Over It and Owning It: 15 Things Women Stop Stressing About After 60
As we age, certain matters that seemed crucially important in our younger years start to feel mundane and significantly less important. For women over 60, things like intimacy have become a whole new meaning. Relationships change and evolve as we age and grow.
Stress can greatly hinder living a whole life as we approach retirement. Living fast and hard goes out the window, replaced by deeper connections to friends and family. We move from career-focused to thinking more about retirement and our “golden years.”
However, the transition isn’t always as seamless as it might seem. While every woman is different, some once-normal topics move to the back of the bus in favor of more relevant and important ideas. After 60, there are some definite stressors that women don’t spend time worrying about. This short list will give you a clue as to what the leading lady in your life is no longer concerned with and why.
1. Adult Intimacy
There are many reasons that women over sixty aren’t concerned about the culmination of physical intimacy. While 90% of men will have some difficulty with arousal as they age, women can also suffer physically.
Issues like genitourinary syndrome and estrogen level problems can arise, which make it difficult for women to be completely comfortable in the bedroom. These issues make adult intimacy in its traditional form much less desirable, and women (and most men) will toss it aside in favor of more desirable intimate connections.
2. Toxic Relationships
Aging can bring on circumstances that we no longer have patience for. We tire faster, and staying out late at night might not be as important. Getting together with friends and family can also create a new dynamic as we age.
Most people start to reevaluate who they spend time with and why. We may take a step back from relationships that feel one-sided. In some instances, those friends or family will start reaching out. At other times, it’ll signal that it was a one-sided relationship, allowing us to let go and move on.
3. The Small Stuff
When we’re young, every little detail must be perfect. The older we get, the more we realize those details don’t matter. It’s the big picture that matters.
Women over 60 know something their younger counterparts don’t. Don’t sweat the small stuff. All those little things that won’t matter in six months, let alone the rest of your life, become insignificant in the grand scheme of life. Family and friends take on a much bigger role, and things like work, petty offenses, and the like cease to matter nearly as much.
4. Judgemental People
As life goes on, you learn that people will judge you no matter what you do. No matter how kind, generous, intelligent, compassionate, patient, or caring you are, you will never please everyone.
As you get older, you’ll start to shake off judgemental people. Realizing you don’t want people to judge you lends itself to not judging others. This new insight means you don’t give your time and energy to people stuck in that destructive cycle of judging others. Women over 60 focus their resources on enjoying people, places, and activities they value. They won’t waste their time on mundane judgments that no one cares about.
5. Disrespect
Women over 60 have no time for disrespect. They’ve lived long enough and earned their place through hard work and sacrifice. They just won’t put up with disrespectful friends, family, colleagues, or even strangers.
When dealing with women who are over sixty, a little respect goes a long way and lends itself to meaningful conversations and genuine interactions. As they say, “You catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.”
6. Negative Nancies
Generally speaking, women over sixty don’t want to allow negative thoughts, negative perspectives, or negative people to influence their lives. When you’ve lived for six decades, you don’t have time to plow through other people’s mental mindset issues.
If you find yourself feeling a bit negative, try to keep it to yourself if you run into a woman in her sixties. She’s likely to tell you how to eliminate your negativity or tell you off.
7. Dishonest Communication
Like disrespect, dishonesty is something women in their sixties will not tolerate. Time becomes a hot commodity as we age, so we don’t like to waste it on inconsequential outcomes.
If you are dishonest, steer clear of the older women crowd. Once they’ve figured you out, they won’t put up with your lies and deceit. Women in this demographic prefer straightforward communication and transparency. They refuse to undermine their relationships with dishonesty and mistrust.
8. Feeling Unappreciated
No one wants to feel underappreciated, and women over sixty are especially sensitive to feeling appreciated. They’ve lived, sacrificed, and clawed their way through life and finally want to rest and relax. They want to delight in the pleasures of a loving family, close friends, and valued experiences.
Having people they care about not appreciate all they’ve learned, taught, or given up to get where they are isn’t fun, and they aren’t going to sit around and take it. By the time women turn sixty, they know their own worth and expect the people they’re close with to rise to the occasion and appreciate their values and motivation.
9. Shallow Interactions
Along with transparency comes the need and expectation for deep, meaningful relationships and connections. Age allows you only so much latitude, and shallow, meaningless interactions aren’t on an older woman’s radar.
If you want to foster genuine relationships with a woman over 60, you’ll need more to discuss than the weather or the latest TikTok craze. Time and energy are valuable to women in this age bracket, and they won’t waste them on superficial matters.
10. Ageism
Ageism is the discrimination of someone solely because of their age. By the time women hit sixty, they won’t tolerate anyone pushing them aside because they’re older. They’ll stand up and demand to be seen and heard.
Whether it’s a new career move, retirement, or a combination of the two, women are constantly reshaping their lives to meet their own expectations. Whether in the workplace, at home, or among the general public, women won’t sit idly by as they’re passed over due to their age.
11. Unsolicited Advice
No one likes unsolicited advice. I read once that if someone doesn’t ask you for advice, shut up. It’s easy to want to share your knowledge with someone you deem to be uneducated in an area. However, women of a certain age aren’t going to tolerate you telling them what you think they don’t know.
They know their truth and will meet any attempt to steer them in a different direction with sure and swift disdain. If a woman in her sixties needs advice, she’ll seek out someone she trusts to provide accurate, valuable insight. Other than that, you’d be better off shoving your foot in your mouth.
12. Money Mismanagement
By the time a woman turns sixty, she’s worked hard for the finances she has. She may have a successful, rewarding career. Perhaps she was a homemaker who supported her partner in their career. Whatever her situation, she isn’t going to handle you mishandling your money.
Women in this age group aren’t sitting around waiting for the next charity case to come along. They’ll give to the people and charities they deem worthy. If you can’t handle your finances, don’t come knocking on their door for a handout because they’ll shut that door in your face.
13. Intolerant People
By 60, most women have little time for those who choose to be intolerant. Race, age, personal beliefs, or gender bias are areas where women in this age group won’t waste their valuable time arguing with you. They’ll smile and walk away.
If you feel strongly about a topic, have an intelligent conversation. However, don’t expect an older woman to listen to a diatribe of your opinions if they are biased or bigoted. Their time is much more valuable to them, and they won’t stand for it.
14. Ignoring Health
As we age, our health becomes more essential and can take center stage if a severe illness has played a part in our health history. This case is especially true for older adults. While statistically, women outlive men, that isn’t always the case. Women over sixty start to evaluate all areas of their personal health. Physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health all combine to create a woman’s interest.
You may find that the woman in your life is shifting her focus from work-centered to time-centered. If she’s looking to maximize her time, she’s going to start focusing more on her overall health because she wants to be around and physically able to enjoy the time she has.
15. Pulled Apart
Most women over 60 know their worth and how valuable their time is. They frequently say no to activities that don’t add value to their lives or are seen as unimportant. They prioritize people, places, and pursuits that bring them joy and personal fulfillment.
Long gone are the days of overcommitment, when women spread themselves thin to satisfy those around them. Now, they emphasize relationships and plans that matter most to them. If it’s not worth investing the time or energy into, women at this age aren’t going to bother contributing to it.
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