114: Viable Aging is Worth the Search
There's both truth and myth associated with a colorful rainbow that stretches across the sky following or during a rainstorm.
Atmospheric moisture illuminated by sunlight: truth.
A "pot of gold" at the end of it: myth.
No one that I know of has actually searched for the proverbial "pot of gold."
Most would consider such a search to be futile.
I occasionally question the futility of my quest for viable aging and longevity, asking: "how long can I keep doing this?"
I ask that question when I'm on a long run, when I ride my longboard, when I play catch with my grandson, when I do yoga, or when I do anything that reminds me I'm not 25 (heck, I'll give myself credit and up it to 45).
Ageism culture would tell you such activity is "a pot of gold...give it up...act your age!"
I have a colorful response for that but I'll refrain and keep it PG, if you know what I mean.
Aging doesn't mean the search for viability is over, it means you value the effort and the outcome more than you did when you were younger
- Living by your own timeline
- Moving like it's everything (because it is)
- Realizing that longevity is an evolution not an expiration date
Live according to your own timeline
You've been sold an aging timeline that doesn't add up.
Go hard and fast in your 20s, take responsibility and settle in your 30s, act your age in your 40s, wrap it up in your 50s, 60s, and 70s and start talking about the "good-ole-days."
I call BS on that!
Anytime you push yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually beyond your pre-conceived limits or someone else's age-bound expectations you strengthen your timeline's resilience.
It doesn't mean you can or will do more than you could previously but you will debunk the act-your-age lie.
Become an outlier who thrives rather than merely survives.
Reset your timeline according to your own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual standards not culture's.
Monitor the growth of your resilience instead of the decline you're expected to monitor as you age.
Move with intention
Be the first to admit (though difficult at times) that your body at 40, 50, or 60+ isn't the same as it was at 30.
That's reality not a reaction.
And that reality (if you're up for it) requires adapting to experience viable aging.
Aging isn't a stop sign at the intersection between 49 and whatever age you feel inclined to obsess about reaching.
Ageism culture would have you hit the brakes, pull-over to the side of road, park, and turn off the engine or let it idle until you run out of gas.
"Face it," you're told, "if you can't live with as much vibrance and energy as you once did, it's time to dial it back."
"Objects in motion tend to stay in motion...," am I right?
Move to improve yourself not to prove yourself (your body has a way of letting you know when ego is involved).
Move intentionally so you -stay functional, capable, and flexible.
Move like your life and health depends on it (it does) or you'll be forced to depend on something or someone else to do the moving for you.
Embrace longevity as an evolution instead of an expiration date
Consistency outlasts intensity.
Aging proves it's point here.
Your consistency of movement and purpose can remain steady when your intensity slows.
Longevity evolves when you get up, show up, and stand up to what challenges you year after year and decade after decade.
Longevity keeps you curious and searching for new experiences, new knowledge, and new solutions.
Longevity requires you to be strategic - listening to your body, training your mind, allowing for recovery, knowing when to move and when to rest, living for the long-haul instead of the momentary rush.
The search for viability gets better with age - not easier, better
- Live according to your own timeline
- Move with intention
- Embrace longevity as an evolution not an expiration date
Press on...
Eddie