The Beautiful Upside of Getting Older

For women, aging is often talked about in a less-than-stellar light. It’s something to avoid, defy, and if you must, lie about. I’ve written about how we are in fact forces of nature at this post here, “Aging is mostly a privilege,” and it’s a concept I wholeheartedly believe. Women are coerced into investing time, money, and energy into doing everything they can to stop the process of aging for fear of becoming less desirable. But do we stop and ask ourselves who and for what we’re expending all this energy for? Do we ask who? Because honestly, when you think about it from a less doom & gloom standpoint, growing older can be incredibly empowering, or at the very least freeing! Maybe even fun?

Developing Perspective

One of the biggest changes that comes with age, besides the physical changes, is developing perspective. Things that once kept us up at night like other people’s opinions, unrealistic expectations, and the pressure to do all the things all the time, start to lose their grip. There’s a quiet confidence that comes from experience, from knowing what matters and giving yourself permission to let the rest go.

Handling Stress with Grace

After years of juggling roles, responsibilities, and transitions, many women find they handle stress with more ease. We’ve been through hard things and come out stronger, wiser, and more resilient. There’s comfort in knowing that you’ve got your own back and that you can trust yourself to know what’s best for you because you’ve gotten yourself this far. 

Self-Acceptance Comes Easier

There’s also something deeply freeing about self-acceptance. With age often comes a kinder relationship with your body and your story. Instead of constant self-criticism, many women begin to appreciate what their bodies have carried them through and the lives they’ve built along the way. Confidence stops being about perfection and starts being about authenticity.

Finding Your Purpose

And then of course there’s discovering purpose! Whether it’s mentoring, creating, caregiving or simply showing up more fully in your own life, aging opens the door to finding meaning in things. The wisdom gained over the years becomes something to share with others, not hide or deny.

Getting older doesn’t mean fading or failing, it means becoming more fully yourself. And I think that’s something worth celebrating!

Read more about the positives of aging at the following:

American Psychology Association: “Older is Happier” Article

Harvard Gazette: “Good Genes are Nice, but Joy is Better” Article