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10 Keys to Healthy Aging
As long as you are alive, aging is not optional; however, as you age, you can choose to thrive. With significant advances in medicine and technology, people live longer, healthier lives than previous generations. In the United States, "Baby Boomers" (Americans born between the years of 1946 and 1964) between the ages of 44 and 62 begin to address issues of aging. They form the largest and fastest growing group of people in the nation. People today live longer, retire later, and have the opportunity to prosper in their "third age" of life. There are 10 Keys to Healthy Aging that can help you age well.
1. Plan ahead: Take care of your body while you are young, so that you can age in a healthy way. Keep your body and mind active. Be aware of your emotions as you age, and consult a counselor if you have difficulty with anger, grief, mourning age-related losses, fear of death and dying, substance abuse or addictions. Plan for your care in the event of disease or disability. This step is the foundational step of the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging.
2. Stay connected: Strong, positive support systems give people hope, encouragement, and help when needed. We all need other people in our lives who care about us and whom we trust to be there when times get difficult. One key predictor of good emotional and mental health is the strength of a personal support system.
3. Maintain an active life: A current trend in aging is to see 50 as the new 30. What a great, positive way to look at aging. Stay active, think young, and find activities to participate in that involve interacting with other people.
4. Communicate: Technology has advanced exponentially over the last ten to fifty years. Take advantage of the Internet to communicate by chat, instant message or email with family and friends. Purchase a laptop computer to keep in touch while your travel from home. Use your cellular telephone to reach family and friends
5. Change careers: You can expect, if you have taken care of your body and mind, to live longer. Once you retire from one career, you can find another career and develop your workplace talents in your other areas of interest. Career changes can be exhilarating and enjoyable
6. Move forward/grow: Be creative, active, and involved. Learning does not end when you get older. You can keep learning and find new interests. Use what you learned over a lifetime, and learn new things as well. Follow the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging. Your brain continues to learn and form new synapses even past age 50. Keep learning to help keep your brain healthy.
7. Stay positive: Maintain or develop a 'sense of humor' attitude toward aging. Life has difficulties, hardships, pain, grief, and losses. However, life can be very funny. Find humor in life. Studies show that laughter is healing. When you laugh, your body produces endorphins that help heal your body, sometimes even helping to heal serious diseases. Stay around positive people; they encourage you and lift your emotions. Write something positive on a note card and post it on each side of your mirror to read, as you get ready to start or end your day..
8. Be Thankful: Find at least three things to be thankful for each day, and write them down. Writing things you are thankful for in a journal will help you look back and remember things that made a positive difference in your life. You can be thankful for life lessons learned, for time you have and had with family and friends. You can be thankful for things you learned at work, and for friendships, you have experienced during your lifetime. Think of things about your health and abilities for which you can be thankful.
9. Turn losses into gains: As you faced life challenges successfully, you became more resilient and emotionally healthy. Face losses in health, stamina, youthful appearance, work, friends, spouses, family members, employment, and so forth with resilience, wisdom, and perspective. Remain positive, even when you experience a loss. Find three things about your loss that you can turn into a positive. For example, if you lose your job, or are forced to retire early, be thankful for time to regroup and perhaps consider a new direction in life. Be thankful if you have retirement funds, as many people do not have a solid financial foundation for their future. Find new interests and activities. Find value in your character and integrity rather than in your looks. Focus on what you can do, not on what you cannot do. Give yourself credit for your accomplishments. If you lose ability to accomplish something that you valued, you can spend time with friends who still participate in the activity.
10. Help others: When you give, you gain. You gain trust and gratitude from others. You gain a sense of respect and worth from helping another person in need. We are all in this (life) together and we need each other to survive and prosper. You can give your time, attention, care, affection, assistance, or something material. All of these gifts give another person hope and encouragement.
By using the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging, you will improve your chances of aging well, and you will help those around you as they face the aging process. The choice is yours. Use each of the 10 keys to move forward into a healthy future.