As I said in my post on Tuesday on Thinking Young, my birthday is Sunday. Every year I celebrate it with people who are close to me at the Telephone Bar in the East village. I’ll actually be doing this tonight since some of the people who come work in the city and aren’t around on the weekend, which is fine with me. Celebrating is celebrating, and I get to do it twice this way. I’ll have my actual birthday to do something else, or to enjoy solo, which I love too!

Every year I celebrate accepting myself getting older, with joy.

We can grow into ourselves at any age. Pursuing new goals is too much fun to stop! For those of you who are scared of getting older, absorb this thought. If you give up doing what you love because you get older, it’s your CHOICE, not your age. Much of aging is mental. We age much faster when we give up our passions. People look older when they stop doing what they love and succumb to stereotypes about what they can or can’t do at each age.

It’s YOUR choice to stop doing activities or limit what you can do.
 
“Act your age!” people tell me. By whose authority I ask? Hmmm. No answer. Society mandates shoulds we don’t have to accept. Age discrimination does exist. But we can fight it! I do. Since leaving DoorMatville, I’ve been catching up on things I’d wanted to do since my teens. My life felt stagnant in my twenties. I finally live and love it. But my life-style rocks the boat.

I refuse to grow up! Is this being immature or acting like a child? No way!

But I refuse to lose the spirit of youth–the curiosity, passion for living, knowledge that I can do anything – and won’t buy into shoulds and can’ts of getting older. Our insular society sets limits. “Why don’t you settle down Daylle?” Because I don’t want to! Not if it means being too old for stuff. Loving life keeps me too busy to worry that I’m “too old” for anything. If others disapprove – oh well!

Gloria Steinem said, “It’s never too last have a happy childhood.” Yes!

There’s no time limit on what you can do or how you do it. Kids have more fun. Make a point of having fun with whatever you do. I no longer care what people think as long as I think well of my actions and attitude. That’s a far cry from me in my DoorMat days, when everyone’s opinions were important and molded my outlook and actions. A critical word was all it took to stop me from doing something. Now I know that criticism from people who disapprove of my having fun is a reflection of their own unhappiness with their lives, and ignore most of it.

Will you let society’s version of grown up slot you into limitations or think for yourself and go for the best, most enjoyable life possible?

Don’t lose your sense of fun. Age won’t stop me from doing what’s only considered appropriate for “young” women. I AM one, no matter what my birth certificate says! My awesome combo is a world filled with the wonder of a child and the wisdom of experience. I may be labeled as “too old” to do adventure travel alone, but joyously travel the world as a solo free spirit and have many adventures. Some say I’m too old to date someone much younger yet men get congratulated for it. Why not me? This is YOUR life – do what makes you happy, despite skepticism.

Age doesn’t have to stop you. You stop yourself.

Are you up for the adventure of being alive and happy? Risk creating a life you love at any age. We often spend the first half of adulthood being what others want us to be. It’s fun to reinvent yourself when you’re old enough to know what you’d really like. Are there things you haven’t tried that might make you happier? When I left DoorMatville, EVERYONE said I was too old to begin over. I HAD TO continue teaching because it was TOO LATE for me to find a satisfying career. I knew if I listened, my happiness was doomed. I was told it was too late to find a passion-driven career. Bah! I wouldn’t trade my life for all the security in the world!

Many folks skip happiness in exchange for approval and security. When self-esteem is good, what YOU think of you is the benchmark.

Following your passions keeps you young. You never know what I may do next, no matter how old I get! I was considered WAY too old to start over but I have an amazing duel career because I refused to let age stop me. I climbed my first real mountain a few years ago after happily scaling what people see as mountains for years. And there are more to climb, no matter how old I get. Find your own mountains and climb them with joy. Your first might be scaling the belief that getting old makes you less than. Only YOU can make you less than! Love yourself enough to live every day with joy!

Having been on both sides, I can assure you loving yourself, your life and yourself at any age is much more satisfying!

Be the best you can be at any age. I can bench press 40-pound dumbbells, more weight than any woman my trainer has worked with at any age! I run in Central Park while people much younger tell me they’re too old to do it. Taking supplements to keep my joints healthy and having a running style that doesn’t heavily impact on my knees allows me too. I could cop out using age as an excuse, but I love myself too much now to make excuses for not taking the best care of me. And my body and mind responds by keeping me a very youthful woman!

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