Article by Ann Brenoff, Huffington Post
Every once in awhile, we want to look for a little inspiration about aging, you know, find out what others had to say about it before us. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Huffington Post on Saturday, let’s take a look at 10 gems that smart people have said about growing old:
1. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” — Mark Twain.
We like this better than saying “You are only as old as you feel,” because truthfully, there are days when we all feel our age. The Twain solution serves us better: Make up your mind to not let it bother you.
2. “The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.” — Oscar Wilde.
How true is that? We all need to remember that our doctors are not gods, the guy on the phone claiming to be the IRS really isn’t, and that just because someone else thinks you’d be happy living in Florida, you may not be.
3. “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” — Andrew Carnegie.
Good advice at any age. Actions have always spoken louder than words.
4. “You don’t stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing.” — Maurice Chevalier.
A recent study just affirmed this truth. The happiest people are the ones who live to be 100.
5. “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.” — Victor Hugo.
Wonder what he’d say about 60 being the new 40? We kind of think Victor Hugo got it right. Turning 40 was much harder than turning 50.
6. “Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” — Coco Chanel.
Says it all.
7. “I don’t believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates.” — T. S. Eliot.
Nothing ages you faster than complacency. It zaps your energy, rots your soul, and destroys you. End complacency by flipping the page. If today was your last day on Earth, would you be happy with how you spent it?
8. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” — Henry Ford.
True in more ways than one. Keeping your brain active keeps it sharp.
9. “Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging.” — Maya Angelou.
Ba-boom!
10. “I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. — Francis Bacon.
Bacon’s words have become the mantra for boomers.
