The Come Alive Project

Blog

  • Energy Bite 363 – The Fourth Quarter

    The most exciting time in most athletic events is during the fourth quarter in football, the last innings in baseball, the last few minutes of basketball, or sometimes, even in overtime or extra innings.  Why can’t the last quarter of life for an active older adult be just as exciting as the last quarter of a football game?  It can be, of course.  There is so much to do today and so many opportunities to take advantage of.

    As the 2020 football season comes to a close and with the Super Bowl approaching, I was reminded of this article I wrote six years ago. It’s as appropriate today as it was then, if not more so.

    Using football as the example, the first three quarters of a game are just the preliminaries.  Then, in the last quarter, when the game is close or tied, the game starts to get more interesting.  The first three quarters are mostly back and forth, up and down the field, with the score either totally one-sided, or close until the end of the 3rd. quarter.  Then it starts to get exciting.

    One team scores, then the other.  It’s back and forth down the field with a seemingly greater emphasis on getting the ball in the end zone quickly.  Often the game comes right down to the last play.  The stadium rocks.  The noise is deafening.  Sometimes the game goes into overtime.

    The same can be said about life.  For many, life is exciting for the first two quarters but then middle age malaise sets in for the third.  For many, the fourth quarter becomes a transition from that middle age malaise into old age atrophy, deterioration and depression.   Sadly, for many of us, that means sickness, bad health, shuffled gait and poor posture. Boredom and depression often leads into dementia and Alzheimer’s.  All too often, we become incapacitated, incoherent, and have lost much of our functionality.  I don’t want that to happen to me and I doubt you want it to happen to you.  So, what can we do about it?  The answer is . . . plenty!

    We can remain healthy, fit, and physically functional, and have a mental clarity and sharpness to go with it.  there is no need to fall into the realm of the “default” senior whom so many of us look to as the definition of getting old or aging.  It doesn’t take a complete overhaul of body, mind and spirit, but a bit of rewiring might be in order.

    For that to happen, you have to do certain things, take certain actions, follow certain rules that you may not particularly like, and get into a pattern of actively experiencing life as it is meant to be lived.  That means you must actually exercise your body, eat nourishing foods, get plenty or rest, breathe deeply, and get some sunshine.  That’s not necessarily easy.  You must actively engage with and participate in life.  The results will be well worth it.  You will be far ahead of your peers, and will live a long, healthy, and independent life.

    Sounds good to me.  Thanks for reading.

  • Energy Bite 362 – Think Yourself Young

    Last week I wrote about perceptions and expectations of aging I’ll add a bit to that with this refresher article from four years ago with an alternate viewpoint on the subject.

    Did you know that research has shown that sometimes the very fear and expectations of getting older could accelerate the process. Maxwell Maltz, author of the famous self-help book from the 1960s, Psycho-Cybernetics, asked the question “Do we sometimes think ourselves into Old Age?” He wrote that in 1960.

    It seems there has been a great deal of research and experimentation on the subject in Great Britain. Marisa Peer, British author of the book Forever Young, cites several studies conducted by the BBC and others that seem to validate that premise. In one study conducted as far back as 1975, two groups of seniors were assembled. One group was put in surroundings simulating experiences in 1959 (music, surroundings, furnishings and language). The other group remained in the present, doing present day things. The group put in the 1959 era came out of the experience feeling younger, acting younger and looking younger. Based on physiological tests performed before and after the experience, some experienced physiological changes showing them to be as much as seven years younger.

    More recent studies by the BBC found similar results. In fact in one recent BBC study, a woman on crutches was apparently able to get rid of them in the middle of the experiment. The BBC has done a number of similar experiments and the results were  much the same in all cases.

    Writers of personal development literature have focused on the power of thought and how it effects the body, for years. Today, medical and psychological experiments are providing serious evidence that changing your thoughts, beliefs and language may:

    • Improve your immune function
    • Make you live longer
    • Change the production of chemicals in your body
    • Make you physically look and feel better (remember, some of the seniors in the BBC experiment actually developed physiological characteristics of a person as much as seven years younger).
    • Change your physiology

    When youthful thinking is combined with exercise, good eating habits, deep breathing and plenty of rest and sleep, you can stay fit, active, and healthy throughout a longer, more youthful feeling life.

    Two other things can help keep your mind young and active. One is cross body exercise where you move your arms and legs across your body from one side to the other. The second is to practice what is known as Neurobics. These are mental exercises which create new neural pathways in your mind. It means trying things you have never done before and doing familiar things differently. It means breaking your routine and changing your habits and using you senses in different ways. A simple example would be to put on pants starting with a different leg first.

    The moral of the story may be to never dress like an old person, use positive dynamic language, and hang around with your grandkids. Do what your grandkids do. Act like they act. If you do young things, you’ll stay young.

    According to Marisa Peer, “To stay younger, change your language, change your thoughts, change your beliefs.”  She said she watched Mick Jagger run around the stage in a concert in Cuba for two full hours at age 75. So she added, “Have a little Mick Jagger in your mind. Don’t give in to aging.” And like Mick Jagger, keep your body moving!

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 361 – Do Not Let Your Age Define Who You Are

    Isn’t it interesting how attitudes can change over a very short period of time. A few years ago, there were a lot of articles in the press about the negative aspects of getting older and how ageism was becoming rampant the way Seniors were being treated. I wrote several articles about how the only way “ageism” can affect us, is that we let it.

    But recently I have seen numerous articles in various publications, praising the concept of aging and showing so much respect for Seniors. But it’s really all about the way WE think about getting older and has nothing to do with how others feel.

    Do you feel inside like you’re getting older? Do you look like you’re getting older? Are you healthy? How you project your age to yourself and how you look and feel in your own mind, is what you project to others around you. Do others think you look and feel old?

    All too often, we let our age define who we are. We look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we are looking older. When we think of ourselves as getting old, we project that message to others through our voice, our posture, our bearing and our attitude about life.

    Do we come across as stereotypically old curmudgeons with an old person’s grumpy attitude toward life, or are we looked at as healthy, vibrant seniors with a vitality and zeal for living our lives? Do you look forward to getting up in the morning, or do you roll over and mentally project how miserable your day is going to be?

    “The effects of the years upon the physical body depend not upon the physiology but the psychology involved.”  — Eric Butterworth, from the book, Celebrate Life.

    Do you think yourself old, or do you have a “Come Alive Attitude” toward your life as it is? Do want to stay like you are, or do you want to try new things and experiment with life? Are you looking forward to your future or are you dreading it? Are you buried in the past or are you willing to accept inevitable change in the real world as time marches on?

    Is your physical body up to the task of living a long and active life, or is it weak, filled with aches and pains, with an mind that is dreary and full of dread.

    Charles Fillmore, a spiritual leader of the early 20th century woke up one morning at the age of 93 and said out loud, “I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm and I spring forth with a mighty faith to  do the things that ought to be done by me.” Now that’s a Come Alive Attitude.

    It’s a matter of self awareness and self-care. By self-care, I mean taking responsibility for your own mind and body and doing something to build and maintain your own health and vitality. Yes, that means exercise and eating right, and every bit as important — is the mental attitude that goes with it.

    So, does your age define you, or do you define your age? In the former, you let life dictate the terms. In the latter, you dictate the terms of both your present and your future. Can you completely control your future? Of course not. You could get hit by a truck tomorrow. Maybe some sort of virus will come along and bring the world to a halt. But you have the ability to take responsibility for your own health and fitness, along with the mindset that encourages you do it.

    It’s up to us to define who we are and how we want the world to look at us. We have the ability to dictate the terms. You know what to do.  Will you do it?

    “Fitness and health is within reach of anyone who wants it. The question is, who will reach?” Jim Rohn

    Thank you for reading.