Never Too Old

"Age is a matter of feeling, not of years." - George William Curtis

There are times we tell ourselves that age is a limiting factor. We may tell ourselves that we are too young to accomplish things. Later in life we might say that we are beyond our time. Some will say that you can not teach an old dog new tricks.

If we feel that age has taken over and we are unable to keep up with the demands of being successful, than we have given in to old age.

The following video gives a glimpse into someone that is not "giving into" old age. She is a remarkable woman and.... I'll let the video explain.



Live life to its fullest and never let age get in the way of achieving what you want in life. Believe in yourself whether young or old. For while you live in the natural, there is still time to achieve great things.

Stay inspired my friends!

Acting Our Age

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." -Mark Twain

Theodor Seuss Geisel, American writer, poet, and cartoonist who was most famously known under his pen name, Dr. Seuss, wrote a book called You’re Only Old Once. The story makes you laugh as you follow one man through his checkup with the experts at the Golden Years Clinic.

If you have ever been through a battery of medical tests associated with growing older, this story will certainly lighten your mood. It really brings to light that we take growing old much too seriously. The aging process is not meant to be dull or even dreaded.

The AOA or Administration On Aging (yes, a U.S. government office) indicates that in 2009, persons 65 years or older numbered 39.6 million. This amounts to 12.9% of the U.S. population or one in every eight Americans. This number is estimated to rise to 72.1 million by 2030 or nearly 20% of the population.

Of course you will notice that marketing people are taking notice of this. The advertisements you see on television to make you look younger, act younger and be younger are on the rise. But I say, embrace the aging process, enjoy the fact that you have made it this far.

Do not get me wrong. I am not saying "act your age" at all. What I am saying is enjoy your age while laughing, planning, dreaming and looking forward to a hundred more years of life. The end always comes too soon no matter what age we are.

I have been known to act older than I am, like a child at times and exactly the age that I am. The point is that we should not use age as a limiting factor. Our attitude should never grow old. It should be fresh and looking forward. Whether 50, 70, or 90 years of age, I always want to be looking forward to the next fifty years.

Stay inspired my friends, regardless of your age.

My Aching Attitude

"Grow old with me! The best is yet to be." -Robert Browning

So there I was sitting in the Orthopedic doctor's office, waiting to hear the news. This particular doctor had once been a team physician for the New York Mets baseball team. There was confidence in my mind but nervous about what the results might be.

My left shoulder had been having increasing pain over the course of two to three months. Normally I would not think much of it but worse and worse it became. The pain becomes nearly unbearable when trying to sleep at night should I happen to roll over onto it. Think of sleeping quite nicely and then having someone drive a pointed stick into the area of your collarbone. Ouch!

My doctor said that normally that is the point at which people finally come in. The point in which sleep is disrupted. Go figure!

I sat in the examining room and thought of all those sports injuries it could have been. While I am not an athlete, oh well it could be. Anyway, a tear, a cracked bone, some abnormality that defies logic? I can see the sports headlines now, "Primm out with Rotator Cuff - Blog put on Hold." What would all my fans do?

The doctor came into the room and ran me through a few more mobility tests, looked at pictures of my shoulder and always in the inevitable "hmmm" sound. "Give it to me straight Doc, I can take it. Am I out for the season?"

His diagnosis? Normal, common everyday AC Joint Arthritis. As a person becomes older and uses the shoulder, normal wear and tear, or degeneration, of the cartilage takes place in the joint. Common in middle age people. "Wait a minute, did you say as people become older?" I asked.

That is correct, I am just like you and millions of other folks that have this thing called "aging." For some reason I got to thinking it probably has to do with that AARP membership card I sent in earlier this year. But no getting around it, I am simply growing older like everyone else.

I really can not complain though. My body might be trying to show signs but my mind is fresh and not nearly as old. Some may call that immaturity, but I think of it as never getting too old not to enjoy the life I have. There are people that have and are going through much more difficult physical challenges, (cancer, major injuries). So I thank my God for the good health that I do have.

While we each may be getting older, complaining about it will not make it go away. We need to enjoy our lives to their fullest possible given our circumstances. Some are better than others but it isn't a comparison. It is about you and what you feel about your life. You dictate how happy your life is by choosing to be happy.

There are those that will say, "Sure, that's easy for you to say." And they are partially correct in that assessment. I don't have a debilitating disease nor am I fighting through anything worse than a sore shoulder. But what I am doing is working on my attitude. Training myself to change any negative thinking into positive thinking.

The time may come when my aging body gives me a bigger surprise. But if I have exercised my brain, my thoughts, properly than I will be better prepared to deal with the physical changes. In many ways there are only two choices we have, "Get busy living, or get busy dying" (The Shawshank Redemption - Andy Dufresne).

Stay inspired my friends.

Ageless

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" ~Satchel Paige

Our family has a Fox Terrier named Snickers but also goes by the Twitter pseudonym of @nacholibredog. This dog is full of energy and excitement when the time is right. Her rapid movement reminds me of those videos in which you are walking slow but the whole word is moving at lightening speed. It can be a real whirlwind of excitement.

What I managed to do the other day though was to start chasing our dog around the house. Up the stairs, around the dining room table and back. The burst of activity caught up to me faster then it would have a nine year old. But even at my age, I still felt like a nine year old during those moments.

Age had nothing to do with the fun during those moments. I did get a reminder of my age, but it won't deter me from doing it again. I continue to float between many different ages. It comes down to trying to have an ageless attitude.

It sounds like wishful thinking but it does work. Just because you may age in terms of years, your mind can have limitless dreams. An article about aging in Forbe's indicated that "only 1% considered age a barrier to achieving their goals." This tells me that the mind wants to continue doing all that it can regardless of our physical age.

All of this comes with the inevitable need to maintain a healthy level of weight, exercise and many of those other aspects to keep your health. But it also takes the right kind of attitude. If you think you are old and act like you are old then chances are you will live life old.

Does all of this mean we will live forever? Of course not, the cycle of life has its hold on us.

Does all of this mean we will be forever youthful? Of course not, the body physically ages.

What it does mean is that you can live an ageless life with the attitude that you carry inside. Your attitude about life can generate a great life beyond the physical aging. Your attitude can carry you further then you might expect.

Try changing your attitude about your age. Change the way you live.

Living Older, Better

I learned today that my friend Dean Sweetman is taking his vision of the Wheel of Life into a book. It takes a look on how to balance your life so that you can improve and experience a great life. When I am able to, I'll make sure that I give everyone a link to the book.

As often happens when I begin to work on each of my blogs, one thing leads into another and knowing that Dean is writing his book, a recent article came to mind. This particular article was written by Dr. Tedd Mitchell. Just a short but relevant article providing advice for those of us that are growing older or are of an older age.

He provides these following habits that if followed can improve your longevity and quality of life.

- Stop smoking. It's a big health threat.
- Exercise to keep your body strong.
- Nourish yourself with proper nutrition.
- Involve family members and friends in your health care.
- Observe follow-up orders; partner with a doctor for preventative maintenance.
- Read to stimulate your brain.
- Sleep to rejuvenate your body and recharge your batteries.
- Regularly practice safe driving skills.
- Understand your medical condition(s) and any medications.
- Lose weight. Longevity is associated with light body weight.
- Ensure good vision and hearing through regular eye and ear exams.

With there being so many of our loved ones including ourselves living to an older age, let us enjoy that older age in good health.