We're looking at aging all wrong….
In a world in thrall to youth, growing older is seen as a downward spiral. As if after a certain age – 30? 35? 40? – each passing year diminishes us.
Making us less:
👎🏽 Creative
👎🏽 Happy
👎🏽 Productive
👎🏽 Attractive
👎🏽 Curious
👎🏽 Loveable
👎🏽 Useful
Less ourselves…
Phooey to that!
Aging is not a punishment. It's a privilege.
Why? Because most of the grim stereotypes about growing older are wrong. They're just flat-out wrong.
One example: The idea that creativity belongs to the young is ageist nonsense. Humans can be creative at any age.
And some forms of creativity actually rely on two things that only aging can confer: time and experience.
That's why history is studded with people doing triumphantly creative work in later life. From Michelangelo and Matisse to Beethoven and Bach.
Writer Maya Angelou was right: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
This is a good way to think about aging in general. We should celebrate how each passing year brings more richness, texture, nuance and depth.
Like adding brushstrokes to a painting.
Of course, some parts of aging are hard to love. But that’s not the whole story – not by a long shot.
The truth is that as we grow older much stays the same. And many things even get better.
Bottom line: Aging can make you MORE. Not less.
For further reflections, check out:
Bolder (my book)
Why We Should Embrace Aging as an Adventure (my TED Talk)
Ending Ageism (my BBC Radio 4 piece)
Elogio de la Experiencia (mi video en BBVA)
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