re necessarily born with. “It’s earned and only increases with age.”
37)Happiness:
Here’s something to smile about: Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide among women go down as we age, according to research. And what’s not to like about that?
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