It’s very easy to think that age prescribes you certain actions, activities, and attitudes. For example, if you’re over forty, you’re supposed to complain about your back all the time. When you turn thirty, you’re supposed to complain that hangovers go from survivable to paying a days-long penance. When you’re fifty, unless your name is Tony Hawk then it’s probably not a good idea to hang around with teens at the skatepark.
Of course, these prescriptions are absolutely logical and there for a reason. But it’s also true to say that some of them aren’t entirely helpful, or can restrict us into acting our age as opposed to acting as we are.
There are limits, surely. Leonardo Dicaprio is certainly a cool guy, but at forty-eight should he really be dating those exclusively under the age of twenty-five? As you can see, sometimes, age-appropriate behaviors can be a helpful guideline rather than a limitation.
But in some ways, it’s very healthy to consider how age should be just a number and nothing more. In this post, we’ll discuss how to strike that balance in the healthiest manner:
Work On Your Health & Energy Levels
It’s always important to address your health as you get older, to focus on lifestyle habits that enable you to improve energy levels, sleep more deeply, and train your cardio capabilities. This can help lower your resting heart rate, help you feel more alert and composed during the day, enable you to regulate emotions more deeply, and inspire you to stay away from destructive habits like drinking too much.
Working on your health requires diligence and focus, but it can improve your mood, and outlook on life, and help you age more gracefully as you get older. The more you do this, the more you may start feeling much healthier and younger than you would otherwise at this particular age.
Have At Least One “Novice-Hobby” On The Go
One of the most important attitudes to fight as you get older is that of “knowing everything.” Sure, you’re more experienced than a teenager, but it’s only when we know how little we know that humility can form.
That’s why it’s so healthy to at least have one hobby on the go that makes you feel like a complete novice. If you can enjoy that, then your interests feel new and fascinating. You’ll avoid only resting on the habits that you can be comfortable with, and instead learn to stretch out and enjoy that which is in front of you.
This can take many forms, from learning to play guitar for the first time, to trying to learn programming, to gardening on your property now you have a garden. A novice hobby helps texture you, and no matter who you are, there’s always something you don’t know out there.
It’s Okay To Only Now Understand Who You Are
We tend to think that in the future we’ll have ourselves all figured out, we’ll be the perfect rendition of our personalities, our physical fitness, and the healthiest outlook on life. But the truth is that perfect is something you reach for, not something you grasp, in order to improve your life.
As such, it’s fine if you’re still trying to figure out who you are and what most appeals to you. Exploring is where most of the joy comes from, so don’t feel as though you have to perfect this journey. Understanding that can help build humility within your outlook on life, and it will also help you avoid feeling guilt from not “matching up” to your idea of yourself at this age.
Mindset Is Everything
You can be eighty years old and have the mentality of someone in their mid-20’s, inspired by their future and looking forward to seeing how and what they can achieve. Or, you can be in your thirties and have given up, tired, bitter, and not knowing what to do next, the perspective we most commonly ascribe to people in their advanced years.
Mindset is everything, no matter how old you are. Keeping that in mind can help you feel younger than you are. A silly joke, a fun outlook, always being up for an adventure, it’s all incredibly rewarding to realize that you don’t have to adopt some kind of artificial “maturity” for the sake of it, just learn your positive lessons and move on from that with the energy to keep learning.
With this advice, you’re certain to not only feel, but act, that age is just a number.