When did we decide that growing older meant growing smaller and backing off?

You have the courage and experience to challenge the status quo about your value. You don’t need to follow outdated norms about what aging means. Instead, create change. Establish new recognition. Speak up.

Reject the limiting phrase that shuts down possibility: “This is how growing older has always been done.” Whether it’s about forced retirement, workplace dismissal, or assumptions about your relevance—question what isn’t fair or just.

Ask open-ended questions. Why must retirement mean disappearing? How can communities benefit from decades of lived wisdom? Plant seeds for change in every conversation. A 72-year-old launches a tech startup. A grandmother leads climate action in her town. A retired teacher runs for the city council. These aren’t exceptions—they’re the future.

Live the change that’s already happening, everywhere around you. Show people that aging is a process of deepening respect and mutual support. You’re not fading—you’re shining, giving, passionately innovating.

Be curious about what you haven’t tried yet.

Be fresh in your thinking.

Be direct about what you need and want.

Be your ageless self, undefined by arbitrary numbers.

Demand dignity because you’re alive and ever so present.

Aging doesn’t exclude you from leading—for yourself and in your community. Leadership looks like mentoring young entrepreneurs, organizing neighborhood initiatives, learning new skills, challenging ageist policies, or simply refusing to shrink yourself to fit someone else’s limited expectations.

The world needs your voice, your vision, your refusal to accept “how it’s always been done.”

You’ve earned your place at every table. Now take your seat.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily.
This is important too – Evergreen – The Timeless Relevance of Ageing.

#2071