The very idea of Aging-in-Place is misleading!
I’n not sure where the term came from unless it’s one of those new Twitter buzzwords. I came across it when I caught sight of this Tweet the other day. Come on, in reality, is there any such thing as aging in place? I think not.
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The bad news is that, as Jim Morrison wrote long ago, none of us gets out of here alive, notwithstanding Freud’s theory that we all secretly believe that we will be the one that survives our own death. And while I am not amused when there is a lot of attention paid to “the leading cause of death” statements, I am curious about it. As macabre as it may sound, the actual leading cause of death is life. Brains and bodies definitely come with a sell-by date.
The good news is that even though we really can’t prevent aging, we can age well. And we can grow throughout the process.
Living Well is the Best Revenge
I don’t know who originally said that, but I have always loved the quote. What I am talking about here isn’t revenge, yet it is certainly a challenge.
There are many things we can do to counteract some of the effects of aging, but age we will. To promise something else or promote it is misleading. So, what can you do?
- Take care of your brain - the brain is the ultimate use it or lose it organ. Exercise your brain, let it rest, then exercise it again. Do some crossword puzzles. Read a book. Write a book. Use your brain well.
- Exercise and stay as physically fit as you can – It’s never too late to start an exercise program. Start with walking a block if that’s what works. Then two; then maybe a mile. Make sure your doc says it’s okay.
- Use your time well - Every moment is a moment past. Spend it or waste it. Either way you don’t get it back.
- Practice mindfulness - Take time out to be quiet and observe what is happening in that brain of yours.
- Connect with people - of all ages. The brain is a social organ. When you have conversations, connect with other human brains, it keeps both your brain and your body functioning better.
- Know that in life you will worry - You don’t have to take the worrying seriously. It’s just something the brain does. Worried thoughts, angry thoughts, even anxious thoughts aren’t the problem. It’s buying into them that gets you.
- Reduce stress and the effects of stress - They are separate. Stress can only be reduced by changing the way you do things and making choices at to what you will attend to. To reduce the effects of stress, see exercise and mindfulness above. A good book on this is Stress Less and Live More .
- Eat well – Best for health that I have come across is cutting carbs in your diet. I know they all want you to think fat’s the culprit, but the evidence says otherwise. If low-carb isn’t right for you (and it isn’t for everyone), try a Mediterranean Diet. It allows more carbs, but the right carbs.
It all seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? It means getting up off your butt and getting going, but you can do that can’t you?
Today is the day. Go.
(Some of the above links are affiliate related)
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