More wisdom from QUORA on aging

  

Maurice A. Tillman

MS in Quality Systems Management, National Graduate School of Quality Management (Graduated 2017)Author has 156 answers and 356.8K answer viewsUpdated Jun 9

1. The first thing you'll lose is stamina. As we age, our hormones change. Men produce less testosterone, and women produce less estrogen, shortening our endurance. Cells begin to repair themselves slower than we damage them. The reality is that healthy young people will outwork us 100% of the time.
2. You'll realize all of the time you wasted. Chasing women (or men), getting wasted every weekend, playing video games all day, and going to college for careers that don't require degrees (fine art, communications, and writing) hurt our ability to build wealth.
3. Your reputation will become the most important thing you own. You're what people say you are until you prove otherwise. Eventually, you'll understand that your reputation is all you will leave behind when you die.
4. The pain of losing your parents will never go away. Learning to cope with death is one of your most remarkable periods of personal growth. Love your parents when they're here and let them go when it's their time.
5. Life will shit all over you, and it's traumatic. Most of us will experience things that will make us smile less. We've lost valuables, suffered from diseases, and become victims of scams, atrocities, and violence. Every grumpy old man or woman is a library full of books on disappointment, shame, heartache, and fear.
6. Getting up every morning sucks. Regardless of your fitness level, you'll need a few extra minutes to warm up. The older you get, the longer you'll lie in bed before standing, and the more you'll want to sleep.
7. Everything you grew up with will age with you. Gadgets you grew up with can't integrate with current technology or cannot be replaced, and children don't understand how to use them. Unfortunately, many people feel the same way about the elderly.
8. The events that define your generation will become irrelevant. For instance, some of your favorite jokes are no longer funny because the topics you debate now will lose cultural relevance. Jerry Springer was one of the most famous people in America during the mid-90s. When I talked about his passing, my 9-year-old daughter asked, "Who is that?"
9. Your clothes will become conservative. I'm a recovering sneakerhead known for wearing flashy, expensive clothing. However, I replaced most of my Jordan 1's with Nike Air Monarchs and Skecher Go-Walks Also, I dress in plain clothes with no logos because they're comfortable and cheap. I'm not as cool as I used to be, but my feet and back thank me daily.
10. You'll be open to dating less attractive people (and you'll become less attractive). You'll become too old to date, sadly. You'll realize you missed out on some fantastic partners maintaining unreasonable beauty standards. You might have been happier with the "4s, 5s, and 6s." Those average-looking people you rejected were never ugly. Your mind was.
11. You'll accept death as an inevitability. You'll care about leaving behind something your offspring can build upon (inheritance, charity, legacy). Or you'll care about retiring as comfortably as possible. Death won't scare you as much as it does now. You'll probably fear dying broke and alone the most.

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