Episode 118: I almost gave up!

Are we really calling it the “Marginal Decade”?

I saw a clip on CBS about “the Marginal Decade — the last 10 to 15 years of life.”

What? I refuse to be marginalized!

But for a moment, I thought — am I crazy for joining a movement to talk about a different kind of aging?

Then I listened in more closely. Dr. Peter Attia who is now receiving upwards of $100,000 for his longevity programs, which include multiple lifestyle and medical interventions he believes are 'age defying' — and maybe even death delaying. Some monied folks are paying huge amounts of money to avoid, delay, or outwit old age. We’ve gone far beyond fillers, Botox, and facelifts.

Let’s be clear: if you enjoy cosmetic procedures, go for it. (Although filling our faces to mimic a child’s fullness affects what people in their 20s come to believe they must do to stay beautiful.) But even if you use cosmetic enhancers, I still want to connect with you around the term “old age.”

A University of California professor at Berkeley, Dr Guy Micco, asks medical students every year to write down their associations with the phrase “old age.” The words are strikingly consistent each year: feeble, frail, fragile, sick etc.

When the same students are asked to free-associate to “elder,” the words shift to honor, wisdom, respect. But neither list includes words like joy, power, brilliance, creativity, or passion.

So here’s my question: what words would you like to see associated with your later years? I’d like to add purposeful, passionate, and living from possibility.

Just when I was ready to despair at how many people are trying to defy aging, Amazon released this joyful ad featuring older women having fun. WATCH HERE:    • Joy Ride | Amazon Holiday Ad  

(By the way, “age-defying” was the term I blanked on in the video!)

When Amazon creates a video showing old, joyous people with wrinkles, we may finally have evidence that, as a culture, we’re getting close to the tipping point of change.

Since it seems that aging is of concern even for folks as young as their 20s, I feel galvanized that the pendulum is ready to shift.

If you feel others you know would be inspired and enjoy these age-empowering videos, will you help this movement reach more hearts and hands by sharing the YouTube link with friends, colleagues, and family?

If you are like me, you’ve been waiting for society to change before we disrupt the status quo on aging, let’s be realistic.

History has revealed a societal shift will not come from the youth and middle years because they are in avoidance and fear of aging.
It is landing on us — the elders or those courageous in the middle years — to be the change agents and attitudinal shape-shifters.

And it starts inside our own heads.

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Rosalyn Rourke is a psychotherapist, best-selling author, and Master Enneagram Teacher with over 30 years of experience helping individuals navigate grief, trauma, and personal transformation. Her work blends deep professional insight with personal experience, particularly following the sudden loss of her daughter. She is the author of When Wisdom Arrives: From Imagined Unworthiness to Freedom and regularly speaks on topics like mortality, resilience, and emotional healing.

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