How Happy Is... 5 Positive Aspects Of Aging

There is a moment in all of our lives when the feeling that we are getting older hits us for the first time. It might be when you reach a significant age, when you have a child and move to a new generation or, when you catch yourself in the mirror and see those first lines appear on your face. But there are also many advantages to those feelings of getting older that often go unnoticed. So here are 5 positive aspects of aging that hopefully you can adopt.

1. Focus Your Time: Feeling older hopefully makes you prioritize what the most important projects in your life are, so that you can focus your time on those assignments and let go of the others that essentially you don't enjoy doing so much, or really don't have that much time to do. By doing this, you are essentially dovetailing your energy, rather than spreading yourself too thin. This will most likely help you to become more successful at the one or few that you decide to keep.

2. Who Energizes You: Feeling older hopefully makes you realize that your precious time is limited. So with that in mind, who would you like to spend more of it with? Would you like to see certain members of your family more, or allow a current friendship to develop to a new level? Get a sense of your energy after you have spent time with different friends. If your energy is lower after being with them, then maybe they are not so good for you to be around. If you feel energized after being with someone, then that is a nourishing friendship and you will really want to keep him or her in your life.

3. Leaving a Positive Legacy: Feeling older hopefully gives you a sense of urgency that will make you think deeply about what you are meant to be doing on the planet and how you want to leave a positive legacy behind. Not all of us have the opportunity to touch thousands of people's lives at once, like a spiritual leader, president, celebrity, rock star or anyone in the public eye for that matter. It actually can be just as powerful and even more meaningful to touch the lives of those around you i.e. your family, your friends, and your community. If you can make a difference in one person's life and give to them or teach them something, invariably they will pass it on to other people they come in to contact with and those others will hopefully, in turn, pass it on as well. So the affect of you making a difference is like a wave that reverberates out and can touch hundreds of people's lives without you knowing. Also, many of us think of waiting till we're older to be more philanthropic, but there is no time like the present to leave your mark, because you really don't know how long your life is going to last and looking back you want to minimize the amount of regrets that you think you might have.

4. Letting go of Grudges: Feeling older hopefully makes you appreciate every moment of your life more. Maybe now you have a sense that there is no longer time to waste on being at odds with anyone. If you have a disagreement, let go of your ego and patch it up as quickly as you can. Give as much as you can to your family, friends and associates, especially when they least expect it, and when you come in to contact with new people, please think about what you can do for them, how you can help them, not what they can do for you.

5. Living in the Now: Feeling older hopefully makes you realize that this is your life right now. You are in it. You can no longer plan for what might happen when your life begins i.e. when you grow up. You are grown up. For some, this can be a big shift from thinking, 'oh, I have plenty of time' and 'I'll do that some time in the future', to realizing that there is no time like the present.

That's it for this week and if you want to contact me please do so at [e-mail].

Comments

[truthartbeauty]

the best result of living to an old age is the realization that kindness is the answer to all things. being at peace with nature, being kind to everything is the ultimate goal and it usually takes years of living to finally arrive at this.

[angel5868899]

i agree

[timezone]

I think getting older means feeling more self-assured and working what ya got. I stopped coloring my hair and I feel I've lived long enough to not have to explain my tastes. I'm hardly a senior yet, but where the emphasis in my youth was more about looks and going out and having fun, now that I've been there and done that, I'm more interested in working on the inner me and I'm comfortable in my own skin (more so than I was when it had less wrinkles!).

[goddess1871]

Better orgasms. I'm perfectly serious.

While I'm not "old" (I'm 38), I am old enough to realize that "wham bam thank you ma'am" is no longer enough. Some of my most wonderful moments are in the arms of my husband of 13 years because sex is no longer an issue of prowess or impressing someone - it's about communication and love. I often hear the term "hook up" and just cringe. I used to be one of those people in college. I'm glad I'm past that now.

[truji999]

You enjoyed "hooking up" then so don't talk trash about it now that you are "older and wiser".

[truthartbeauty]

I have shoes older than you. You will find many more realizations before your time is up.

[DANOSC]

Why are almost all of the five "positive things" about approaching death? Hey, I'm 57 and the best things about being 57 are all about living--not having to put up with the bullshit I thought I had to put up with or DID put up with twenty years ago. The most positive thing about getting older is applying the lessons learned earlier--in other words, experience is the most positive thing about being older--life, career and people-related experience. I look at all the younger people who cling to their Blackberry's and pda 's like they're life support systems and I'm thankful they I am not they. Yes, say what you will about the importance of the gadgets in business, but I'm quite successful with only a mere cellphone the display of which doesn't light up anymore, and, I don't care. Not having to care about meaningless things is the best thing about getting older.

[babyboomerorig]

There are a lot of positives of getting older....trading leg hair for whiskers, not making the bed just because that's what you want to do.

Have ice cream for breakfast.

Not feeling guilty because the house isn't perfect.

Going fishing in the middle of the week down at the river with the sandstone cliffs as an excuse to watch the eagle with the 8' wing span glide in and out of the cliffs.

Investigating flower petals for the first time in your life because you have the time.

One day every now and then leaving your PJs on all day because you don't feel like getting dressed except to keep the neighnbors from laughing at you because you're naked.

Saying exactly what you mean without guilt...No means no...really!

Feeling comfortable in your skin...letting your grandmother's genetics catch up with you and being proud of it.

Telling the lady down the street that the medicaid she's been on for 30 years is really a government program and she needs to get with the program.

The lousy part of getting older is the pain, both physical and mental of saying goodbye to too many life-long friends and relatives who are younger than you.

Another lousy part is not being able to tell anybody about the neat things you did when you were a kid...what you've really accomplished....and that your kids have no clue about how much you really love them and respect their adult lives.

[OldTart]

Oh thank you so much for this post. My feelings exactly. Everything comes with a price, but the freedom I experience as I grow old is almost priceless. In any case, the positive outweighs the negative by far. Having time to do whatever you want to do, including nothing, is so wonderful I'm still adjusting to it. And yeah, PJs all day is my costume du jour, summer & winter. Why the hell not?

The last statement is so true and is so painful to me personally. I struggle with it all the time. I am very relieved to know that I am in good company, even if we are merely commiserating.

[DallasDon]

Thanks for sharing babyboomer.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

A positive result of aging is at the end of the process, you get to pay no more taxes.

[Carrie Leber]

So there's the bright spot.

[Gin1234]

I am looking forward to retirement in several years. When that happens, for the first time in my life, I will be kissed in the a.s.s instead of kissing someone elses. When you think of it, you have been pleasing someone since the day you were born. First, your parent's, then your teacher's, then your boss's. For the first time when you grow old, there is a time when you can stop trying to please everyone else and get a chance to please only yourself. I hope that there is a lenghty period of time for that, before I have to start pleasing the nurses in the nursing home. I hope that for everyone else, too. A perfect time just to come into your own.

[Amanda Genus]

I agreed that you just have to be fine with who you are and let go of all the drama. Shake it off your shoulders. I think that in your state of peace and grace, you can't worry about what others think or worry about how they treat older people. I feel for the person who complains there is nothing to be happy about. There is everything to be happy about. Life itself is a gift!! The fact that your alive and living as an older person is every reason to be happy. Your beautiful and I want you to go out and share your wisdom with the world!

[Elfrida]

YIKES!...MORE BROMIDES...ANOTHER 5-STEP PROGRAM TO DYING...
IF THERE ARE ADVANTAGES TO AGING THEY ELUDE ME AND LOTS
OF OTHER ORDINARY PEOPLE...LETTING GO OF GRUDGES, FOCUSING
ONE'S TIME, LIVING IN THE NOW, WOULD REQUIRE SOME SERIOUS THERAPY
FOR MOST OF US AFTER A LIFETIME TELLING PEOPLE THE TRUTH, LAVISHLY ENJOYING
OURSELVES, AND HAPPILY DAY DREAMING...

[csmcmillion]

OK - but why are you YELLING???

[Carrie Leber]

Elfrida's hard of hearing apparently ... LOL ... another side effect of aging.

[KIMBER]

"IF THERE ARE ADVANTAGES TO AGING THEY ELUDE ME AND LOTS
OF OTHER ORDINARY PEOPLE...LETTING GO OF GRUDGES, FOCUSING
ONE'S TIME, LIVING IN THE NOW, WOULD REQUIRE SOME SERIOUS THERAPY..."

You said it, not me. Go ahead and make that call, Elfrida.

[OldTart]

No therapy at all. Just choice. Been there. Done that.

[Cheapthrills]

What??? Louder please..

[JoAndrew]

I like the "another 5 step program to dying" The young always want the old to remember they are going to die.

[iiirockstar16iii]

Letting go of Grudges, easier said then done but wise nonetheless

[iiirockstar16iii]

Letting go of Grudges, easier said then done but wise nonetheless.

[bookpro]

Hello, hello? Any editors in the vicinity? The headline of this article is completely misleading. The article did not cite any positive aspects of aging. It did indicate how to age more gracefully and how to be more contented as one ages. The information is valid, but the author and editor (if any) should try to be a bit more accurate in telling prospective readers what the article contains. Alas, the dumbing down of America continues unabated .

[naschkatze]

A good point.

[hjo4]

Excellent column and truthful. As I enter my 50's I realize my time is valuable and not to be wasted. I do and say as I please and tolerate no bullshit. Getting older is wonderful.

[Oldsop]

Nice post Sophie. If your picture is you at present then you are wise beyond your years. If that is true then who is your mentor or who is your role model??

[Sophie Keller]

Thank you. Years and years of therapy, self development trainings from the age of 14 and learning through all experiences. No role model and no mentor.