Many of us live with a stereotypical view of what it means to get older, we forget our keys in our twenties and put it down to being busy or absentminded but when that happens in our sixties and beyond we are quick to attribute it to being old and we begin to worry about our declining faculties.
We know that we get more of what we focus on and if we tell ourselves that age affects our ability to concentrate and learn new things then we will believe this. Like everything else in life, what we believe is what we become. Of course, there are some of us who will develop illness and become frail as the years go by but, apart from living as healthily as we can, there is little we can do to change that and very little to be gained from anticipating negative life changes. It’s a fact that many of us who are alive today will be blessed with good health and vigour for far longer than our parents and grandparents. It’s important to note that there is little evidence that our chronological age is an inevitable precursor of health issues but, If we believe that it is inevitable that we will definitely decline into ill health then that is far more likely to be what happens.
Negative attitudes to aging is encouraged by the worship of youth which we see all around us and the desire to hold back the years. Everywhere we look we see adverts for creams to reverse the signs of aging or this or that potion to cover grey hair. We aren’t encouraged to accept ourselves as we are and to see beauty in whatever stage of life we are living in right now.
The battle with societal age based prejudice can seem like an uphill struggle and in this era when prejudice and bias are not tolerated when it is focussed on race, gender, disability or any other characteristic it seems like age is still seen as something to be shunned with older people from politicians to entertainers being the butt of jokes. In reality, age is not a barrier to anything it is simply a limitation we put on ourselves.
We can all decide today to continue living our very best lives while we are here, to do exactly what we want to do and refuse to be classified or counted out on the basis of how long we have been on the planet.
As the saying goes, ‘we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing’
The poet Jenny Joseph once said ‘when I’m old, I’ll wear purple’ but I say, why wait?
To find out more about techniques that can support you to develop new, healthier habits why not get in touch on 07772 401 634
Don’t Agonise, Orrganise!