As I look in the mirror today, I see a face I’ve known all my life. It’s the one that’s been staring back at me for the past 3.6 decades. When I think about age, I can’t help but realize that it truly is just a number. Sure, I am inching closer to that “middle-age” I’ve heard about forever, yet I hardly feel it. My body is the fittest it’s ever been, my mind is the sharpest, and life is honestly, awesome!
Those that allow age to get them down are fixated on a number that ultimately means nothing. I have friends in their 20s that can barely make it up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I have friends in their 30s who have surrendered to their age (in number) and blame any lack of ability (physical or mental) on it, as if it somehow stripped them of their life-force.
“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” -Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
I happen to know a 104 year old nun who hops out of her chair and throws her arms up each time I visit with her. She is so full of life and love. When I asked her what advice she could give me about staying young, she simply smiled and then pointed to her face.
The point here is, you can feel as young or as old as you’d like. You always have a choice. There are no doubts that certain things are beyond our control, although that does not mean we have to submit to how we “should” feel about any of it. Rather, we make the conscious decision to feel how we want, anytime and at any age.
BestGentleman’s Fountain of Youth:
1. Laugh as much as you can, even when life gets tough.
2. Learn to manage stress! We all have it in some form or another, but getting a handle on your responses to it will keep you looking and feeling young.
3. Open yourself to love.
4. Breathe.
5. Stretch.
6. Stay/Get active.
7. Focus on nutrition, not diet. Eat that cupcake, just not the entire box.
8. Find your passion(s) and live it/them.
9. Give to others without the expectation of reward.
10. Hang out with younger people.
11. (Bonus) Think less about your age, and more about how you want to feel.
The destination is the same for all of us, so spend your time enjoying the journey. If you need a little help or some more encouragement, e-mail me: [email protected] I would love to hear from you
By Nicholas Lucin