You can age gracefully.......

Positively-Speaking.WEB

Let’s face it. We live in a society where youth is celebrated and even glorified, the realization that we have to grow old is well… depressing.People see aging as a negative and as a road to more limitations. On the other hand, aging does not necessarily mean that you have to set boundaries upon yourself. As long as you still have good health, who says you can no longer do the things you used to enjoy before? I see guys in their 60s racing vintage motocross at Barona and they are competitive and having fun.But read on and find out how aging is not a bad thing and how you can enjoy aging gracefully.Wisdom. It has been said that with age comes wisdom. Meaning, the older we get, the more knowledge we gain from life. Now, who wouldn’t want that?Would you want to be 60 and not have anymore wisdom than when you were 20? I’m not saying 20 somethings don’t have wisdom—just that 40 more years of life, you should have learned a few things and don’t need to make the same mistakes again.More lessons learned means more lessons to teach and share.Live Each Day. Now is not the moment to waste your time worrying. You’ve had enough of that during your younger years. Enjoy the present and leave yesterday behind. Prepare for tomorrow but don’t stress over it. Live in the present. There’s no point of wishing you could turn back time because it will never happen.“Unfulfilled lives are lives that haven’t found meaning. Because if you’ve found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more.” If you keep on wishing to go backward, you’ll never get anywhere; instead, you will just grow old and crabby without accomplishing anything.Enjoy Yourself and Your Family. Gone are the days when you have to work double time each day to sustain your family’s needs. Aging just means more time to spend with your husband, your children and, most importantly, your grandchildren.Accept that Aging is Inevitable. Aging is going to happen and no matter what you do and how many surgeons you visit, you still won’t be able to hide the fact that you are getting older. But, what you can control is how you view the lines on your face. Don’t battle with getting old because if you do, you’ll never be happy. You can’t prevent something that is a course of life.Keep a Positive Outlook. Lighten up, aging is not at all that bad. It’s so funny why people get excited when their birthday comes but get depressed upon realizing that they’re getting older again. Come on, just think that you’re just a year older and a year wiser. Having negative feelings toward adding up a year on your age is bad for your health.Researchers from Yale University found out that someone with a more positive outlook of aging lived longer than those with a negative viewpoint.So cheer up and live longer and enjoy this wonderful adventure called LIFE…

Steve is a Ramona resident. Send comments to steve@stevensmith.org.