Embrace Aging with a New Perspective

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love.” – Sophia Loren

When you think about aging, what comes to mind?  Do you think of memory loss, wrinkles, physical decline, and slowing down?  These are common perceptions in our culture, but it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Positives of Growing Older

Consider some positives about growing older:

• Wisdom and Experience: You’ve accumulated decades of knowledge and insights that you can share with others.
• Stability and Reliability: You’ve become a dependable and trustworthy mentor and role model.
• Freedom and Leisure: Your income is likely stable at this point, and you do not need to work like you did in the past, giving you more options.
• Community and Family Contributions: You provide support and care to younger generations.
• Resilience and Adaptability: Your life experiences have taught you how to overcome challenges.
• Meaningful Relationships: You’ve cultivated a lifetime of meaningful relationships and connections.

What You Can Do

Here are some steps you can take to make the most out of aging:

• Mindset Shift on Aging: Be mindful in your thinking, speaking, and beliefs about health.  Check out Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility by Ellen Langer.  Here is a blog post about it.
• Widen Your Social Circle: Spend time with younger people.  As Jim Rohn said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
• Be a Lifelong Learner: Continue learning new things, reading, and growing. Use it or lose it!  Limitless by Jim Kwik is a great read on this topic. 
• Cultivate a Healthy Lifestyle: Remember what Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Start NOW to eat well, move regularly, sleep adequately, and manage stress.
• Reimagine Retirement: Work can give purpose; find something you love doing and don’t stop doing it.

Find Inspiration from Outliers:

• Gladys Burrill (Marathon Runner): Known as the “Gladyator,” she completed her first marathon at 86 and set the Guiness World Record for the oldest female marathon finisher at 92.
• Mick Jagger (Founding Member of The Rolling Stones): At 81, he continues to tour and release music, running up to 8 miles a day.  Search online for “Mike Jagger running on stage 2024.”
• Barbara Hillary (Explorer): Reached the North Pole at 75 and the South Pole at 79, becoming one of the oldest and first African American women to reach both poles.
• Yuichiro Miura (Mountaineer): Climbed Mount Everest at 70, 75, and 80. Became the oldest person to summit Everest at the age of 80 in 2013.
• Nola Ochs (College Graduate): Graduated from college at 95, becoming the world’s oldest college graduate in 2007.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (Author): Published her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, at 65.
• Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses – Painter): Began painting seriously in her 70s.
• Betty White (Actress): Held the Guiness World Record for the longest TV career for a female entertainer and continued to entertain until her death at 99.
• Harland Sanders (Founder of KFC): Founded Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 65.
• Ernestine Shepherd (Bodybuilder): Began bodybuilding at 56 and competed in bodybuilding in her 70s and 80s.
• Gladys McGarey, M.D. (Mother of Holistic Medicine): Born in 1920, Gladys published her book The Well-Lived Life: A 103-Year-Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age in 2023. She continues to mentor and speak at conferences, and you can find her on social media talking about her 10-year plan. In her book, she encourages embracing aging and focusing on becoming better with time.  Gladys encourages us to shift our perspective from “compensating for lost or weakened capacities” to “getting closer to embracing who we are meant to be” so that each year connects us more to our purpose.  I highly recommend reading The Well-Lived Life!

What has this inspired you to do?

If you’re feeling uneasy about some aspect of aging, try EFT Tapping with me in my Worried About Aging video on YouTube.