Longevity vs. Aging

Over the past several months—at conferences, on phone calls, during meetings, and in textbooks and other publications focused on aging—I’ve noticed more and more people who work in the “Aging” world increasingly using the word “aging” as a euphemism for “old” or “older.”

This concerns me.

You see, “Aging” and “Old/Older” are NOT the same thing.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again:

FROM THE INSTANT WE TAKE OUR FIRST BREATH—UNTIL THE INSTANT WE TAKE OUR LAST—WE ARE ALL AGING.

Infants are aging. Little kids are aging. Teenagers are aging. And adults of all ages are aging.

Unless, of course, they’re dead.

Now, as blunt as that may sound, the reality is that death—and ONLY death—is what puts an end to aging.

Not cosmetics. Not serums or creams. Not Botox or plastic surgery. Not hair dye. Not staying out of the sun.

While those supposed treatments may have an effect on a person’s APPEARANCE, they cannot, in fact, prevent our skin, our hair, our nails, or any other parts of our bodies from aging.

That is why I’m proposing that we start 2026 by focusing less on “aging” and more on LONGEVITY.

After all, isn’t that what we’re all really trying to achieve? A good, long life?

The truth is aging actually requires little to no effort on our part. We’re going to age whether we like it or want to or not. Until well, you know (see above) . . .

Longevity, on the other hand, is something we need to work toward. It’s not guaranteed.

Longevity offers us the potential for more fun, more adventure, more meaning, more TIME.

Whereas aging is something that happens TO us, longevity is something we can ACHIEVE.

So let’s stop referring to the older people in our lives as “aging,” because the fact that they’re aging is pretty much a given. In fact, had they not aged, they wouldn’t be older.

And let’s focus instead on the real prize: LONGEVITY.

Living longer. Living better. Living fuller. Living healthier.

Because when we do that, the aging part will take care of itself.