You’re Only As Old As You Feel
There are as many different attitudes about aging as there are people. Years ago, my mantra was “you’re only as old as you feel”. I was 23. It was easy to feel young then. In my thirties, I held stubbornly to the belief that I was “young for my age”—whatever that means.
Fast-forward a couple of decades. In the past year, I have hit many milestones. I earned my MFA while working full time and raising a family. No small or easy feat. But thanks to the support of my husband, I was able to accomplish that goal. Then I hit the big one: I turned 50.
My children threw me a surprise “Over The Hill” party. It was fun, and I took it all in stride. Then my first grandbaby was born in January. One of my children asked me if I felt old. Honestly, no. I felt exhilarated. What a great new chapter in our family!
I never felt old until I went in for my annual check-up. Then I discovered that turning 50 in the medical world meant there were all kinds of tests they wanted to run on me. It was as if turning 50 meant my body was immediately going to fall apart.
Maybe others have observed the same thing. You turn 50, then BOOM! Something triggers that sense of age. Maybe you start wondering if you’ve done anything meaningful in your life. Maybe you wonder what that ache and pain are that you never had before. Or perhaps you have reexamined some of your relationships with friends and family and want to make some changes.
Each gray hair, each wrinkle, is a herald to the passing of time. There is no way to stop it, and maybe you feel like it is time to live more intentionally.
Whatever your feelings, my advice is to not dwell on what the future may hold as the decades whizz by. You can’t cheat death or taxes, but you can cheat the feeling of being old. Here are three tips on how to dodge the feeling that your life is declining.
1. Keep Learning
Nothing sparks the mind and brightens the spirit like learning something new! It awakens the synapsis and makes your brain more alert. While “you’re only as old as you feel” is a trite and cheeky statement, “you’re never too old to learn” rings true. Learn a new piece of trivia each day. By the time you reach the old folk’s home, you’ll be the life of the party. Every party. Chances are you and everyone else will forget the facts you already spouted.
“Anyone who stops learning is old. Whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
~Henry ford
2. Keep Moving
It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s about what you can do. While you may not have the stamina of a teenager, chances are you can get out and enjoy some activity. The important thing is to find an activity you love that makes you have to move. No, not binge-watching on Netflix.
Do it regularly. Be consistent. I know a couple who are in their 80s and have taught their grandchildren to play tennis and challenged them to tetherball. I once told them I wanted to be like them when I grew up. Their reply? “Just keep moving.” You don’t have to be fast or fancy. Just move that body any way you can.
“Age may wrinkle the face, but lack of enthusiasm wrinkles the soul”
~Danish proverb
3. Keep Positive
Feeling your body slow down? Yes, that’s called getting older. I can’t output the same amount of energy I did when I was 18. Thankfully, no one expects me to. However, there are still a boatload of activities I can do.
I suggest making a list of all the things you could do when you were 25. Now make another list of what you can do at 50, or whatever age you claim. Here’s what I found out: I can do everything at 50 that I could at 25. In fact, there are a couple of items on the list at 50 that I couldn’t do at 25. Can I do them as fast or as long? Of course not. But the enjoyment I reap is in no way diminished. In fact, I think I appreciate the things I can do now more than I did when I was just a kid of 25.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
~Mark twain
As we age, we change. That is natural. Don’t look in the mirror and cringe at the wrinkle that mysteriously appeared overnight, or get discouraged by your changing hair color. Your hair isn’t ugly. It isn’t worse. It is merely a change your body is going through. That isn’t a new concept. Your body has been changing continually since conception.
“You’re only as young as you feel” were the words of a young person, ignorant of the process of growing old. I now accept the fact that at age 50, I’m in that in-between stage where I’m too old for Snapchat and too young for Life Alert.
