Do you see aging as a gift? When you can see it as such, the passing of time and the wisdom you’ve gained becomes a gift that keeps giving.

I’m writing this at a time where you may feel burdened and overwhelmed by holiday obligations, but remember that your time and energy are ultimately yours. Consciously choose activities that will give you the greatest amount of joy.

When you are joyful, aging becomes much easier!

One thing to keep at the top of your mind is that your happiness is the greatest possible gift to the universe. When your heart is at peace and balanced, you bless everyone and everything you encounter.

Here are a few of my favorite aspects of aging that bring me happiness and joy. I hope they resonate with you as well:

>> Peace. In addition to my own life, I’ve been privileged to get a view into the lives of thousands of clients, and because of this, I’ve been able to trust the aging process of life.

Through seeing people through ups and downs, and recognizing the concrete gains that come from every challenge, I’ve come to understand that all is perfect in each moment, even if it doesn’t seem so.

In my younger years, all I wanted to get through was the challenges of the present and skip to the “better,” but I now have so much more perspective, bringing me a sense of present-moment peace that I never had before.

>> Confidence. Every year brings greater confidence in my own beliefs and my own path. Many of the small things that used to bring worry have been swept away with the gift of time. What others say about what I “should” be doing or not doing doesn’t make me question myself as it used to.

>> Freedom. We are naturally burdened with the expectations of our families, our workplace, our cultural values and societal influences.

We tend to carry these expectations around with us as internal voices of judgment. Being able to better let go of other people’s expectations has been a gift that time and age has given me.

>> Growing opportunities. The more time that I am given the more I realize how much there is still to do in life to grow and gain. I have learned how much I don’t know. The more I look for opportunities, the more I see possibilities.

We are blessed with life, time and perspective. Age brings sapience and is a gift because of all that we have experienced. It is the gift that can liberate us from the expectations of others.

Most of all, the gift of age helps all of us become more of who we really are.

Our focus defines our reality. Take the time to focus on the positive things that you experience and the gifts aging brings will increase proportionately.

Alice Inoue is the founder of Happiness U. Visit yourhappinessu.com.