Healthy Attitudes Towards Ageing

Marianna Jaross

I loved reading about the L’Oréal catwalk in Paris amidst Fashion Week.

Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson and Andie MacDowell graced the runway: A rewatch of the show (linked below) of them (and others) owning the stage made me reflect on attitudes towards beauty and aging.

Women often get told that we are ‘over the hill’ after a particular age, and there is a whole subset of the internet that likes to talk about women’s diminishing value over time. We are encouraged to look young forever while at the same time being told what we can or can’t do as apparently dependant on our age.

Glow-ups, changes, learning, and expansion can happen at any season of our lives; and is not dependant on how we look, but how we carry ourselves, what we learn, and whether or how we retain our spark.

I have collected some healthy attitudes towards aging.

1.) “It is a privilege to get older.”

I have heard this from a variety of sources, and I think it is an important message for us to hold when we can. Age is a gift that not granted to everyone; and though getting older can bring a new range of challenges, not everyone has this opportunity.

This may help us to pivot towards gratitude and a curiosity as to what comes next, and what we might like to inject into our experience.

2.) Research around neuroplasticity.

It was exciting to be studying psychology at a time where more research was coming out about how our brains can change, grow, and develop over time dependant on our experiences: This gives us optimism for aging because our brains can remain agile and expansive dependant on how we look after ourselves, our experiences, and our commitment to growth and learning.

We are not stuck and set in stone, and age gives us the opportunity to grow and expand.

3.) Your presence is not age dependant.

This comes from witnessing people talk about my grandma and how fabulous she is, irrespective of her age.

She cares about how she presents to the world, prides herself on taking care of herself and her environment, and is still contributing meaningfully to the lives of others.

4.) “Always be the first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland.

The privilege of growing older is to know ourselves — and the different versions of ourselves — more deeply. We can deepen our relationships, follow threads of our interests, and self-express and contribute to the world in new and interesting ways.

When we grow older, we can learn more, be more, and can see who we truly are or can be with the benefit of time. It is how we use it that counts.

5.) “Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest.” — Christian Dior.

Whether you are passionate, building an interesting life, or care about yourself and the world shines through.

The longer you live, the richer and juicier your story has the potential to be. You absorb more of the human experience, you have the opportunity to grow and expand; and our life-force and essence is what can carries us forward as we get older.

From my perspective, there is a way to honour the seasons of our life, and the changes that we go through: The way we live our life, and our zest, is our true marker of beauty.

© Marianna Jaross 2025

Please note: This article is independent of my professional associations and workplace(s).

References

L’Oréal Paris USA, 2025, September 30. Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris 2025 Paris Fashion Week. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2hKjZPwRsA