Aging maybe commonly perceived as a negative attribute of life, but in reality, getting older can feel pretty awesome if you approach it the right way. You may feel less energetic physically and may not even be in the best of your health. But, life after 60 is amazing and can be highly fulfilling and rewarding. Research from Pew Research Center found that 7 out 10 people in their 60s are very happy.
It seems the days when retirement was believed to be one of the most challenging and depressing times in a person’s life are gone. Time is changing and so are the trends. Today, turning 60 is less about stressing over declining physical strength and more about the freedom and opportunities this new phase of life brings your way. Hitting the 60 year-mark is considered as the beginning of the golden years. Here’s why:
1. For Starters, No More Work
You may really love what you do, but let’s be honest, there are several aspects of work that no one likes, case in point those hours-long, boring, and if I dare say, unproductive meetings, the pressure of meeting deadlines, and office politics. These aren’t the things that make you want to get out of bed every morning, feeling excited to go to work. But, sadly, they are part and parcel of work life.
Since 60, for most people, marks the beginning of retirement life, it means you no longer have to deal with all that unnecessary stress and drama. Isn’t it exciting enough to make you look forward to this phase of life?
2. You’re Free to Do Whatever You Want
A full-time job leaves you with little to no time for anything else. You may want to travel the world, but your corporate job only allows a few days off every year. You may desire to volunteer, but work commitments left you with no time for it. Or you may want to spend time on hobbies, but all you could do after work was to crash on the bed. Now that you’ve reached the end of the career race, you have all the time in the world to fulfill all your non-work-related goals. Pursue your hobbies, travel the world, spend time with friends (they will also likely have an abundance of free time), or support causes you feel passionate about. Hitting 60 brings whole new freedom and independence that you could not even dream of during the earlier stages of life.
3. You Get to Live for Yourself and Not Feel Guilty About It
While living for yourself should never feel guilty, we tend to prioritize others and put ourselves last. You may have spent all your life taking care of your family, ensuring all their needs are being fulfilled and they are well taken care of. Also, You may have pushed yourself to work harder and for long hours, against your wishes, just to ensure that your love didn’t have to face any financial difficulties. You may have sacrificed your wishes to fulfill theirs. Or you may have put your dreams on hold, so they could fulfill theirs.
But, by the time you turn 60, your family members are likely settled in their own lives, your kids have most likely flown the coop, and you (and your partner) are now on your own, with no more responsibilities towards anyone else. It may feel weird initially, but it’s finally time you learn to put yourself first.
Do what makes you happy without feeling guilty about your family being ignored or not thought of.
4. You Can Sleep In
If you’re like most people, you must have lived a life that involved waking up early on most days. If it is so, you would know the unmatched happiness that comes with the thought of sleeping until late on the weekends. Retirement life allows you to experience that happiness every single day. Nothing beats the joy of going to bed without being stressed about waking up early and experiencing slow, relaxed mornings.
5. It’s Time to Reclaim Your Kingdom
Your home is the kingdom that you have been sharing with other people for a long time. Now that your kids are gone, it’s time to reclaim your space and live like a king or queen. Redecorate your home like you always wanted to, cook your favorite foods without worrying about if other family members like them or not, and listen to music out loud, and perhaps sing along as well, without anyone telling you how weird or bad your taste in music is.
It’s time to reestablish the rules of your kingdom, and they should be based on your likes and dislikes this time around.
6. You’re Stronger and Wiser than Ever
Even though your physical strength and energy are lower than ever at 60, you are mentally and emotionally stronger than you ever were. Regardless of what kind of life you have lived, you must have faced numerous challenges along the way. They may include financial hardships, heartbreaks, health challenges, and the loss of loved ones. No matter how hard they all may be, you survive through those situations, which only made you stronger and wiser. Over the years, you have learned how to deal with various challenges that life throws at you and can now deal with them more efficiently. You are no longer wasting time stressing over the possibility of things going wrong because you know that you can handle the issues if and as they arise.
7. You (Likely) Have Better, More Meaningful Relationships
Age not only improves our understanding of our own self but also helps us learn how to deal with others more effectively and have better relationships. In other words, you learn to foster meaningful relationships over the years. You learn to value the loyal people in your life and let go of the relationships that aren’t working. You become more accepting of others and open to your own shortcomings, and seek to create relationships that do not feel like a burden and bring joy, happiness, and contentment to people on both sides.
As you age, you prefer having fewer strong, deep, and meaningful relationships than many superficial ones. So, you spend time cultivating such relationships, and by the time you turn 60, you have such relationships to cherish and live the best years of your life with.
8. You May Get to Experience the Joy of Being a Grandparent
If you choose to get married and have children (at an age that most people do), you get to experience one of the most beautiful relationships of your life during the 60s by being a grandparent. Ask anyone who’s a grandparent, and they will tell you how incredibly amazing the relationship is.
Being a grandparent is nothing like being a parent. It’s completely different and a whole lot more fun. Not only do you have all the time in the world to spend with your grandchildren, but you also don’t have all those parenting responsibilities that had driven you crazy when you were raising your own children. As a parent, you had a lot on your plate. You had to care for your children, ensuring they were healthy, performing well in school, developing good habits, and keeping good company. As a grandparent, you just get to enjoy being around your grandchildren and pamper them while also ensuring that you don’t negatively influence their lives. The skills, knowledge, and wisdom gained over the years allow you to positively influence them and help them become better humans without having to enforce any rules or routines.
Being a grandparent gives you a fresh perspective and helps you see life like never before.
9. You’re Capable of Making Better Decisions
Life is all about making mistakes and learning from them. While it’s an ongoing process and you can never claim to be 100% right in everything you do, you tend to better understand things in general as you grow older. The lifetime of mistakes, wrong moves, and bad decisions eventually starts to pay off in the older age in the form of maturity, wisdom, and the ability to see beyond the visible. As a result, you’re better able to make the right decisions. Since you get more realistic with age, you also tend to make decisions based on ground realities and not just your aspirations.
10. You Become Less Concerned About Your Appearance
While physical appearance should never take center stage in your life, people tend to be highly concerned about their looks during the younger years of life. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best, but it shouldn’t get the best of you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen. Many people develop insecurities about their physical appearances, looks, height, body shape. But, with age comes the realization that looks do not matter. It’s how you are on the inside that matters the most.
During your 60s, you’re no longer obsessed with your appearance. You don’t accept your flaws, and feel at peace with the way you look. You no longer care for society’s constantly changing standards of beauty, embrace your less-than-perfect appearance, and start focusing more on nurturing inner beauty. This change in perspective puts you at ease. It also enables you to appreciate other people around you a lot more because you’re no longer judging them.
11. You Develop Self-Acceptance
Self-acceptance is a broad concept that extends far beyond accepting your physical appearance. It involves accepting who you truly are and stopping trying to portray yourself as someone else or pushing yourself to become a different person to fit in the society or get acceptance from other people. As we age, we realize there’s no point in pretending to be someone we are not, and we learn to accept who we are. This self-acceptance leads to reduced stress and anxiety, more inner peace and satisfaction, and a better quality of life.
It’s important to note that self-acceptance doesn’t mean that you stop learning from your mistakes and growing as a person. While you may still be continuously trying to become a better person, you don’t hate yourself. You learn to be kind to yourself during the whole learning and self-improvement process.
12. You Can Benefit from Senior Discounts
The amazing discounts that you get to enjoy at various places have to be one of the best parts of growing old. In case you’re not aware of this incredible benefit of being an old person, know that turning 60 makes you entitled to discounts at several restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and even hair salons. Some phone companies also offer special discounts for seniors, and so does Walgreens.
As you hit 60, make sure you always ask if there is a senior discount wherever you go.
13. You Don’t Care What Others Think.
While the unnecessary opinions of others should not matter at any age of life, most of us tend to be quite concerned about what other people think of us and may even look for their approval on our life’s choices. However, as we age, we slowly become less concerned about others’ opinions and less fearful of people’s judgments. As they say, aging makes you wiser; we start realizing that what others think of us doesn’t matter. What actually matters the most is your personal satisfaction, mental health, and well-being. If you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, if your inner conscience is happy, you don’t have to seek approval from others.
14. You Value Life Like You Never Did
Even though we all know that our time in this world is limited and life is uncertain and unpredictable, we tend to take life (and health) for granted during our younger years. But, as we grow older and see our loved ones falling sick and leave this world, we realize that life and health is a gift that should be cherished. It may sound ironic, but the tragedies of life make us truly appreciate it.
While no one knows how long they are going to live, death tends to become a vivid reality as we grow old. You’re constantly reminded of your limited time in this world. This may sound depressing, but in reality, it makes you value life and live it to the fullest. You start to see beauty and joy in little things, become more aware of your blessings, and appreciate life a lot more in general.
15. You Have Financial Freedom
You don’t necessarily have to be a millionaire to experience financial freedom. Also, You can have a financially sound retirement life if you spend wisely during the years you were working. You can plan ahead for this period of life. What makes financial stability more likely in the later years is that you have access to your retirement savings and get social security benefits. Also, your medical bills are likely covered by Medicare. You can contact us if you need professional advice on choosing the right Medicare plan. When coupled with the fact that you no longer have (many) responsibilities, all these factors make a financially stable life more likely.
Hitting 60 Gives You a Fresh Canvas – Use it Wisely
Sixty years is a milestone that marks the beginning of a new phase of life for most people. It gives you a new life on your own terms and the way you always desired. It’s easier (and also likely) to feel sad at the beginning of your retirement life. You may also feel a little lonely. But, take it as an opportunity to start afresh.