For: You are still young enough to enjoy yourself. You can afford to enjoy yourself. You are mature, and better able to assess situations and deal with them appropriately. You are at the height of your mental powers. You can see clearly the direction your life is taking. You are independent, and you have a settled existence. You can enjoy the fruits of your labor, both at home and at work. Against: You've lost most of your youthful vigor and energy. Life lacks excitement because you can more easily predict what each day is going to be like. You're beginning to put on weight, you are beginning to lose your hair, or your eyesight is failing. You worry too much about your possessions and your responsibilities. The best is over for you. It's too late to do anything about it if you've made a mess of your life. The only thing you have to look forward to is old age. What do you think?
I think that may hold true for some, but in my opinion what you have stated would be more accurate if each individual put the exact age they feel all that you have said holds true for them. And for me personally, Life begin when I came out of my mother's womb and opened my mouth and let the world know I was here!
For me all of that applied at 60.... certainly not 40. ...and definitely not for my daughter who will be 42 in 2 weeks time, and still acts and has as much energy and mental power as if she were in her 20's ...even only looks in her 20's too... no-one ever guesses she's over 40.. Ken, I think all of your points may have been more applicable in our parents generation..
Perhaps. For me, my highest earning years were in my mid-20s to early 30s. At that the point though, the reduction in my earnings were a matter of convenience. Since I had money in the bank, I chose to enter a profession that didn't earn so much because I could afford to do something that interested me, which was EMS in my case. So for me, these things pretty much applied in my 40s, although I wasn't losing my hair and working as a paramedic wasn't exactly a settled existence.
Holds true for me, I was at my best in my late 40's...kids were out of the house, I looked great, we had moved to Hungary where my husband was making a lot of money and it afforded me every luxury that the same amount wouldn't in the states, my husband wasn't dying yet...so there were no cons for me, it was all pro and great. Might be different for my kids because they started their families later so they still have lots of responsibility in that area.
My 40's and 50's were full of mid-life crises so none of the FOR list really applies to me, in my case I would say the last 10 years (65-75) have been by far the best years of my life, retired..... a small pension enough to enable to do what I want, such as lots of travel, I still have all my hair, a pain free body, yes without glasses my eyesight is not perfect, I have some hearing loss and high blood pressure issues, but nothing that really affects my day to day living. I don't miss all the angst of my younger years and each day I wake up I regard as a bonus, .... so the short answer for me is 65 not 40 and better not worse
Yes I do appreciate that @Patsy Faye , I know a lot of us suffer a lot as we age, and I don't know how I will be in the future, so I make the most of each day I have ☺
For me, my life really started at age 51, when I married again. I really didn't do to good as a single (divorced) guy. I was sort of "alive" before I met her, but after meeting her, I REALLY came "alive". Today at almost 68, I've still got that "alive" feeling, but not nearly as much as I did 14 years ago, before my hip replacement and two rotator cuff surgeries.
The best seasons of my life was when I had my babies, I was definitely "born" to be a Mom and the years I had my children and was busy raising them was some of the happiest and most rewarding of my life. My mid fifties, after I had my total hysterectomy was the beginning of a new season of my life when I had more freedom to explore another side of my life and I had the means to do this exploring too. With my children pretty much grown I could choose what fit me now and what didn't, and I did make some changes in my life at this time that has led me to peace and serenity at last. During my fifties I remarried, traveled, became a Granny many times over...and felt the most freedom to choose what was best for me.
I would agree @Babs Hunt because I was born to be a mom also and I did love those years but they were different than when I was in my late 40's...those years were about ME, whereas the mom years were about my FAMILY.
@Ken Anderson OP is the best news I've gotten years! This means I am only 24, yeehaw! Perfect, the age I really started screwing up, LOL! Now I have a 2nd chance
How has your opinion of being old changed over the years? I can remember thinking that my parents were old, yet my mother had to have been pretty young when she died, since my youngest brother was only eight. I think my father was in his forties when he died.