Yet some quietly keep breaking the rules of ageing every single day.
Instead of shrinking their lives, they keep expanding them: testing new tools, new places, new ideas. Far from being “young at heart” as a cliché, they show in very concrete ways that growing older can also mean growing braver, sharper and more generous with experience.
Age is just a number… until it isn’t
Chronological age sits neatly on paper. Real age shows in what you can still do without help, and in what you still dare to attempt. At 70, many people are managing health conditions, caring for a partner, or living on a tighter income. Continuing to push against that gravity takes something extra.
If you’re still learning, moving, deciding and connecting on your own terms at 70, you’re functioning in a rare category.
Researchers sometimes talk about “exceptional ageing”: people who stay remarkably capable and engaged well into later life. They are not superheroes. They just keep doing a handful of difficult, very human things that many others quietly abandon.
1. Keeping up with technology
For anyone born before colour television, the pace of digital change can feel brutal. New smartphones, online banking, two-factor authentication, streaming platforms, telehealth portals: each update demands fresh mental effort.
Plenty of people in their 30s feel overwhelmed by it. So when someone in their 70s is still installing new apps, joining family group chats, or updating their devices, that says something powerful about mindset, not just skill.
Using technology at 70 is less about gadgets and more about refusing to be pushed to the sidelines of modern life.
Older adults who stay digitally connected are less isolated, communicate more with relatives, and have easier access to services and information. They can compare medical advice, manage finances online and participate in debates rather than watching them from a distance.
Small tech habits that signal unusual adaptability
- Booking travel, medical appointments or tickets online without help
- Using video calls to speak with relatives abroad
- Trying new apps instead of clinging to an old device “until it dies”
- Recognising online scams and adjusting privacy settings
None of this requires being “good with computers” in the traditional sense. It requires patience, curiosity and a willingness to feel clumsy for a while, which many people avoid as they get older.
2. Staying physically active
There is a quiet difference between walking because you have to, and moving because you want to. At 70, joints protest, energy dips, and social messages suggest you should sit down. Pushing against that drift is hard work.
People who keep up regular movement at that age often do more than just prevent stiffness. They preserve confidence. Being able to carry groceries, climb stairs, garden or dance maintains a sense of capability that medicine alone cannot provide.
Consistent movement after 70 is less about fitness goals and more about protecting independence day after day.
Walking groups, tai chi in local parks, water aerobics and light strength training all show up repeatedly in research as powerful protectors against falls, depression and frailty. The remarkable part is not that those activities exist, but that someone chooses them three or four times a week while friends of the same age stick to the sofa.
3. Following the news with a critical eye
Scrolling headlines once a day is easy. Truly following current affairs at 70 is harder. It means tracking elections, scientific updates, cost-of-living shifts and global conflicts, then weighing them against decades of lived experience.
That effort creates a kind of civic literacy that younger generations often underestimate. A 72-year-old who still reads, watches and listens across different outlets, who checks sources and questions simplistic narratives, is doing substantial mental work.
Staying informed at 70 signals that your curiosity about society has not retired, even if you have.
Older adults who keep up with the news tend to vote at higher rates, contribute to community debates and provide historical context in family discussions. Their perspective can act as a stabilising force in an era of viral misinformation.
4. Travelling alone
Solo travel is often marketed to 20‑somethings seeking themselves in hostels. The quiet reality is that more people in their 60s and 70s are boarding planes alone, with a small suitcase and a carefully folded itinerary.
At that age, travelling without a partner or group means negotiating airports, managing medication, navigating unfamiliar public transport and, crucially, dealing with the “what if” questions that many prefer not to face.
A 70‑year‑old boarding a solo flight is not chasing youth; they are asserting that their life story still has new chapters.
They might visit grandchildren on another continent, join an educational tour, or rent a small flat abroad for a month. The common thread is autonomy. These trips require planning, problem-solving and flexibility, all of which decline if rarely used.
Simple precautions that make solo trips realistic at 70
- Sharing itineraries and emergency contacts with family or friends
- Keeping medication, key documents and a change of clothes in hand luggage
- Choosing accommodation near public transport or key services
- Taking out travel insurance that accounts for existing conditions
The psychological payoff can be large: each successful journey reinforces a sense of competence that spills into everyday life back home.
5. Accepting change instead of resisting it
Moving house, changing doctor, losing a spouse, adapting to new neighbourhoods or different family structures: past 70, change can feel relentless and rarely voluntary. Many people respond by clinging rigidly to routine and old beliefs.
Those who manage something different — who downsize without bitterness, try new hobbies, or adjust opinions when presented with new evidence — show a kind of emotional flexibility that psychology links to better mental health.
A flexible 70‑year‑old is not someone who never struggles with change, but someone who stops fighting reality long enough to build a new version of life around it.
This doesn’t mean welcoming every upheaval with open arms. It means gradually rebuilding friendships in a new town, attending a bereavement group, or learning to live with assistive devices without feeling defeated. Each adjustment is a quiet act of resilience.
6. Learning something genuinely new
Brain scans show that learning keeps neural networks active, yet many people unconsciously role‑play the idea that serious study belongs to youth. At 70, signing up for a language class or picking up a musical instrument goes against that unwritten script.
Universities, community colleges and online platforms see a small but steady stream of older students. They struggle with unfamiliar interfaces, long reading lists, or stiff fingers on piano keys, yet they turn up again the next week.
Choosing to learn at 70 is a quiet statement that growth has not been handed over to the next generation.
Learning can be modest: a short course on photography, a weekly philosophy group, or local history sessions at the library. What matters is the discomfort of being a beginner again, and the willingness to tolerate that feeling rather than retreat into what is already known.
Examples of late-life learning that pay off
- Language lessons before visiting a country long admired
- Basic coding classes to understand grandchildren’s interests
- Financial literacy workshops to manage pensions and investments
- Art or writing groups that turn memories into creative projects
Each new skill adds structure to the week, introduces fresh social contacts and reinforces a sense of progression not defined by medical appointments.
7. Keeping a genuinely positive outlook
Ageing brings real losses: friends and partners die, bodies slow down, plans shrink. Against that backdrop, relentless cheerfulness can feel fake. Yet some people manage something subtler and more powerful: a grounded optimism.
They acknowledge grief and frustration, but they also notice what still works: a good conversation, a pain-free morning, a grandchild’s message, a neighbour dropping off soup. This habit of attention shapes mood, and mood shapes health outcomes.
A positive 70‑year‑old is not someone untouched by hardship, but someone who continues to look for reasons to participate in life.
Studies have linked optimistic attitudes in later life with reduced risk of chronic disease and better cognitive function. It may be that people who feel life is still worth investing in are more likely to exercise, take medication correctly and maintain social ties. Over time, those tiny decisions accumulate.
What makes these seven abilities so rare
None of these actions — updating a phone, going for a walk, reading the news, taking a class — sound dramatic in isolation. Their rarity comes from the context. At 70, they take place against a backdrop of fatigue, grief, financial constraint and subtle social pressure to “accept your limitations”.
| Ability | Main barrier at 70+ | Quiet benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Tech use | Fear of making mistakes, rapid change | Staying connected and informed |
| Activity | Pain, low energy, bad weather | Maintained independence |
| News engagement | Information overload, cynicism | Civic influence and mental stimulation |
| Solo travel | Safety concerns, logistics, anxiety | Reinforced autonomy |
| Accepting change | Fear of loss, nostalgia | Emotional resilience |
| Learning | Fear of looking slow or “too old” | Cognitive reserve and new connections |
| Positive outlook | Real hardship, loneliness | Better health behaviours and quality of life |
People who maintain several of these habits at once are not just beating a few odds. They are building a layered protection against decline: physical, emotional, social and intellectual. Each strength reinforces the others.
How families and communities can support this kind of ageing
Exceptionally active 70‑year‑olds rarely act entirely alone. Often there’s a supportive network in the background. A grandchild who patiently explains a messaging app. A local council offering affordable fitness classes. A book club that welcomes older members without condescension.
Small choices around them matter: inviting older relatives to events involving travel, not automatically assuming they “won’t manage” a tech task, or listening seriously to their views on politics and culture. These gestures signal that participation is still expected, not optional.
The more a society quietly expects its older adults to stay engaged, the more of them will meet that expectation.
For those approaching 70, the message hidden in these seven abilities is unsettling but hopeful. Exceptional ageing rarely arrives as a sudden gift. It grows from everyday decisions in your 40s, 50s and 60s: walking a bit more, learning one extra skill, staying curious when a new device or idea appears instead of dismissing it.
No one can control their health entirely. Yet continuing to do these demanding, quietly defiant things at 70 shows something that statistics struggle to capture: a stubborn commitment to live as an active subject, not a passive object, in your own later years.
