While we may have moments when we think we’re pining for our youth, we’re actually much better off now than we ever were before. And we’re certainly not done enjoying life just yet. Sure, we may have to take some extra efforts to hide our grey hairs – or even get out of bed in the morning – but overall, people are much happier and more emotionally fit the older they get.
And no, we didn’t just make this up.
A series of studies reported by the American Psychological Association actually says so. The studies compared the mindsets of older people with those of the younger sets. Results found negativity tends to decrease with age, and older people are more apt to remember positive images over negative ones.
Researchers attributed this to the fact that older people are more adept at regulating their emotions, a skill that gives them the awesome ability to hang onto positive emotions while lowering negative ones. The report also noted that people tend to place more and more value on emotionally meaningful goals as they age. This, in turn, prompts them to act and think in ways that helps them attain those goals.
That means the best is certainly yet to come. How can it not, now that we’re focusing on the things that are truly important to our souls, rather than all the material stuff that cluttered up our youth (that we’re now trying to unload at garage sales).
Focusing on What Matters
Family, especially grandkids, tops the list of things that matter for many of us. Family can be blood relatives, of course, but it can also count as special friends we’ve known for, geesh, the past 20 or 30 years now. It can also include people in our support groups and even that lovely neighbor who never lets our backyard plants wither when we head out of town. Showing them they matter is part of the fun, something we can easily achieve with an unexpected note, card or gift from our heart.
Travel can be another thrilling aspect of getting older, especially if we’re done working on our careers. And if you don’t think traveling while older is better, you haven’t ferreted out the right senior discounts yet. AARP is just one example and, although becoming a member comes with lots of junk mail, it also opens the door to all kinds of travel discounts to destinations across the globe.
The freedom to follow our passions is another selling point of getting older. Even if we still need or want to work, we can switch gears and try out that idea we were too scared to tackle in our less confident earlier years. In fact, an article from Intuit reported baby boomers aged 55 to 64 have become the hottest group of successful entrepreneurs.
They’re racking up success not only because they now have the freedom to pursue work that has meaning for them, but because they actually did get older and wiser. The older age group is hailed for beating out the younger generation for their:
- Greater emotional intelligence
- Skillful talent management
- Solid network built up over the years
- Financial expertise – and the money to go with it
Such advantages work as well for starting a business as they do for simply maneuvering through daily life. Pretty cool, huh?
Family, travel and passions aside, one more benefit that comes with aging is the ability to finally really and truly be ourselves. We no longer feel like we have to live up to someone else’s standards, expectations or ideas of what we’re supposed to be. We’re not sure if it comes from courage – or the fact that we no longer give a damn what anyone else thinks.
Either way, we’re loving it. And it can only get better from here.
