--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The answer to old age is to keep one's…" description: "\"The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/leon-edel-51388_age_the-answer-to-old-age-is-to-keep-one-s-m_2283369.png" --- # The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go… ![“The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis.” quote by Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/leon-edel-51388_age_the-answer-to-old-age-is-to-keep-one-s-m_2283369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/leon-edel-51388_age_the-answer-to-old-age-is-to-keep-one-s-m_2283369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/leon-edel-51388_age_the-answer-to-old-age-is-to-keep-one-s-m_2283369.png) > “The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis.” [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Staying mentally active and living as if life were endless countersages aging; Chekhov built a house while dying, showing purpose. **In simple terms:** Keep busy and live as if time is limitless. Key Takeaway Stay engaged, find purpose. Themes aging purpose mental activity Mood contemplative motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - retirement planning - creative projects - lifelong learning - health care Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance activity with health? - What purpose drives you in later life? A Different Perspective May ignore physical limitations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admired Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admired-chekhov-5338611/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-mind-784207/) [Answer Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer-old-1158609/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy/) [Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chekhov/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Tuberculosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tuberculosis/) ## Related quotes > [“‎TOM!" No answer. "TOM!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!" No answer. The old lady pulled her spectacles down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/tom-no-answer-tom-no-answer-what-s-gone-with-that-boy-i-wonder-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The worst old age is that of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-worst-old-age-is-that-of-the-mind/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“It has been known, for forty years now, that the difference between a noble, upright man and a maniacal degenerate can be pinpointed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-lem/it-has-been-known-for-forty-years-now-that-the-difference-between-a/) [Stanisław Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-lem/) > [You can transform into any character of any age. It's all in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti-haasan/you-can-transform-into-any-character-of-any-age-it-s-all-in-the-mind/) [Shruti Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti-haasan/) > [The age is all in your mind. The trick is keeping it from creeping down into your body. Have a lovely 65th Birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-age-is-all-in-your-mind-the-trick-is-keeping-it-from-creeping/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind it doesn't matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-benny/age-is-mind-over-matter-if-you-don-t-mind-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Jack Benny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-benny/) > [“Age is in the mind, not in calendar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-is-in-the-mind-not-in-calendar/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ The body is most fully developed \[at\] from thirty to thirty-five years of age, the mind at about forty-nine. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-most-fully-developed-at-from-thirty-to-thirty-five-years/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [In my old age, my mind gets more open, and I listen to so many different types of music and I guess that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/in-my-old-age-my-mind-gets-more-open-and-i-listen-to-so-many/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [“Truth is there is not a right or predetermined age for success; only people who finally decide to succeed. Age is in your mind!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauricio-chaves-mes-n/truth-is-there-is-not-a-right-or-predetermined-age-for-success-only/) [Mauricio Chaves Mesén](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauricio-chaves-mes-n/) > [If you are a creative person, then your mind gets sharper with age. My mind is very sharp, and I am happy for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-anand/if-you-are-a-creative-person-then-your-mind-gets-sharper-with-age-my/) [Dev Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-anand/) > [Some people are just so immature, like grow up, act your age & mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-are-just-so-immature-like-grow-up-act-your-age-mind-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With age, the mind grows slower and more wily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/with-age-the-mind-grows-slower-and-more-wily/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [To prove that tuberculosis is caused by the invasion of bacilli, and that it is a parasitic disease primarily caused by the growth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-koch/to-prove-that-tuberculosis-is-caused-by-the-invasion-of-bacilli-and/) [Robert Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-koch/) > [Tuberculosis, starvation, fatigue, and there are many who have no desire to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/tuberculosis-starvation-fatigue-and-there-are-many-who-have-no-desire/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) ## More by Leon Edel > [Of the creative spirits that flourished in Concord, Massachusetts, it might be said that Hawthorne loved men but felt estranged from them, Emerson loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/of-the-creative-spirits-that-flourished-in-concord-massachusetts-it/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [Any biographer must of necessity become a pilgrim a peripatetic, obsessed literary pilgrim, a traveler with four eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/any-biographer-must-of-necessity-become-a-pilgrim-a-peripatetic/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [Henry James joyously engaged in the act of writing. A good day's writing gave him a sense of strength, of control over chaos, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/henry-james-joyously-engaged-in-the-act-of-writing-a-good-day-s/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [The biographer who writes the life of his subject's self-concept passes through a fade into the inner house of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/the-biographer-who-writes-the-life-of-his-subject-s-self-concept/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [The biographer who writes the life of his subjects self-concept passes through a fade into the inner house of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/the-biographer-who-writes-the-life-of-his-subjects-self-concept/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [The secret of biography resides in finding the link between talent and achievement. A biography seems irrelevant if it doesnt discover the overlap between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/the-secret-of-biography-resides-in-finding-the-link-between-talent/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) [Explore all 7 Leon Edel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. 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