123: Are You Merely Alive or Are You...Intentionally Alive? (There's a Difference)

Since I frequently write about longevity, I'm in constant search-mode for longevity hacks.

In case you're wondering a "longevity hack" loosely speaking is an idea, a process, or a tip for increasing your aging capacity - hopefully in a way that will improve your life, health, and extend your years.

With all due respect to life-hacks, let's talk about why you might not need a hack but a blueprint instead.

There's nothing wrong with hacking your aging process, but there's something potentially more lasting than reframing how you think about aging, regardless of what decade you're in.

I came across a quote from Aldous Huxley and some related "blueprint-worthy" wisdom in an article that featured Huxley's wisdom-for-the-aging.

"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of a child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."1

It might be more longterm beneficial to your aging journey that instead of investing your time or money in the latest anti-aging trend, you begin to reclaim your childlike enthusiasm for life.

Kids are interesting.

While they occasionally whine about boredom, their youthful, enthusiastic vibe treats most experiences a a first time event.

That would explain the problem of losing your childlike enthusiasm as I discovered in the article referencing Huxley.

"The most profound form of aging isn’t the decay of the body; it is the calcification of the spirit. You don’t lose enthusiasm because you get older. You get older because you lose enthusiasm."2

A more effective longevity hack could revolve around a decision to be intentionally alive instead of being merely alive

Being intentionally alive is, in essence, living life instead of letting life live you.

I agree with Huxley that enthusiasm is the key and that curiosity, loss of control, and keeping your edge are the benefits.

Recover playful curiosity

As we age, we seek reliability, predictability, and efficiency.

Nothing wrong with those conditions but they often come at the expense of your curiosity.

Seeking what's reliable, predicable, and efficient has practical benefits you can count on.

Curiosity, on the other hand, is a wild-west of untested possibilities.

Being more intentionally alive awakens the playfully curious tendencies you might have long since shelved.

It's time to blow the dust off of your curious nature.

Read, watch, or listen to something that peaks your curiosity instead of allowing yourself to scroll and be spoon-fed media.

Get up and go somewhere off the beaten path - outside, out of your routine, off-the-grid.

Give yourself room to think for yourself, not limited to what you've been told to believe about aging, longevity, or personal growth.

Lose control

Rewind to the earlier mentioned concept that children, out of their enthusiastic curiosity, treat their experiences as first-time events.

Adulthood tightens control on experiences, mostly due to a desire for efficiency and predictability.

As I've aged, I'm more focused on a predictable way of life but I can't seem to suppress that childlike desire to explore and expand my experiences.

Loosen your grip on your schedule and your expectations.

Ask "why" more than you assert your knowledge.

Recover your sense of wonder and avoid managing all the details of your life.

Loss of control can seem "dangerous," but healthy aging leaves room for pushing the limits and experimenting with possibilities.

Keep your edge

Huxley's quote in the referenced article isn't a call to childlike immaturity, it's a call to "(the) openness of a child paired with the discipline of an adult." 3

As a card-carrying adult, you must "break the script of your own life." Here's how the writer, referencing Huxley's wisdom encourages you to keep your edge (or "break the script" of adulthood):

• "Apply "(the) Zero-Outcome Rule: Do one thing daily that has no ROI (Return on Investment)...Just pure curiosity!
• Shorten the Distance: Enthusiasm dies in the gap between 'I'm interested' and 'I'm doing.' Children don't 'prepare' to play. They play.
• Follow the Energy Pull: Stop asking what you should do. Ask what is pulling you. Even if it's for (the next) ten minutes."4

As I wrap up, ponder this...

"The risk to life isn't that we eventually die. The risk is that we wake up at 40, 60, or 80 and realize that nothing feels new. Not because the world ran out of wonders, but because we stopped being the kind of person who could see them. We stopped being participants and became the administrators of our own decline." 5

Why be merely alive when you can be intentionally alive?

• Recover your playful curiosity
• Lose control
• Keep your edge

Press on...

Eddie

Source:

1-5 - https://medium.com/illumination-retirement-aging-legacy/most-adults-are-aging-wrong-huxley-knew-why-bda89b24398d