People who thrive after 60 usually do these 8 unexpected things

The first time I watched a neighbor in her late 60s deadlift a kettlebell heavier than my grocery bag, I did a double take.

Not because of the weight, but because of the spark in her eyes afterward, equal parts mischief and ease.

Thriving after 60 isn’t a magic gene or a perfect retirement plan.

It’s a mindset and a handful of choices that reshape how you meet each day.

Here are eight unexpected things I see the most vibrant people over 60 doing, and that anyone can start, one small step at a time.

1. Redefine identity like it’s a living document

If your identity is anchored to a job title, a family role, or the city you lived in for decades, change can feel like loss.

People who thrive after 60 treat identity like a series of drafts, not a final print.

Instead of saying “I used to be a teacher,” they say “I’m a beginner ceramicist who mentors teens after school.”

They’re not clinging to what was; they’re authoring what comes next.

In practice, this looks like choosing a fresh label you’d like to grow into, then letting your routines catch up.

Think mentor, explorer, beginner painter, strength athlete, neighborhood connector.

Identity shifts stick when you lead with small actions: two hours a week volunteering, one class a month, a daily sketch.

2. Train for power, not just steps

Walking is wonderful.

But the people who stay springy into their 60s and beyond lift, push, carry, and balance.

They train their nervous system to respond quickly, which means power rather than only endurance.

This approach helps prevent the slow shrink of muscle and confidence.

It also makes daily life easier: getting out of chairs, catching yourself on stairs, hoisting a suitcase, or lifting a grandchild.

The World Health Organization notes that older adults benefit from regular strength work and balance training alongside weekly aerobic activity, because this supports functional ability and reduces fall risk.

Here’s how a simple, joint-friendly power routine can look two or three days a week:

• Sit-to-stand from a chair, then stand on one leg for 10 seconds
• Light kettlebell deadlifts or suitcase carries for 20–40 meters
• A few quick arm presses with resistance bands, focusing on speed rather than strain

Start light, master form, and smile when your body surprises you.

3. Apprentice yourself to someone younger

Reverse mentoring is not just a corporate fad.

It is a fountain.

I have learned more about creative risk from twenty-somethings than I ever did from rulebooks.

People who thrive after 60 intentionally place themselves under the guidance of younger friends, instructors, or colleagues.

Ask the barista how they edit videos.

Let your niece teach you a game she loves.

Take a coding or music-production class where you are the oldest person in the room and wear that as a badge of curiosity.

In the end, this is less about age and more about staying porous to culture.

4. Build “social fitness” on purpose

Loneliness is not solved by sharing a table; it is solved by sharing truth.

Thriving people treat relationships as a practice.

They check in, show up, and allow themselves to be known.

The longest-running study on adult wellbeing highlights this.

Strong, warm relationships predict better health and longer lives, more than money or fame.

This does not mean having dozens of friends.

It means having a few people you can call at 2 a.m., and being that person for them as well.

If connection feels rusty, start with micro-rituals: a Tuesday walk with one neighbor, a monthly supper where phones go in a bowl, or joining an intergenerational book club.

5. Keep a “beginner gig” on your calendar

A beginner gig is anything that makes you delightfully incompetent.

Think improv class, birdwatching, pottery, beginner Spanish, tango, or open-water swimming.

The point is to keep your brain in learning mode and your ego in check.

I return to yoga and breathwork as my familiar ground, then pick one new thing each season.

This year it was sketching people in cafes.

Awkward? Absolutely.

Satisfying? Even more so.

Learning keeps your world elastic.

It also builds humility, the kind that makes you nicer to be around.

When did you last give yourself permission to be terrible at something?

6. Treat emotions as intel, not intruders

People who flourish after 60 don’t label emotions as good or bad.

They treat them as messages.

• A tight jaw might be asking for a boundary.
• A wave of sadness might be asking for a call to a friend.
• A flash of envy might point to a desire you have buried.

This is where mindfulness earns its keep.

A simple daily practice, such as three slow breaths before meals or a five-minute body scan before bed, helps you decode the signals rather than wrestle them.

One line from a book I have been recommending captures this beautifully: “Our emotions are not barriers, but profound gateways to the soul, portals to the vast, uncharted landscapes of our inner being.”

That is from Rudá Iandê’s Laughing in the Face of Chaos: A Politically Incorrect Shamanic Guide for Modern Life.

He is the founder of The Vessel, which is where you are reading this, and I have mentioned his work before.

His insights nudged me to listen to my anxiety as a compass rather than a flaw.

That shift led me to simplify my schedule and protect morning meditation again.

If you have been wrestling with your inner weather, this book might give you a healthier stance.

7. Practice tiny rebellions against convenience

Convenience is lovely until it erases your competence.

Thriving people choose the slightly harder path on purpose.

They carry groceries, take the stairs, fix a wobbly chair, bike to the library, and handwrite a note.

These small rebellions keep skills sharp and self-trust alive.

Minimalism helps here, but not the sterile kind.

Choose the friendly kind that clears the clutter so you can move freely and use what you own.

When you make life a little less cushioned, you rediscover just how capable you are.

There is one more thing to address before we finish.

Convenience floods us with noise.

Saying no politely and consistently is not cold.

It is how you protect the parts of life that truly feed you.

8. Be “usefully selfish” with your energy

People who thrive after 60 say no to the right things so they can say a full-bodied yes to the few that matter.

That is not self-absorption.

It is stewardship.

Here is a simple filter I use when a request comes in.

Will this nourish my health, strengthen a relationship I value, or align with the contribution I want to make this year?

If the answer is no across the board, I respond kindly and let it pass.

Experts who study stress and recovery remind us that recovery is not a luxury.

It is the condition for high-quality work and presence.

And presence is what the people you love actually want from you.

Do not miss this final point.

You do not earn rest only after you have done enough.

You schedule it because it keeps you human.

Final thoughts

A thriving life after 60 is not louder, but it is more alive.

It looks like protecting your mornings, deadlifting a suitcase without fear, swapping tips with a 23-year-old video editor, laughing in a beginners’ choir, and choosing people over performance.

If you are ready to start, pick one of the eight and do the tiniest version today.

Send one text to a friend, do one chair stand, write one paragraph in a beginner’s workbook, or take three breaths before lunch.

Small decisions compound in remarkable ways.

If you want a companion to challenge your thinking and help you be gentler with your inner world, consider Rudá Iandê’s Laughing in the Face of Chaos: A Politically Incorrect Shamanic Guide for Modern Life.

The book inspired me to question old programming and to trust my body’s signals again.

You might find the same spark.

Here is to curiosity, power, and the kind of relationships that keep you young, no matter your birth year.