Photo by Diego Jimenez on Unsplash

A recent communication from the Automobile Club of America (AAA) has caused me to take a slight detour from my musings on art and aging. The communication in question is titled “55 Reasons It’s Great to Be Over 55.” I’ll skip over the implication that we have to be convinced that our lives can be great after 55. I’ll even give the writers a pass in that they’re taking (what they see as) a positive stance on getting older.

However, the litany of these 55 things (yes, there are 55) are, according to the writers, ones that are automatically conferred on you when you hit this magic age. Here are some of their greatest hits:

“People trust your opinion.”

Yeah, not so much. Many people will discount your opinion BECAUSE you’re over 55, and will use your age as a reason to do so. (Especially if they don’t agree with you.)

“You welcome the heat.”

I don’t care how much sweat gland activity decreases as we age, if you weren’t a fan of Florida before, you won’t turn into one now.

“You resolve conflicts skillfully.”

There’s no magic age at which you become a skilled diplomat. But If you were good at conflict resolution before, there’s no reason that you won’t continue to be.

“Free time increases.”

If you don’t need to work — a circumstance that has become increasingly rare.

“An empty nest means more time with your partner.”

Unless your adult child has moved back in with you (another trending phenomenon).

“Your close friendships are even closer.”

Unless your friends have died or they like the heat a lot more than you and have moved to Boca Raton.

Of course I could get even more nihilistic and say, if your life sucks, it doesn’t matter what age you are. But so as not to be the guy who you’d picture with a cartoon bubble over his head yelling, “Get off my lawn!” I offer the following  suggestions to AAA and their readers:

Fifty-five seems way too young to be checking off the “older adult” box. Everyone I know who is 55 is still working and expects to be for some time — for a variety of reasons. It’s time to re-think what “older” means.

It’s never too late to start taking care of yourself. The odds are you’re going to be around for more years then your parents are/were, so you might as well be healthy and strong.

When you find yourself in a position of financial (and possibly geographical) flexibility, plot your own course of what you want to do. Don’t rely on friends, family, or people writing on the internet (including me) for direction, but…

…don’t get caught unprepared. If you’re coming up to a time when you ‘ll be leaving your regular work life behind, start thinking seriously about what you want your next act to be.