11 Quotes That Will Make You Feel Ageless

Shutterstock.com

It can be easy to start complaining as you age. Your health may not be what it once was, or you may find that you can predict the weather based on that cranky knee of yours. You might be more tired or feel the cold winter air more fiercely than you did when you were younger. You could be struggling to keep up with your rambunctious grandchildren. When your body starts to change or decline with age, it can be hard to keep your chin up, and keep a smile on your face.

Despite the struggles that are part and parcel with getting older, there is a great deal of good that comes with aging. The cliché of a wise old man or wise old woman has endured for a reason. You have a great deal of experience and knowledge to offer your family. You may have time to dedicate to your grandchildren that their busy parents do not. You might have reserves of patience that those still trapped in the daily grind have lost. You might also simply be a warm light of love in your family.

Aging does not have to mean you are consigned only to the role of “grandparent” or “wise elder.” You can still dream, experience, pursue ambitions and more. In case you need a reminder that there is really no such thing as “too old” or “too late,” here are 11 quotes that will make you feel ageless.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” ~ Mark Twain

Mark Twain has long been known to have a way with words. He has coined dozens of pithy, memorable phrases, and this particular quote of his serves as a good reminder that you decide how you will live out your later years. If you decide that you are “too old” or that your age is a hindrance to doing what you want, you will be correct. If you decide that your age is not an issue or that you are going to go out and will have fun regardless of how silver your hair, you will be correct. Your age is only as much of an issue as you make it. Now, you will have to exercise some common sense. Playing rugby or tackle football at 75 may not be a good idea, but there is no reason you cannot play flag football or another sport as long as you are careful.

“I’m happy to report that my inner child is still ageless.” ~ James Broughton

Everyone has an “inner child.” It is your inner child that makes you laugh when a pile of snow falls off a tree limb and lands on your friend’s head. It is your inner child that makes you giddy over the idea of a batch of birthday cookies that are all for you. It is your inner child that still has you looking up at the stars in the night sky with wonder. Aging does not mean that your inner child disappears. If anything, age gives you an excuse to bring that inner child back to the surface. Now that you are retired, you have the time to stop and really look at the stars. You do not have to be anywhere, so you can pull over and smell the wildflowers in the field. You can take the time to pause and regain that childlike sense of wonder rather than hurrying along oblivious to the beauty around you.

“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” ~ George Burns

Aging is no reason to stop having fun. As George Burns said, getting old is optional. Do not let your age stop you from enjoying life. If anything, use your age as an excuse to have more fun than ever. A lot of people will let eccentric or unusual behavior slide when the person acting oddly is elderly. So, go out and do something silly. Dance in the rain. Stand at the top of the hill behind your church and pretend you know how to yodel. Wear a top hat and tails out to dinner one night. Embrace all those strange, funny and silly things you always felt you were “too old” to do. Do not let the age of your body dictate the age of your soul. Laugh loudly, dance badly, sing off key in public, do whatever it is you always wanted to do but never allowed yourself to do.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Elliot

Shutterstock.com

Age is no excuse for allowing bad habits, toxic relationships or an unhappy home to suck the joy from your life. You are never too old to make a change, and live the life you always wanted. You can teach an old dog new tricks. If you always wanted to speak Spanish, use the excess time you now have as a retiree, and learn the language. If you gave up a chance to sing on Broadway to raise your kids, sing anywhere you can locally. If you promised yourself every year that you would quit smoking, kick the habit. You are never too old to make a change. No one wants to live or die with piles of regrets. Think about what you always wanted to do or who you always wanted to be, and become that person now. Do not let your age serve as an excuse for making a change for the better.

“It’s never too late, it’s never too bad and you’re never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again.” ~Bikram Choudury

Starting over is scary regardless of your age. As you get older, though, you start using your age as the reason to avoid making sweeping changes in your life. You start thinking that you are “too old” to make a career change, to move, to travel, to learn to ski or to do any number of things. There is no reason, however, to not start something brand new in your old age. You do not have young children to care for or a job that demands much of your time and energy. Take advantage of that, and start something new. If you always wanted to learn how to scrapbook, take a scrapbooking class at your local Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, or invite a friend over and make a mess of paper and glue together. The result may not be pretty, but the laughter and enjoyment will be worth the bits and pieces of paper stuck in your hair. Do not decide that you are “too old” to try something for the first time. That is not logic speaking. That is fear.

“Don’t regret growing older. It’s a privilege denied to many.” ~ Unknown

Shutterstock.com

If you have reached old age, you have lived longer than many people ever will. When you want to complain about how you used to run marathons, but now your knees protest walking down the stairs, remember that plenty of people died with young knees because they were still young. If you hate how you need reading glasses, remind yourself that some children died before they learned to read at all.

Rather than complaining about the little indignities that come with aging, make it a point to see each day as the blessing it is. Be thankful for the health you do have and for the family that surrounds you. Be grateful that you managed to have so many good years and that you have the chance to continue making memories. The only options are to grow old or to die young. Be grateful you are in the former category.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

The quote from George Bernard Shaw is correct. Laughter and play will help keep you young at heart. The difference between elderly people who continued to play and those who did not is always evident. Those who continue to laugh, play and enjoy life are the “nice old people.” These are the grandmotherly and grandfatherly figures who make children laugh and have a thousand smile lines carved into their faces. They bake cookies, tell great stories and are beloved by their community. People who forget how to laugh end up with frown lines and a stern, cold heart. These are the stereotypical “grumpy old people” who continually talk about how much better life was in their time and yell at the neighbors to stay off their lawn. Those who laugh until the day they die have a young soul even in their final moments. Those who forget how to play have died long before their heart finally stops.

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” ~ Satchel Paige

This is an interesting question to ponder. How old do you feel at heart? How old do you act each day? Where and when does your knowledge of your age hold you back? Do you find yourself thinking that you are too old to do certain things? Why do you feel that way? Who decided that there is an age cutoff to having fun? Do not let your age determine how you live your life. Continue to laugh, play, explore and learn regardless of whether you are 25 or 95. Enjoy each moment regardless of how many have come before it. Pause and listen to the waves whether you have been to the ocean one time or a thousand times. Make every day extraordinary, and give no thought to how many days you have already had. Throw yourself into learning something new with all the enthusiasm of a curious five year old and the determination of an ambitious 25 year old. Let your heart determine your age, not your bones.

“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams are forever.” ~ Walt Disney

Never stop laughing, never stop imagining and never stop dreaming. No one can take those from you unless you let them, but too many people let their age steal those little joys. Aging brings with it some inevitably embarrassing circumstances. Rather than being humiliated when you forget your glasses or announce your intense need to use the restroom at the top of your voice because you forgot your hearing aids, laugh about it. Turn the little indignities that come with aging into a humorous adventure. Continue to read, and imagine yourself riding a dragon or walking through a Victorian mansion. There is no reason to stop dreaming of far off places or exciting adventures just because your knees might not care for the long trip. Instead, enjoy the dreams and use your imagination to become the best bedtime storyteller the family has ever seen. Continue laughing and keep dreaming, regardless of how many candles you have to try and fit on your cake this year.

“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Shutterstock.com

The number you write in the section of the form marked “age” does not determine how old you are. Some people swear that they are “too old” to go hiking or skiing when they are in their forties. At the age of 41, Dana Torres won two silver medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. You are the only one who can determine what you are capable of as you age. If you are convinced that you are too old to do something, your age will hamper you from meeting your goal. If you are certain that age does not matter and are determined to reach a goal, you will find that your age does not keep you from success. There is no magic point in life where you suddenly stop being able to do things. There is simply a point in most people’s lives where they start thinking they are incapable. Their age, however, is not what is holding them back. Their belief in their own inevitable failure is what holds them back.

“Only of one thing I am sure: When I dream, I am always ageless.” ~ Elizabeth Coatsworth

Shutterstock.com

Never stop dreaming. You can dream every day and every night of your life. The dreams that become goals keep you moving forward and seeking to better yourself. The dreams that creep in at night or distract you during the day keep you young. Do not be ashamed of continuing to dream as you get older. Those dreams are an extension of what you long for and what you love. Embrace your dreams from the nostalgic to the fantastic and from the sweet to the downright strange. Enjoy those moments of surrealism and the joys they bring.

Continue to create dreams that become goals as well. There is no reason you cannot set a new goal and pursue it. Even if that goal is something as small as wanting to finally tear down that bathroom wallpaper you always hated, having a goal will keep you focused and energized. It will give you a reason to get up each morning and will allow you to enjoy a sense of success when you reach your goal.