Are you growing or getting old?

I wonder why when we are little we say that we are growing and from an indeterminate moment the verb changes and to that growing up we call aging.

This moment usually arrives in the decade between 20 and 30 years. What happens at that age so that we stop growing and start getting old? Why is this distinction produced?  Wouldn't it be more natural for our whole life from birth to be a continuous growth?

I think that the first reason for making this separation must be found in biology. We stop growing because at that age, or even earlier, we reach our maximum height as human beings. Growth understood in this way is objective and hardly debatable..

However, at that age, many other things happen not related to physical height that we also relate to growth. At that age we usually make the most important decisions that will shape our future and it is time to assume responsibilities.

With a bit of luck, before the age of 30 we will have mortgaged ourselves and we will have started a family. Ultimately, we will have reached stability. Is this when the change occurs and we begin to grow old? Is the arrival of stability the trigger that triggers our aging?

What is stability?

The dictionary defines stability as follows: "The notion of stability is one that refers to the permanence of the characteristics of an element or of a situation through time, its condition as stable or constant."

And I wonder Is there a possibility of continuing to grow despite having found stability? Perhaps someone thinks that I am mixing concepts. That when I speak of the growth of a child I am referring to their physical growth. And when I talk about the growth of a person I refer to the maintenance of their interests and concerns throughout their life. It is true, they are different concepts. However, I think that the fact that both concepts share the same word is not the result of chance.. I think that the ability to learn and get excited is something common to both terms, regardless of whether you are a child or an adult.

I also believe that this double concept poses a danger by unconsciously making us believe that there is no other possibility of growing beyond the physical body. They have taught us that we stop growing to start aging. However, we continue to grow every time we set a goal. We keep growing every time we learn something new. We continue to grow every time we maintain the illusion to achieve a goal.

And you, do you grow up or do you age?