Around the time of my birthday this year, my social media feeds became flooded with anti-aging advice—retinols, moisturisers and all kinds of serum to keep my youthful appearance for as long as possible. “And better get started in your early to mid-20s!” was the usual suggestion, especially targeting women to spark worry about wrinkles that don’t even exist yet.
Now, I personally cannot see any signs of wrinkles or grey hairs just yet, but the societal obsession with looking young is hard to ignore. Women often face more pressure in this than men, which is of course only amplified by social media. The recent body-horror film The Substance has criticized this disparity and hopefully set an example for this to be explored further. It’s tiring to feel like you need to fight against time!
one of the hardest parts about ageing isn’t even mental or physical—it’s societal.
For me, ageing is so much more than appearance—it’s about growth. While I look back fondly on my late teenage years and early 20s, they were also filled with a lot of uncertainty and doubt. Not to say that these have vanished completely, but today I feel increasingly a sense of clarity and pride in what I have learnt in my life thus far. Every experience has made me wiser, and hopefully I can carry this mindset with me for the rest of my life.
Nevertheless, one of the hardest parts about ageing isn’t even mental or physical—it’s societal. We still live in a world that expects you to follow a certain timeline for “success”: by a certain age you’re supposed to have your career figured out, gotten married and started a family. As much as I reject this belief, it does still get to me every now and then, making me question whether I may be falling behind.
But watching my mother, who is now approaching 60, has given me another perspective. She is one of the most youthful people I know, because of her approach to life. Full of energy and excitement, she reminds me that taking care of your own happiness and finding what success means to you personally is what truly matters.
...it’s much easier to embrace ageing when we approach our present life with care, wisdom and joy.
The way I see it, ageing is a mindset. It shouldn't be about meeting arbitrary milestones but about building a life for yourself that you can look back on with pride.
So, is getting old really that bad? I don’t think so. The less time we invest in worrying about the future, and spend more of it on creating beautiful memories, meaningful experiences, taking opportunities and living in the present, the less daunting ageing becomes. I like to believe that it’s much easier to embrace ageing when we approach our present life with care, wisdom and joy. There’s nothing to fear, just a life to build.
