How Old Are You…Really?
How old are you?
Do you remember being asked this question in our younger years? We loved this question. I am 8 years old we said with pride. Or, better yet, I am 8 and a half. We celebrated half years, and the older the better.
When did this change, and why? I mean, I know why in the traditional sense. We did not want to grow older. So we shut down the celebrations, pushed aging to a back burner, and at times conveniently forgot how old we were. Well, that’s what happened to me.
Then for some we get stuck on an age. I am 49 plus…
And as each year passes we add another year to the plus number. Age is now a math problem. OK, I guess.
May I suggest a new approach to aging? We accept it and embrace it. When we consider the alternative, aging is a pretty good option. Besides, the plus numbers are getting large and more difficult to do the math.
I just got back from a walk and had a timely conversation with a very nice young couple who recently moved into the neighborhood. During the conversation, they mentioned that their (his) 94 year old grandmother lives with them. Shout out to the multi-generational household. We talked about her secrets to longevity and one comment jumped out at me. She is happy. Yes, life has changed. But she is happy to wake up each day, see the blue sky, watch the sunset, and hold her “newish” grand baby. She is happy to be 94.
In my book, I include a conversation about The Blue Zones - the five communities in the world with the longest living people and the most centenarians. The “secret” to their longevity is summarized and called The Power of Nine. Nine lifestyle concepts that are common in all five areas and are given credit for the longevity. But also included in every discussion of the Blue Zones is attitude and optimism. Yes, these people accept the aging process, and embrace the future.
Let’s acknowledge that the aging journey is different for each of us. Ok, but there are so many strategies we can employ to make the journey more enjoyable, and we will talk about them in future blogs (conversations). But maybe one of the easiest, and most effective is our attitude. I don’t want to go all “Pollyanna” on you so I will turn to science. You know me; Mr B science student who loves to quote the scientific research. A 2019 Johns Hopkins study reported that optimistic participants had a 24% increased likelihood of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which lead to better health outcomes, increased happiness and a 15% increase in lifespan.
Here is where I would like to land this conversation on aging and attitude. Let’s go full circle back to our 8 year old self when we were happy and proud of our age. Let’s look forward to our future, and celebrate our past.
Let’s make the most of this aging journey that we are on!
How old am I? I am glad you asked. I am 30 and one half years from celebrating my 100th birthday. More math, subtraction this time. Yikes!
Enjoy your day.
Just a little extra-
Aging is often a conversation we try to avoid. As a result we don’t like to think about it let alone research and talk about it. Well, call me weird, but I am gonna keep doing the research and talking about it in our conversations. I hope you don’t mind. I actually hope that some of you will enjoy, and join me in embracing the journey called aging that we will share together.
References
Rozanski, Alan. March 31, 2024. The New Science of Optimism and Longevity. Neuropsych
Life
Talking to neighbors