When you reach a certain age, you begin to really settle into who you want to be and how you want to live your life. For women over 40, this means ditching many things that require far too much effort. Here are 20 things best left behind as we age.
Social Media Trends
Keeping up with social media trends is much more of a young person’s game. That isn’t to say women over 40 don’t happily use social media. But it’s used for meaningful connections and keeping up with personal interests rather than actively participating in the latest big thing.
Having to Impress Everyone
Reaching 40 really does come with the realization that you don’t need to impress everyone. Most women will stop worrying about what others think of them and won’t put in as much effort into looking impressive. If they want to impress anyone, it’ll be themselves!
The Fear of Missing Out
Forbes attributes FOMO to the “constant stream of documentation” that comes from social media. This can result in people thinking they should be doing something more exciting. Yet for women over 40, this FOMO often goes away, as they better appreciate being more selective with their time.
Fitting into a Certain Dress Size
It’s safe to say that clothing sizes have gotten even more difficult in recent years. Not to mention that a size 0 in one place isn’t the same as a size 0 in another. For women over 40, fixating on reaching a certain dress size is less important than wearing clothes that make them happy.
Being a Great Hostess
There’s extra pressure on you as you get older to be a perfect hostess. Yet reaching a certain age means you prioritize meaningful relationships, so it becomes less about being the perfect host for a dinner party and more about simply having people you love around to relax.
Keeping The House Spotless
Women often feel pressure to keep their homes constantly clean and spotless. When reaching the age of 40, many women put less focus on housework and can happily manage with a little extra mess than they used to.
Being Surrounded by Negativity
Roderick Conwi explains via LinkedIn that negativity “must be un-learned” and that it takes effort to do so. Most women over the age of 40 have many years of experience dealing with negativity and realizing that they don’t have the energy for it anymore. They make a choice to surround themselves only with positive people.
Chasing After Others
Whether it’s someone they’ve started dating or a long-time friend, chasing after other people who aren’t reciprocating is something women over 40 simply don’t care to do anymore. If someone isn’t willing to put in the effort, then they’re not worth the time.
Trying to Change Others
When you’re younger, you often willingly put effort into trying to change other people to do better. Reaching a certain age, you realize that you can’t do that. Turning 40 brings the wisdom that focusing on your own growth instead is the best thing to do.
Following the Latest Fashion Trends
Older adults often prioritize a comfortable and long-lasting wardrobe over fleeting fashion trends. Comfort becomes the order of the day, so loose-flowing trousers are more preferable to tight, skinny jeans. Women over 40 are often more confident in showing off their own personal style, too.
Excessive Diets
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a top priority when you get older. Most women over 40 avoid fad diets to focus on the day-to-day. According to Good Housekeeping, most women concentrate on staying active throughout the day, with attention on exercising 30 minutes a day for balance and healthy bones.
Being Perfect
Nobody’s perfect, but the idea of perfectionism is often associated with youth. When you reach a certain age, you stop caring about trying to be perfect and focus more on living your best (and healthiest) life. Women over 40 realize that striving for impossible standards isn’t worth their time.
Always Having to be Right
Women over 40 stop focusing on having to be right all the time and concentrate more on having open and constructive conversations. Older women have a lot more patience for worthwhile discussions and are willing to admit mistakes with a new perspective.
Getting Involved with Gossip
Whether it’s in the workplace or in the latest group chat, gossip can often become toxic and damaging. Most women over 40 would admit that they care less about gossip, even if it’s harmless. Instead, they’d rather focus on valuable conversations with loyal people.
The Expectations of Others
Women over 40 often embrace a new mindset of focusing on their own goals. This means they care less about what society expects of them and instead focus on their own aspirations. They only value the opinions of those closest to them rather than the opinions of strangers.
Going Gray
Going gray has always had negative connotations of getting old. However, many young people have gray hair, and it’s a natural part of life. Women reaching the age of 40 may decide to ditch the salon appointment in favor of embracing their natural color.
Making New Friends
Socializing is important as you age, yet the pressure to constantly meet new people and make friends is less important for many women over 40. These women may be content with the friends they already have or have learned to embrace happiness in solitude.
Dealing With a Hangover
Hangovers are definitely more bearable when you’re younger and often worth it for that night out. Yet older women simply aren’t interested in dealing with a day-long hangover anymore. Harvard Health explains that your ability to metabolize alcohol decreases as you get older, so it’s just not worth the risk.
Comparing Themselves to Others
You often compare yourself to others when you reach certain milestones. What has your friend achieved at 30 that you haven’t? Why has your neighbor got a more expensive car than you? It’s easily done, yet when you reach 40, you begin to appreciate what you have rather than constantly comparing yourself to others.
Celebrating Birthdays
Aside from feeling like the 40 milestone should be given a little extra attention—or maybe an extra balloon—the idea of celebrating birthdays now feels more like a chore than a pleasurable experience. Women over 40 would rather enjoy a quiet birthday with a card or two than a party!
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