50 Quotes About Aging That Make You Feel Good About Getting Older

Updated: Jan. 31, 2024

Celebrate the gift of getting older with gratitude (and a sense of humor). These quotes about aging will get you started!

It’s no secret that aging can be challenging. It comes with a lot of life changes (not to mention people making these rude aging etiquette mistakes). Wasn’t it just yesterday that you were doing handstands or running up the stairs? But despite the changes it brings, the truth is that getting older is a gift, and one that not everyone is given. A good attitude makes all the difference in enjoying it. Embrace the process with jokes about aging, then use these quotes about aging to help celebrate your golden years with grace, gratitude and good humor.

And for more inspiration at every stage of your life, check out these inspirational quotes, life-changing quotes and “life is short” quotes to make the most of every moment.

Quotes about aging

Quote about aging by Stanislaw Jerzy Lecrd.com, Getty Images

1. “Getting old is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.” —Keith Richards

2. “Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” —Betty Friedan

3. “Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week.” —Maggie Kuhn

4. “Those who love deeply never grow old, they may die of old age, but they die young.” —Benjamin Franklin

5. “Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” —Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

6. “Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” —Satchel Paige

7. “That’s another great thing about getting older. Your life is written on your face.” —Frances McDormand

8. “Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” —Franz Kafka

9. “I’m just getting older and better.” —Neal Schon

10. “Aging is just another word for living.” —Cindy Joseph

11. “We are always the same age inside.” —Gertrude Stein

12. “It matters not how long we live but how.” —Phillip James Bailey

13. “The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” —Henry Ford

Everything changes with time, but these quotes about change will help you embrace all the life transitions you experience.

Funny quotes about aging

Quote aabout aging by George Burns on watercolor backgroundrd.com, Getty Images

15. “Old age is always 15 years older than I am.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes

16. “You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.” —Ogden Nash

17. “Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” —Larry Lorenzoni

18. “I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.” —Bob Hope

19. “I’m very pleased to be here. Let’s face it, at my age I’m very pleased to be anywhere.” —George Burns

20. “Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long life.” —Kitty O’Neill Collins

21. “Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative.” —Maurice Chevalier

22. “I don’t let my age define me, but the side effects are getting harder to ignore.” —Unknown

23. “By the time you’re 80 years old you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it.” —George Burns

24. “When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day.” —Marty Buccella

25. “Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are a cheese.” —Luis Bunuel

26. “There is still no cure for the common birthday.” —John Glenn

These self-love quotes will remind you to love and appreciate yourself at every life stage.

Inspirational quotes about aging

Quote about aging by Sophia Loren on watercolor backgroundrd.com, Getty Images

27. “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” —Walt Disney

28. “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing.” —George Bernard Shaw

29. “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” —George Burns

30. “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.” —Theodore Roosevelt

31. “Age is not how old you are but how many years of fun you’ve had.” —Matt Maldre

32. “Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!” —Ingrid Bergman

33. “Aging is not about how many years have passed, but how much life you’ve embraced.” —Sophia Loren

34. “Aging is not about losing beauty but gaining a deeper appreciation for it.” —Eva Longoria

35. “The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” —Madeleine L’Engle

36. “Mostly, what I have learned so far about aging, despite the creakiness of one’s bones and cragginess of one’s once-silken skin, is this: Do it. By all means, do it.” —Maya Angelou

37. “My belief is that it’s a privilege to get older—not everybody gets to get older.” —Cameron Diaz

38. “Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, for you shall only live it once. Be comfortable with growing older.” —Louise Hay

These life quotes will remind you how precious a long life is.

Famous quotes about aging

Quote about aging by Mark Twain on watercolor backgroundrd.com, Getty Images

39. “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” —Mark Twain

40. “The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.” —Frank Lloyd Wright

41. “We don’t grow older, we grow riper.” —Pablo Picasso

42. “In the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” —Abraham Lincoln

43. “No one is as old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” —Henry David Thoreau

44. “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.” —Robert Browning

45. “Gravity and wrinkles are fine with me. They’re a small price to pay for the new wisdom inside my head and my heart.” —Drew Barrymore

46. “There’s no such thing as aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” —Céline Dion

47. “It’s a great thing, getting older. You are who you are; you say what you mean.” —Reese Witherspoon

48. “Getting older makes you more alive. More vitality, more interest, more intelligence, more grace, more expansion.” —Jamie Lee Curtis

49. “Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.” —David Bowie

50. “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” —John Lennon

Beyond this list of aging quotes, these strength quotes will help you face the challenges of getting older.