Centenarians young? What does new research show about the Greeks’ relationship with longevity?

When an overage marathon runner or a 50-year-old student is the good news of the day, we understand that we are living in a very interesting time where age stereotypes are starting to show cracks. By adding years to the average life expectancy, the so-called old age is postponed for some years. But what does this mean for humanity? When do we become and when do we really feel grown up? What additional possibilities do we have today as mature people that we didn’t have before?

The examples of aging athletes are quite indicative of this trend in changing mindsets: Longevity makes sense as long as it gives us pleasure and does not leave us repressed by unfulfilled desires. Fauja Singh, today 112 years old, is the oldest marathon runner in the world, having started running at the age of 89 and continuing to run until he was 100. In Greece, a similarly admirable case is Stelios Prassas, who started marathons at 59 , completing so far, at the age of 92, 32 participations in matches.

NN, having identified these new trends related to longevity, conducted a longevity survey, which revealed that 72 years old is considered old. Our youth gains years by giving us opportunities we once did not have. One of the most important therefore is the deconstruction of age prejudices: In other times, old age may have been an inhibiting factor for the fulfillment of desires, but today the landscape has already begun to change.

As the NN longevity research concludes, if once, in earlier times, people grew up with unfulfilled dreams and repressed because neither their age nor society itself allowed them to pursue them, now they can take the reins and do act as they wish. But in order for this to happen, proper support is required in combination with a properly thought-out design.

In this context, too, a career change is possible even at an advanced age, as long as time and money are invested in further education. Likewise in the case of training: We stay up-to-date and up-to-date in our professional field as we train systematically, following modern trends and new technologies. Even more so nowadays when the footprint of Artificial Intelligence is increasingly frequent, making the need for lifelong learning particularly imperative. For better or for worse, we live in a competitive age, which should not catch us off guard.

It is clear, therefore, that a meaningful and long life is not accidental. It requires courage and an elementary – at least – financial preparation. As the research aptly summarizes, today’s fluidity arms us with the power of change and the confidence to take life into our own hands and define it as we imagine and dream. 69% of Greeks say they are ready to live a long life, with 35% ready to make fundamental changes in their lifestyle. But real success is ensured thanks to the will and systematic planning.

In fact, according to the experts in the field of consulting work, changing the professional rota at any age is an event that can happen either voluntarily or involuntarily. But thanks to tools such as a professional reorientation in relation to the opportunities of the market itself, the unknown can be turned into a true perspective. As a rule, the most successful career change appears to be one that takes advantage of the employee’s experiences and education by channeling them into a different field.

Consequently, by overcoming the societal stereotype about age, we gain the freedom to make the most of our lives. So, if a mother decides to study at university after her children leave home, she can and owes it to herself to do so. Maybe objectively we live in a complex and difficult time, but, from another perspective, it is also privileged because it gives us many years of life and supplies for many and good years of life.

But what is it that ages us or does not age us? The first, effortless answer that NN research gives is: “What we feel”. In general, apart from our physical state, our emotional and psychological state is also important. We are as we “see” and above all, as we feel. And judging by the case of Fauja Singh and Stelios Prassa, we have our whole lives ahead of us to be young.