Age is Just a Number: Embrace Life at Every Stage!

When is it too late to learn how to dance? Never. The same goes for painting, caring for others, forging your own path, changing careers, simply enjoying life, loving, and accepting love. Throughout our lives, we anticipate and fear age milestones. The coveted ages of 16-18, the active 25, the serious 30, the vibrant 35, and the carefree 40… We are surprised to discover that life continues beautifully after the age of 55. Not just life in its simplest biological form, but a fully developed, active, sexually charged, emotionally rich, and intellectually satisfying life. Sometimes, there are even more positive emotions than there were before 50.

The Beauty of Aging

In European countries and America, every effort is made to involve each citizen, including those of retirement age, in social life. A new term has emerged in management: senior management, a special approach to maximizing the knowledge and skills of experienced professionals. In Russia, Vladimir Yakovlev has prepared an excellent project called “The Age of Happiness” – a series of almanacs dedicated to the amazing achievements, self-discoveries, drastic life changes, and simple solutions for happiness of people around the world aged 50 and above.

In everyday life, we increasingly hear stories of how life begins at 40, 50, 60, and even 70. The heroines of these stories confess that they have managed to discover new facets of their “self,” let go of their inhibitions, and try new hobbies, professions, and relationships.

Inspiring Stories

For example, Elena, a former successful English teacher, moved to Italy at the age of 52 to work as a caregiver. There, she married happily and has been enjoying her new life for 15 years.

Another Elena, at 35, retrained from a manager to a kindergarten teacher. Working with dedication, she has been truly enjoying life for 10 years. “This is really my life,” she says. “I like everything: the schedule, interesting educational methods, a great team.”

Klavdia, a bank economist with 35 years of experience, suddenly “saw the weather outside the window” after retiring. “I started living for myself! I can take a bath, go for a walk, talk to my husband, watch a good movie. Most importantly, I can cook delicious meals, not just what I have time for. Life is beautiful!”

Finding Fulfillment at Any Age

How can we ensure that “my” life remains “my” life at any age? How can we understand what to use to fill life when we begin to appreciate every moment more? Do we have to wait for retirement to start living for ourselves?

We discussed this with Irina Taran, a specialist and life coach in the field of change management.

Interview with Life Coach Irina Taran

– Irina, tell us how you came to use coaching to achieve harmony in a woman’s life?

– I have always worked in fields that interested me greatly. One day, having reached a certain point in my career, I wondered: what do I want to do in my life in 10, 20 years, without thinking about my age? At that moment, I was 45. I realized that I was ready to search not just for a profitable and interesting profession, but for one that would make the most of my strengths. In coaching, this is called “my expertise.” I thought about what I dreamed of, what truly captivated me, and what resonated with those around me.

A simple exercise that helps determine what you would really like to do. You need to sit in a quiet place, try to relax, and dream: if I lived in an Ideal World, where everything is sufficient, I don’t need to worry about income or status, where everyone does only what they want, what would I do with pleasure, what would bring me satisfaction?

After analyzing everything, I realized that it was coaching.

Among other helping professions, the coaching approach is distinguished by its focus on results and finding the best solution. Life coaching assumes that a person is good and has all the resources they need at their current age, state of health, and level of expertise. A person can create the desired quality of life based on their real, present situation. In addition to the quality of life, life coaching also includes the sphere of relationships. An important aspect of coaching is goal setting. Often, people are dissatisfied with their lives and ask for change, but they don’t know what kind of change or in what areas of life.

– What if a person says: “I want to be young!” How do you work with such a goal?

– One of my colleagues said that coaching is like a peel for the soul. Because it helps to shed everything related to common stereotypes, complexes, and fears. And the coach’s task is to connect a person with their wealth, resources, and true desires, which are full of energy.

Any “I want” has its own meaning for a specific person. What is behind this desire, what do you really want? What values, what are the most important things, what intention is behind it? The goal may change, or it may not, as the person learns to separate what is most important to them. Moreover, with the help of coaching, people reach their goals faster, more actively, and more specifically, choosing exactly those aspects that constitute the main meaning for them, the main value, based on real opportunities. They choose actions that lead to the result in the shortest way, which is very important after 40.

– What is the most important thing on the path to self-discovery, self-realization, and finding a woman’s true “self”?

– A woman often does not master her inner space, does not know and does not use her inner strength. As a result, someone sees this wealth and takes possession of it. One of the consequences of this situation is problems in relationships, resentments, and misunderstandings. But if a woman masters her inner space, she gains her strength and transforms. Including becoming attractive to men, and at any age, at 60 and beyond.

– Let’s talk about this. What is age? How does coaching work with age?

– No matter how old a person is, their integrity is important. And when you see the light of a person’s soul, age does not matter, and they become attractive… A person becomes a resource for themselves. They own themselves, their inner world, accept themselves. They find support within themselves. They come to an agreement with themselves, their uniqueness. It seems simple, but as a result, a person begins to understand a lot. They understand their best ways to achieve goals, their favorite activities that give them the most energy. A person chooses who to communicate with, who to spend time with, what to dedicate the minutes of their life to, and begins to do this not from a state of “must,” but from a state of “I am” – and life changes completely. Relying on internal resources, it is easier for a woman to live through her own difficult moments in life. In addition, she freely gives support to others.

– Probably, then it is easier for a woman to go through age-related changes?

– Honestly, I don’t see that any age is better or worse. Each has its own advantages. Young wine is good in its own way, mature wine is good in its own way. Our problem is often that we approach the situation and ourselves based on what we lack. And when a woman becomes a support for herself, she clearly understands what she has enough of and what makes her unique. Do this audit, approach the situation and life based on what is done and what is good. Only after that can you ask the question: “What else would I like?” Add, try, develop. And most importantly: why? What is the meaning of this goal? Based on practice, I understand that behind each goal, as a rule, there is a desire to experience a certain deep state. And then it is important to understand whether this state can be achieved in any other way. Just in case, it’s good to have a backup, alternative goal, a couple of spare airfields.

For further reading, you can visit Psychology Today for more insights on aging and self-discovery.