Aging can be a challenging process, whether it’s coping with aches and pains, grief and loss, or chronic disease. However, getting older has its bright spots. It’s good to celebrate and appreciate the gifts of wisdom and experience that come with each passing year.
If you or your loved one feel daunted by growing older, remember that aging can bring many benefits.
Appreciation for Life
Older people are acquainted with feelings of loss, and a greater appreciation for each passing day emerges. There’s an awareness that life is precious, and there’s no time like the present to discover a greater sense of purpose and new interests.
In other words, getting older can bring into focus the things that truly matter in life. For the book 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans, Cornell sociologist Karl Pillemer and his team interviewed more than 1,000 older people. “Many people said something along these lines: ‘I wish I’d learned to enjoy life on a daily basis and enjoy the moment when I was in my 30s instead of my 60s,’” he told Smithsonian Magazine. “Elderly interviewees were likely to describe the last five or 10 years as the happiest years of their lives.”
Greater Confidence and Self-Acceptance
With the awareness that time is precious, people can gain greater confidence in being themselves and embracing who they are as they age. “The answer is within,” one older respondent told Cornell University’s The Legacy Project. “The advice I would give to younger generations is this: Examine your life; truly examine it; find out who you really are. Don’t fear to follow where your life takes you. The result can be an incredible symphony. The journey may be difficult, the path steep, but in the end it will be worth it. You can live a fulfilling, peaceful, and happy life.”
Exhibiting greater confidence and having the courage to try new things as an older adult can have real health benefits. Research indicates that learning may be a key to keeping cognition sharp—and that middle-aged and older adults who are open to learning a variety of new skills can see positive changes in their cognitive abilities.
The Gift of Perspective
Older adults have lived through and seen a lot. An 80-year-old today was born in 1945, the year that World War II ended. In the years and decades that followed, American society experienced considerable cultural changes in response to global political conflicts, shifting demographics, technology, and economic events. Today’s older adults have likely known times of scarcity and times of abundance. They know the value of working hard and overcoming obstacles.
Their wisdom and experience gained over a lifetime can help put modern problems in perspective, and they seem to instinctively know how to deal with conflicts more effectively. Academic studies have found that subjects in their 60s were more adept than younger participants at considering different points of view, problem solving, and coming up with compromises when faced with interpersonal dilemmas. They also are less likely to agonize over mistakes and regrets.
While aging and illness can be stressful for older adults, studies have found that the level of reactiveness to common daily stressors decreases with age. Older people appear to be able to manage stress from day-to-day experiences more easily than younger cohorts and can take things in stride.
Celebrating Older Adults
At Kadan Homecare, we take pride in helping our clients flourish. Our skilled, attentive caregivers provide a nurturing environment that encourages older people to make the most of daily life, whether they’re aging at home or living in a community with other seniors.
As a family owned business with more than 40 years of experience serving Metro Atlanta families, Kadan Homecare excels at improving clients’ quality of life by providing companionship and friendship through in-home personal care and companion care. We invite you to learn more about Kadan’s award winning programs and contact us for a complimentary in-home consultation for a loved one who may need assistance. Call 770-396-8997 or email info@kadan.org to talk with our team.