THE PERKS OF GROWING OLDER

As family members told us as they were growing older, the older we get, the less stressed we will be with everyday life and the more patient and understanding we will become. With age comes a ton of experience that broadens our perspective and improves our outlook on life.  If you are worried about getting older, don’t be. Here are a few reasons why.

YOU WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO WORK, or not as much.

Remember the money you put into your pension at work, and/or into savings accounts and life insurance (read more here) in preparation for the future?  Well, this is the future! If you’ve been saving, you will have money available to you once you retire from your job. Most of us forget that social security is piling up with each year we work. And, it will be available to us when we come of age.  In addition, years spent paying down or off your mortgage has been an investment in your retirement years. All these things combined make it possible to live comfortably while working less. 

HAPPINESS

As mentioned earlier, when we get older we stop letting the little things get to us. This makes room for a happier outlook on life in general. Time and energy no longer spent worrying and stressing is channeled toward the things you truly love and enjoy.  This has tremendous value to overall mood and passes on to those around us. The older we are, the happier we can become, especially as the little things carry more weight!

GRANDCHILDREN

One of the biggest perks in the life of an older person is the joy of grandchildren.  And, grandchildren only come with age! These little sprogs are fabulous because we can them without sleepless nights and the challenges of parenthood. Being a grandparent requires less energy and time outlay. Our responsibility to our grandchildren is a different one. 

MORE TIME

The beauty of growing older is that we can finally retire from full-time work. As a result, we have more time to do the things we love to do, including time to spend with our kids and grandkids.  Older life is all about dance lessons, days out and hikes in the country and it is amazing how much time we get to enjoy every single day now that we are older.

OPPORTUNITY TO DREAM BIG

One of the most challenging aspects of adulthood is that there never seems to be enough time and energy after work and family responsibilities to pursue the things we most want to do. We all have dreams, like writing a book, creating art, or traveling. In younger years, however, it is difficult to bring them to life.  It can be frustrating to see a dream right in front of us and perpetually out of reach. Once we retire and our children are on their own, we will have time to do these things.

VOLUNTEERING

If you are the kind of person who can’t sit still and enjoys being busy one way to bring value to yourself and to the world is through volunteering.  Diving into a cause we are passionate about gives us an opportunity to spend our days doing something that has a positive impact on the world. It’s a great way to use our time and energy in later years. Plus, it often comes with the perk of friendships and the ability to meet interesting people. 

WISDOM

It is often said that older people have more wisdom. When we were younger we might have laughed a little at the this idea, but it is true. When we grow older, we hold within us the many lessons learned from the many experiences we’ve had and navigated. As we get older and progress into those inevitable aspects of aging, like going into elder home care, it’s our wisdom that we must hold onto, especially when our bodies are letting us down somewhat! It is these lessons that allows us to give advice to others. We know how things go and truthfully, there is no one wiser than an older person because they have seen it all.

MORE EMPATHY

 Older people have more empathy because chances are they’ve been where you are now. Years of living often gives people a softer heart and allows them to be more understanding than younger folk. As we are growing older we accept people’s differences and understand more of the reasons why people act as they do  Time enhances our understanding of people and allows us to more readily see the signs of a troubled soul and how to help them. 

YOU’LL HAVE STORIES TO TELL

Who are the story tellers of your family? Most often it is the grandparents who seem to have an endless catalog of exciting stories to tell.  When you grow older you will see why because you will have  your own series of stories to share with younger loved ones. It can be fun telling all manner of tales later in life, and sharing your stories can be an awesome way to bond with your kids and grandkids.

YOU WON’T CARE AS MUCH ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS

Caring about our appearance and what people think of us can make life more stressful than it needs to be. When you live life, and become more comfortable with who you are and what you like,  these worries begin to seem silly and unimportant. In time, you just won’t care at all. As an older adult you will have a much freer existence as you let go of little worries and concerns