If every person were to age wisely, the world would be a much better place.
Each one of us, including every child, gets older every day. Those of us who have lived over 50 years have probably learned how to age wisely.
Here are some rules to help anyone age wisely.
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Start with the good stuff
Each morning when you wake up, do you count your aches and pains or do you count what you are gaining by getting older?
When I was thirteen years old, I was a candy striper at the geriatric ward in the local hospital. Some of the patients complained about every ache and pain and others simply smiled cheerfully in the morning. The patients who smiled cheerfully seemed to have fewer complaints about pain and other issues all day. Their blood pressures were lower and they seemed to feel better than their complaining counterparts. They also had more company. No one, including myself, particularly wanted to spend time with the complainers.
So as we get older, we should follow this rule and start with the good stuff each morning, the positives. Starting each day with the positives creates a much better mental atmosphere and sets a good tone for each day of our lives.
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Believe in the possibilities
When you start to do something, do you believe you will fail or succeed?
When I start to write something, sometimes what I write is not worth publishing. Sometimes I have to rewrite several times before my written results are worth publishing, even on my own website. But every time I begin to write, I believe in the possibilities. Every time I sit down and start typing, I believe that what I write will be helpful to others and worthy of reading.
Perhaps as we get older each one of us should believe in the possibilities instead of thinking what we are doing will not work out. If what we are doing is part of God’s plan, it will work out!
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Listening more than problem solving
When someone is talking with you, do you actively listen or do you try to solve their problems?
When we listen to others, we are providing a shoulder to lean on, not a solution to frustrations. The people I call my closest friends all have one thing in common: they are good at actively listening.
As we get older, we should listen to others more than we try to solve their problems.
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End with the good stuff
Before you go to sleep at night, do you think about your worries and concerns? Or do you count your joys and what is beautiful in the world and in your own life?
Why not end each day by recounting what went right that day? Likewise, when we part with loved ones, we need to leave our loved ones with a kind word.
We need to give others and ourselves the gift of good stuff as we end each day and part company, especially as we get older and wiser.
These rules for aging wisely are not just for those of us over 50. They are for every person who is old enough to understand them. If everyone followed these rules for aging, the world would be a lot better place.
Soar like an eagle over life’s storms and improve your life and the lives of those around you by aging wisely.
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Love yourself as you are right now.
Please don’t let anxiety slow you down!
Yes, you and your loved ones can overcome.
Remember that worrying accomplishes nothing good!
Once again B J, you have given us some very practical and important things to consider and apply to our lives. I, like many, fail to follow these important guidelines all the time and I can tell the difference in my life when that happens.