This post is the next in my How to Deal series (the previous being on dealing with bad performance reviews). As we ride past 25 and 30 is visible down the road, we start to get these feelings of aging. No, not the need for medication for the stir in the pants, but some mentality changes. For me, it’s been about physically weakening, views on taking risks, growing up, and even a tad on mortality. I know we’re not on the cusp of total decrepitude, but it’s something worth thinking about.

A really good point that I read about was to view age as a gift. The longer you live, the more experiences and friends you make. No matter the mistakes you make along the way, it’s the act of living the life that should be seen as great.

Also, I personally think it’s good to be aware of aging to be able to take action now to mitigate. For example, on the issue of physical strength, acknowledging that I will start to get weaker after 25 will push me to hit the gym now to build up as much as I can. Studies have shown that weight training will help slow the effects of muscle fiber loss from 25 to bucket. (thanks Daron for that article) If you worry you’ll get iguana skin from overtanning, then maybe now’s a good time to start cutting back on the skin bake.

There’s numerous other issues that come to mind, but you should get the picture. Just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean it’s all downhill. Well, if you’ve been hitting the bottle hard and have a collection of souvenirs from the hookers in Vegas, it’ll be downhill for you. Otherwise, see it as more opportunity. With age, you should have more options open to you, and more resources to do what you want (money, time, etc). You may have become much better at pushing yourself and focusing, which will help you do whatever you want to do and be much better at it. Your experiences will give you different views from when you were younger and make you more rounded in decision making. Yes, you lose some things like speed and agility (both of body and mind) but those will be exchanged for experiences in life and increased value in our time. You may be grown up, but there’s no reason you have to grow up.

Old Age from mentodayonline.com
Fighting Age with Muscle from MSN Health and Fitness
Dealing with Aging from thesweetlife
Guy Wisdom: Another Shot from menshealth.com