Very recently, I got to turn a year older… This year my birthday was even more special because I was about to enter a new decade. As many twenty-somethings, turning 30 was a “big deal”. And even if you don’t want it to be a big deal, everyone around you constantly reminds you of the fact that: “Wow, you are getting so old, now”.  Yet, to my surprise, the closer I got to the “dreaded” date, the more excited I got! So today, I wanted to share with you: Why turning a year older should actually be celebrated and not dreaded! 

For some reason, our society dreads old age or getting old-er. It’s as if growing older is like catching some awful chronic disease that will make your life worse and miserable. But, really it doesn’t have to be that way. Why is it that most people dread becoming older?

I have given some thought into that myself as the years went by one after the other throughout my twenties. And for some reason, turning 30 often equates the official beginning of becoming “old”. Yet, that is not at all what I ended up experiencing as I got closer to my doomed date. To my amusement, the closer I got to turning 30, the more exciting Life actually got. Of course, there were still disappointments, unexpected changes and tough times; but for the most part, Life simply got better and easier. And guess what was the main reason for that? You guessed it: Getting old-ER.

Now, since caring is sharing and because I want you to be able to celebrate yourself as you get older, instead of getting into a frantic panic about it, I will spill all of my secrets right here.

Why Turning a Year Older Should Celebrated, Not Dreaded

1. The older you get the more confident you get

Here is the truth, I have always been pretty insecure and doubtful about myself. I was always that girl that wanted to be liked, appreciated and loved by everyone. What people thought of me was very important. And so my confidence and self-worth was easily affected by others’ opinions. Well, I can happily say that today I feel 10 000 times more confident than I did 10 years ago. And thank God for that. Feeling confident and trusting yourself more is one of the best things that happens as you get older. You learn to trust your choices more, to be less apologetic about some of your decisions and you learn to simply accept who you are. Bonus: confidence is also super sexy!

2. You get comfortable with the fact that you can’t please everybody

Again, another perk of getting older is that you learn (sometimes pretty harshly so) that you simply cannot please everybody. Therefore, don’t waste your time trying to please people. Just do you, be as kind and respectful as possible. And that’s the best you can do. There will always be someone that doesn’t like you and more often than not, it is more about them than about you. So keep it friendly, classy and keep it moving.

3. You learn to understand and cherish your body

Ironically, one of the benefits of getting older is that you finally get a real grasp of your mortality. Yup, that’s right your mor-ta-li-ty! Don’t be scared though, it’s perfectly normal for the human body to slowly lose its vitality before its last breath (hopefully as painlessly as possible). So, as you are slowly reminded of that fact, it will suddenly dawn on you that: a. You are not here forever and that b. You should really take care of that body of yours; that if, IF you want to age gracefully and painlessly…

Indeed, as you get older, you will finally learn the value of a good night sleep (versus staying up until the crack of down), of keeping your body fit and active, of eating the right foods and a dozen of other things that you used to consider boring and unimportant. All of this because your body will make it very clear when it can no longer take reckless behavior. In Spanish, they say “El tiempo no perdona”. Well, it goes without saying that with time, your body will become less tolerant of irresponsible actions. IF you pay attention to your body, you will finally understand its language and it will tell you exactly what it needs in order to flourish.

4. You learn to celebrate your individuality

Another great lesson about getting older is that you realize how different and unique you truly are from the rest of the world and how cool that actually is. As opposed to trying to blend in all the time (like in your teenage years), in your late 20s (for some early 20s) you learn that standing out rocks. The more you learn about what makes you unique and different, the more confident, proud and powerful you feel. And the best part is? When you celebrate and highlight your uniqueness,  you end up attracting the best friendships and opportunities you could have ever dreamed of.

5. Personal boundaries are less negotiable

Saying no becomes easier and easier, the older you get. Once you realize just how important it is for you to have some “me time” in order to thrive and be fully functional, setting healthy boundaries for yourself also becomes easier and the guilt, sometimes associated with it, will slowly decrease, if not completely disappear. So get excited for more TLC with yourself. You deserve it :).

6. Life becomes easier because you have more experience with it

That is probably my favourite part about getting ‘older’: because you accumulate time on this planet, you also get to gather up more life experiences. And these, my friends, are the most valuable of all. Sure, you could wish to remain 18 or 20 forever, but then you would need to erase all of the fun and awesome experiences you got to go through since then and that actually shaped who you have become! And honestly, who wants to do that?!? Not me, that’s for sure. Life is full of surprises and there are so many more ahead of you, but you won’t get to experience them unless you continue your journey and you keep on getting… well… older. Cherish the ups and the downs for they have brought you exactly where you needed to be. That’s the beauty of Life. Once you go with the flow, everything miraculously falls into place…

So enough with the dread and fear of getting older. Getting older is a privilege (not many people get to live long). Turning a year older should be a celebration of everything you have accomplished in the past year, everything you became and everything you still could become in the future.

Don’t dread it, celebrate it. Life truly is an amazing journey that only gets better with time. There are so many more interesting steps and milestones ahead of you. Start anticipating that (rather than fear it). Celebrate all that you are today and learn to enjoy every single moment for you only get to live once.

Oh and for those of you that are convinced that with age your beauty and health will decrease, once again it all depends on your mental attitude and your daily actions. If you take good care of your body and mental health, there is no reason why you would not be able to thrive as you age, as opposed to slowly decay… The choice is yours!

Wishing you all the happiest of birthdays for this year and the many more ahead of you :).

Cheers,

Sarah.