Growing older is inevitable (if we’re lucky). But letting go of outdated ideas about later-life potential means you don’t have to grow old! Each decade after 50, plan something exciting and then follow up and do it.
At least once a month, engage in a new experience. Go to a new place, try a new kind of food, walk into a room full of strangers and make a new friend or get better acquainted with your computer.
Let go of energy vampires. You know the kind: those who make you feel as though you need an energy transfusion after interacting with them because they’ve drained yours. This includes people you work with, people you live with and people to whom you are related.
Bear in mind, there is to be no violence attached to this act. I have found the more involved I am in other activities, the less energy vampires are able to find me. Choose a method that works best for you.
Dismiss negative stereotypes. It is up to us to as pioneers of aging to define the way the generations coming behind us view the topic of aging. We are not our grandparents – or our parents – so we must be the guides.
Be sure to support your own life force. Make every day an awakening, a new opportunity to grow and change. We don’t have to grow old, but we do have to grow.
What does it mean to age well? For me, facing the fact that my hair is white means I can play with vibrant colours. The gift it has given me is joyful fun and an opportunity to talk to the people it inspires.
If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “Oh, I couldn’t do that, I’m too old” think about the woman I spoke to recently who celebrated her 80th birthday as she finished walking the Camino de Santiago or those who began working out in their 70s and are now running marathons.
While I don’t necessarily suggest inline skating or diving off a high cliff, the possibilities that still await us are abundant.
What are you planning for this next stage of your life? Share your ideas, let’s talk about them.
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Pat Nichol is a speaker and published author. Connect with her at mpatnichol@gmail.com.