Not sure if this has already been said as I kind of skimmed the thread, but one of the things I keep in mind is that people generally tend to be happier when they age, as long as they do three things:
1. Stay physically and mentally active.
2. Have a social network.
3. Have learned the art of acceptance, for both good and bad things about their life.
Sometimes I worry about having wasted time in my life, but generally, I actually look forward to aging. I feel like the older you are, the more practice you've had at life - dealing with hard situations, dealing with loving and accepting yourself, experiencing things that are out of your control. And once you master them, you're more content than you were when you were younger.
I think my point of comparison is my grandparents (and to a lesser extent, my parents). The women in my family seem to have aged well. Both my grandmothers, and my mom, are significantly happier than they were before. My mom is 50 now. She used to get really angry with people, and stressed out about her job, but she's learned the difference between the things she can and can't control - she changed the things she could control when she moved to a better school, closer to home. As for the things she can't control, she's just learned to accept them as they are and let them happen, and if she can, see the good in them. The difference she's exhibited over the past ten years is astounding, honestly.
Same thing with my grandmothers. one used to be quite a bit more rigid in her beliefs and lifestyle, but when my grandpa died, I think she really started to realize that she can't control everything, and that it's not even desirable to control everything. She seems much happier and more relaxed. She's told me a few times that when she gets stressed and worries about something she can't change, she just prays and tells God that it's in his hands and then she stops caring about it. She does what she can to stay healthy, and is involved in a lot of volunteering at her church. My other grandmother isn't as social or physically active, but she reads a lot, always tries to keep learning, and has a lot of things she can do on her own that make her happy.
BUT my grandfather has not aged well. Basically, as soon as he turned 50 (maybe even before), he started complaining that he was old and on his way to death. He's 78 now, so he's spent nearly 30 years convinced he's going to die and that his life is over, even though he's in overall good health. The parts of his health that are not so good are mostly lifestyle - since he's convinced himself he is old, he sees no point in exercising much (too stressful for an "old man") and up until 5 years ago he smoked very heavily, because again, he thought "I'm going to die anyway so what's the point."
My dad is working on it. He's fairly unhappy but I think he's trying to find a balance.
So all in all I am excited to age. I hope that I take the path of my mom and grandmas and learn how to deal with life as I have more experiences. I'm guessing that, barring any horrible experiences, life actually becomes easier with practice.
