Never thought I would be feeling old, but on occasion I do now. I think there are 3 important things to do to stay happy as you are growing old.
1- treat every day as a gift. 2- strong self discipline regarding exercise & diet. 3- keep an adventerous spirit.
Treat every day as a gift. First off there aren’t that many more days left, so squandering one is a bad idea. But more importantly it is so easy as you get older to view things cynically and to remember old wrongs or to be bitter about something that happened yesterday. Blow those bad thoughts away, they don’t matter and they will just drag you down. View your glass as half full, not half empty. Let disappointments and problems bounce off… they are not worth the worry… who cares what other people think of you? So start every day with a resolution to laugh often and love much!
Strong self discipline. When you are young, your body is so forgiving of abuse. It bounces back quickly from almost anything you throw at it. It also helps that you are growing and burning up calories like mad. As you age, your body becomes less forgiving & a few extra calories become fat instead of another inch of height. Eating less and exercising more is often the toughest tasks of the day. No one but yourself to provide motivation & somehow it seems like the smallest slip up, has big penalties. For me, a key part of maintaining this discipline is to get on the scale every morning. Seeing the feedback on my weight every day is a real motivator. Yes I can feel it. Yes I can notice when my belt is tight. But nothing is quite a stark as having those numbers flash in my face. My biggest struggles come when I stop getting on the scale.
Spirit of Adventure. It is so comfortable to continue doing what you have always done. See the same people, use the same tools, go the same things, etc… It is scary to try new things. As a youngster most things are new & so experimenting and exposure to new things is very natural. As you age, you have experienced many things, your tastes are pretty clear… so you tend to do the same things & get comfortable with this stable world. But that is a sure way to an unhappy life. Adventure doesn’t mean expensive or exotic things. It means trying new computer applications. It means trying new ways to travel or reaching out to make new friends. But the first step is to say that adventure is good for you and to seek out the road you have not traveled before. To find people that are different from you or disagree with you. Keep reaching out to expand your world… because if your world is not expanding it is shrinking.
So happiness is there for the taking, but it takes more effort as you get older. Following these 3 steps should do a lot to put you on the road to enjoying your advancing age… not to mention thinking about your age even less.