“Aging” and “Old Age” are synonymous
Aging and Old Age are two different things.
The Wisdom Years
Aging is a biological process. “Old Age” is the last stage in human life that ends of the human life cycle.
The common belief is that once we arrive at our retirement age, we start our Old Age.
The United Nations has agreed that 65+ years is considered as Old Age, and this is accepted as the international definition of old age.
However, defining “Old Age” according to your “Chronological Age” i.e how many years you have been alive is misleading. You can find between your friend and relatives people in their eighties who are still young and others who are in their fifties but are already old.
Aging is unavoidable, but Old Age is a choice.
There are three stages in human lifespan – Childhood, Adulthood, and Aging.
Throughout human history, Childhood was considered to be a brief preparation for Adulthood. Adulthood was considered to be the main, longest, and most meaningful period of life. Old age was the shortest period of life and was considered preparation for death.
All that has been changed as the result of the dramatic rise in life expectancy, which gives most of us more than 20 years to live after retirement.
The essence of this revolution is not a quantitative one, merely adding years to Old Age, but a qualitative one. It provides an opportunity for a whole new stage of life: – What I call: The Wisdom Period of Life.
The Wisdom Period of Life is an inherently different period of life from Adulthood, which precedes it and Old Age, which follows it. Unlike Old Age, it provides a period of personal growth, rather than decline, and an opportunity for another round of active life - wiser, more meaningful, and even more enjoyable than what we experienced in Adulthood.
Medication is the best way to combat aging
Wrong.
What determines our quality of life and our life expectancy is our Functional Age; this is how we function physically, cognitively, psychologically, and socially, irrespective of our actual chronological age.
Your Chronological Age will always increase - if you’re 65 this you, you will always be 66 next year. But your Functional Age can be paused or even reversed.
When you let go of the attitude that decline is the inevitable result of aging, then you can take clear and effective steps to preserve and regain your Functional Age. You can improve cognition to stave off dementia and brain pathology. You can improve your physical health to stay active and fit and keep your immune system functioning. You can preserve your social health by maintaining your links to your community and holding on to the sense of purpose and meaning that drove you throughout your adult life. Doing so, you can enjoy the Wisdom Period of your life for decades, delaying “Old Age” until the very end.
In my new book - The Wisdom Years, you will find practical guidance on how to best experience the benefits of the Wisdom Period of your life.