A recent HAVAS Prosumer report caught my attention with a fascinating finding. It revealed that 50% of Prosumers globally would like to be 20 to 29 year olds forever, while another 35% want to be 30 to 39 year olds forever. This made me pause and reflect. Do we really want to be young forever? What is it about youth that appeals to us so much? Is it the seemingly unbounded energy? Is it the overflowing optimism and drive to succeed where the sky is the limit? Or is it simply the absence of physical challenges, the freedom from aching knees and backs, and the relief from regular medical checkups and laboratory tests? I do not know for sure. All I know is that we clearly favor being young over being more mature.

If I were being honest, I would probably fall in the same group. If someone asked me today what age I would like to go back to, I would also say my 20s. That time was filled with explorations and experiments. That time was filled with solo travels and adventures. Some of those experiences resulted in great joys, while others led to broken hearts and tear-filled nights.

When I was in my 20s, I ventured out of the Philippines to live in Vietnam. I headed a media department and became the youngest country manager for a global media planning company. I started poring over financials and corporate budgets in addition to looking at media and advertising strategies. Then I moved to Singapore where I was given a more challenging role. During this time, I met good bosses and not-so-good ones. Post-work would see me at the bar drinking with colleagues and newfound friends. Weekends were filled with adventures that I would not do now. My 20s were fun, exhilarating, and filled with possibilities.

But do I want to stay 20-something forever?

While I did enjoy being in my 20s, and while I do want to experience that age again, I do not think I would like being 20-something forever. Sooner or later, I feel I would get bored with the things that 20-somethings do with their lives. There comes a time when settling down becomes appealing. Slowing down the tempo of life becomes attractive. Simply relaxing and letting go of the race to the top becomes even more compelling than all the adventures and experiments of my 20s combined. The constant striving, while thrilling, can also be exhausting. The need to prove yourself at every turn eventually gives way to a deeper sense of purpose and contentment.

I think being 50-something is as good as any age. It is, I am beginning to feel, as good as being 20-something, 30-something, or 40-something. Surely, visits to medical laboratories to check in on my numbers and visits to doctors are more regular now. Being out of breath after a short burst of exertion in the gym has become more normal. But I would not trade this age for anything else. There is a wisdom that comes with lived experience. There is a clarity that emerges when you have seen enough of life to know what truly matters. There is a confidence that is not rooted in bravado but in genuine self-knowledge. These are gifts that only time can bring.

The challenge for me now is to continue living my life as an adventure driven by a sense of curiosity and a sense of wonder. Continuing to live life meaningfully, albeit more slowly, is the key. Living life in contribution to others makes it even more purposeful. Whether that contribution is to my family, my team, my office colleagues, my compatriots, or my country, it gives life deeper meaning. After all, that is what makes life worth living.

Age is just a number, but how we choose to live at any age defines who we are. I may not have the boundless energy of my 20s, but I have something perhaps more valuable: The understanding that every age brings its own unique gifts — and the wisdom to appreciate them.