Being young at heart has nothing to do with skin cream or a gym membership. You’ve met people in their later years who feel lighter and more energetic than people half their age, and it’s not because they’re racing against time. They just keep what most people are slowly giving up on.
Looking young is not the point. Many of them have gray hair and creaky knees and have no interest in hiding any of it. There is something deep inside them that remains open, some openness that refuses to become rigid.
Here are eight habits you’ll notice in people who maintain this habit.
1. They still get excited about the little things
A good peach. The first snow. They like to play a song in the car. They react to little joys just like the little joys they are, loudly and without embarrassment.
In the process, many people believe that being ordinary is more dignified. Enthusiasm starts to look childish, so they reduce it to a cool, gentle nod to everything. The young at heart never got the memo.
You’ll find that it’s more fun to be around them because of it. Their joy is contagious. When someone shines a light on this silly, wonderful little thing, others can enjoy it too—and you’ll notice people in the room often do the same.
2. Willing to look silly
They will dance at weddings, wear ridiculous hats, and play games even if they lose. Looking a little silly doesn’t scare them.
As they age, most people become more protective, more concerned about their dignity, and unwilling to risk looking stupid. The young at heart simply choose to let go of this fear. They believe having fun is more important than transcending it.
Observe them at family gatherings. They are actually grandparents sitting on the floor playing with their children rather than people observing from a nice chair. The stiffness that makes other adults stand aside never appears. They prefer stupidity and tolerance to composure and separation.
3. Make friends of all ages
Their friends are not all from the same generation. They collect people, not peers.
It’s easy to socialize only with your own age group, and everyone compares the same pain and remembers the same decade. People who are young at heart will not limit themselves to such circles. They make friends at work with twenty-five-year-olds, with neighborhood kids, with people forty years their junior, and really mean it.
There’s no put-down in it, no “when I was your age.” All that crosses the divide is true friendship. This mix keeps them from ossifying into one era. You often find that they are more trendy than their age would suggest because someone in their circle is always pulling them towards something new.
4. When a plan comes up, they say “yes”
Someone comes up with something last minute, or a little outside their norm, and their instinct is “yes” rather than “no.”
As we age, most people’s default choices become more established. It’s more comfortable, more predictable, and easier to stay on schedule. People who are young at heart tend to lean in the opposite direction. Road trips, new restaurants, things they’ve never done before, they’re into them before they talk themselves out of it.
Reckless is not the word. They still know their limits. But they view spontaneous invitations as opportunities rather than intrusions. You’ll notice that their lives are still full of little adventures, mostly because they’re still saying yes to their peers long after they start saying no on principle.
5. They laugh at themselves easily
They can be a punchline without hurting them. A mistake, a confusion, a confusion of thoughts, they are the first to laugh.
This becomes harder for those who take themselves seriously, and as we age, many of us take ourselves more seriously, not less. Every trip poses a small threat to dignity. The young at heart keep their dignity loose enough to find themselves being funny.
It’s a relief to be with someone who doesn’t defend their image. They would tell their embarrassing stories over dinner and laugh the hardest. You’ll notice that people are attracted to the ease, but they’re not always attracted to polish.
6. Refuse to “act according to your age”
They are never given a rulebook about what their peers should like, wear, or do. Or they get it and throw it away.
Most of us follow the unspoken script that at this age you move on to practical shoes and mellow hobbies and stop being excited about new music. The young at heart just ignore it. They’ll embrace something new at sixty, play loud albums, and wear bright colors that everyone thinks are appropriate for youth.
It’s not a costume, it’s not a crisis. Their position is simply that their interests are their own and no numbers can be assigned to them. Watching someone live off-script like this is a small, enjoyable rebellion against rules that no one actually has to follow.
7. Be enthusiastic without rolling your eyes.
They take things seriously and don’t hide behind sarcasm to appear cool.
Somewhere along the way, it’s become fashionable to like everything at a safe, ironic distance, yet never be found to truly care. The young at heart don’t accept this, or they abandon it. They would talk endlessly about their hobbies, their favorite shows, the birds they saw, with an almost startling candor.
True passion is a little fragile, which is why people arm themselves against it. Showing concern loudly means you may be laughed at for it. They accepted the deal without a second thought. You’ll notice that people around you tend to let their guard down – the prevailing sense of distance starts to feel unnecessary.
8. They try things they’re not good at
They’ll choose something new, and even though they know full well they’re going to be terrible for a long time, they’ll start anyway.
Adults tend to stick with things they’ve already mastered, because being a clumsy beginner can feel undignified once you get used to the abilities. Those who are young at heart don’t mind the awkward beginner stage. They’ll take pottery classes, try new sports, fumble with language apps, be happily mischievous and carefree.
It allows them to grow in a way that comfort never did. A willingness to be a beginner again, at any age, is one of the surest signs that a person is still fully aware of his or her life. Mastery is comfortable. The beginning is where the energy lies.
This doesn’t require a transplant of energy or personality that you don’t have. Most of it is just a refusal to close the doors that shut themselves as we age.
If you think of someone while reading who seems to have more energy at seventy than most people do at thirty, you already know how good it feels to be around them. If you feel like you’re a little stiff while reading, that’s okay. The great thing about staying young at heart is that you can start over on any ordinary Tuesday.
