As a baby boomer, you might not think it’s true right now but turning 60 will be one of the best moments in your adult life.

Everyone is familiar with the mid-life crisis. You’ve likely gone through it yourself and seen spouses, friends and your children try to cope with the milestone age of 40. Few people are aware there’s also such a thing as the “later life” crisis.

A third of people in their 60s undergo what’s being called a “later life crisis.” This internal struggle involves questioning the meaning of life and is brought on by two or more episodes of losing loved ones or suffering a life-threatening illness.

While people frequently complain about aging and not being able to do things the way they did in their younger years, most Baby Boomers realize they’re happier now than at any other time in their adult lives. It leads to a sense of peace in life, greater freedom and openness to new opportunities.

There’s a reason people refer to this time in their life as the golden years. Here are five reasons life after 60 will be amazing.

Opinions No Longer Matter

Most people find the insecurities developed early in their early years typically follow them into adulthood. We always feel like the awkward teens trying to fit in with the crowd. As we age and mature, we feel more secure about our relationships and no longer experience the angst of fitting in, rather, we have developed a network of friends or other types of relationships that feel “right”.

We reach the age of 60, we have come to terms with the good and bad in the life. We have learned to appreciate our successes and accept our past failures. In other words, we’ve reached a new level of maturity. With maturity comes the ability to ignore the naysayers, negative influences, and the opinions of people attempting to hold us down. We embrace the people in our lives who add value and meaning.

We understand more fully how important it is to focus on the positive and to work each day towards building positive and lasting relationships versus hanging on to past negative thoughts and people.

More Time for New Experiences

Full-time jobs, responsibility to spouses and kids, and activities all create a busy life. Now that many of those time-consuming activities have dwindled or even disappeared, there’s more time to focus on remembering the things you loved to do when you were younger and had fewer responsibilities.

It’s also a great time to “reinvent” yourself, and pursue new interests, such as traveling to foreign places, and, opening yourself up to experiences you just didn’t have the time for in your 40s and 50s. There is more time to devote to your own interests, doing things you’ve “meant to do but did not have time to do”, like going back to school, remodeling your kitchen or perhaps donating time to a charitable organization like The Family Grows.

There are countless new adventures and life experiences awaiting Boomers including, reconnecting with old friends, hosting a student from a foreign country, volunteering time at a charitable organization. It is also a great time to commit, or recommit, to your health and well-being. You may decide to join a gym or a walking or hiking club, work with a nutritionist to improve your diet, take a meditation class, and/or give yourself the gift of time to do nothing but relax and be in the moment. After so many years of being on the go and taking care of others, it is nice to have the time and energy to focus on ‘you’ feeling good.

The Family Grows

Remember the first day of being an empty nester and how you may have felt alone and missed your kids being just a bedroom away? Those feelings may have eventually subsided, and those kids grew up to start lives and maybe families of their own.

It is a golden opportunity to develop a new type of relationship with your kids- you are now not just “mom or dad”, you are part of their support network, someone to call when they need a last-minute babysitter or a night out on the town. Now, you are stopping by to help with a newborn baby or shuttling grandkids to soccer practice and guitar lessons. Or, maybe just having fun hanging out with your adult children. This is the age to enjoy supporting your family and it offers you the opportunity to spend “quality time” with your grandchildren. You can pick and choose what you want to do and how much you want to be involved. What a wonderful way to help your children and grandchildren and have the benefits of watching both flourish with your support.

Better Personal Relationships

One of the vital skills gained throughout a lifetime of trial and error is how we learn about ourselves, and how to have better personal relationships.
Relationships become more meaningful as the years pass. As we age, maturing adults learn to appreciate loyal friends and seek more significant relationships. These truer relationships bring joy, happiness, contentment, and a feeling of mutual respect and love. We also get wise to let go of the friendships, which require too much upkeep.

You’re Now a Life Veteran

Going through life brings on difficult life events, such as surviving the death of a loved one. It still hurts, but you’re able to cope better because you’ve learned how to mourn but move on. You may have experienced financial difficulties, but you’re able to get through financially tough situations after climbing out of past hardships. Relationships and interactions get less tricky because you’re more adept at diffusing uncomfortable family situations, giving advice to friends and loved ones and managing the rise and falls that come with being a human being.

The knowledge obtained from years of life experience prepares you for the joys and challenges left to come. You’re a veteran of countless challenges and know from experience that life brings both struggle and opportunity.

As a member of the graduate school of life, you have much experience to share with others. Doing so helps you to live your legacy and to leave a lasting mark on the world.