Each day we’re alive, we get older. Days become months, and months become years, and before we know it, the gray hair will start coming in. But will that really make us old? One woman took to Reddit to find out.
She explained that even though others who are older than her don’t seem old, she feels old and wonders if aging is only something people in their twenties can see.
One woman’s question has people debating at what age you can actually be considered old.
Turning to Reddit with her existential crisis, she explained that even though her mother is 65 and her grandma is 84 neither of them seems old to her. As a 46-year-old woman, however, she feels old and finds herself wondering if she has officially earned the title.
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As someone above the age of 40 who recently became a grandmother, aging makes her quite sad and causes her to feel undervalued. However, she is only critical of herself aging and not others.
“I don’t see aging in others but I do see it in myself,” she wrote.
She recently went to a wine tasting, and her sommelier was 72, but she would never have guessed it because he carried himself with such youthful energy.
This begs the question: What is old?
Most commenters came to the consensus that age is what you make it. Some people give up on certain activities because they feel that they are too old, and others make the most out of their lives, so they don’t let their age stop them.
“Age is a fact. Old is a state of mind,” the most liked comment read.
You shouldn’t let the number of years you’ve been on this Earth hold you back; rather, it should propel you forward. Each day is a chance for something new.
Your mindset isn’t the only determiner of your age.
Age might be just a number, but physicality plays an important role as well; it’s crucial to stay active no matter your age.
One commenter who worked at a cancer hospital noted that they’d “seen 90-year-olds who could run physical and mental laps around 50-year-olds.” Her experiences being around patients led her to realize people age differently and reminded everyone to stay active.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicinestaying active enables you to live longer and also improves both physical and mental health.
So, maybe it’s time to stop putting off exercise and find something that works for you whether that’s lifting weights or running.
The older you get, the further away getting old seems.
Age is much more relative than you may believe. The American Psychological Association found that the older we get, so does our perception of what is “old.” In fact, every four to five years of aging corresponded to a one-year increase in the perception of old age.
Each time we approach an age we previously believed to be old, we redefine the concept of what old is.
Old is never going to have one definite meaning, it’s everchanging. As such, we shouldn’t let a number hold us back. You’re only as old as you feel.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.
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