Aging: A How To Guide

It can be tricky getting older. It can be difficult to realize that your body may be in more pain or that priorities can change over time. It can be hard to reckon your identity if you’ve spent years raising children or working a career that you no longer have to do anymore. Here are some tips on enjoying the aging process and how to find joy through every stage of life.

1. Acceptance

The number one thing that can help a person deal with anything is accepting the present situation. Whether that be about conflict, aging, or death, acceptance is so important to be able to do anything else. If someone cannot accept their lived reality, it is impossible to make important changes that can bring more joy.

2. Finding purpose

Especially since as we age, things change, and the way we define ourselves changes. Finding a new hobby, career, volunteer position, or community can help immensely with finding meaning.

3. Learning new things

This can coexist with finding purpose. Picking up a new hobby where you have to learn or taking a class can help with memory and cognition, which is something that a lot of people feel that they struggle with as they get older.

4. Staying active

Even if you have limited mobility, trying to move as much as you can can be super helpful for not only physical health but mental health as well.

5. Don’t panic

It is okay that things are different than they used to be. For much of human history, growing old was not a possibility for the majority of people. Having more time in life gives us time to become very scared and existential as we get older, but it also gives us more time to appreciate our life and grow in new ways. It can be hard to feel grateful to get older because it certainly does come with complications, but it is also such a special opportunity that has only been awarded very recently in human history, so trying to practice gratitude and avoid negative thoughts of aging is important to maintaining your emotional and social well-being.

Citations

Merrell, S. (2016). Getting over getting older. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199611/getting-over-getting-older

Piedmont. (2019). Conscious aging: How to accept and enjoy life at every stage. Living Real Change. https://www.piedmont.org/living-real-change/conscious-aging-how-to-accept-and-enjoy-life-at-every-stage