You, I, all of us are growing steadily older. It is a simple fact of life. And I’ve gotten the feeling that many of us are not all that happy about it, at least not on a personal level.

I mean, it’s quite alright for our grandparents to have been old. They WERE old.

Even our parents succumbed to much of the things we seem to fear most in aging. Then again, they didn’t have many of the choices we have now.

But as those of us in our 50′s and 60′s are quick to point out: We’re in the middle of midlife – which is a far stretch from anything we ever pictured as OLD.

In fact, as long as we control the culture and the purse strings, we may never be old! (At least, not in our Boomer-ized picture of the world . . which is all that matters . . to some of us.)

And many will do their damnedest to see that things stay that way.

Yep, a great deal has definitely changed over the years. And foremost among those changes is the simple fact that aging – that once natural process we counted on to carry us from one stage of life to the next and the next – has become the enemy.

In fact, aging has become ENEMY NUMBER 1 to an ever-growing number of middle-aged adults, and seemingly must be battled from every possible angle and portal.

But why, exactly?

Do we hate aging? Or, do we fear it?

Or, do we so fear the unknowns our aging holds for us that we hate it on general principle?

Or, do we so fear where it is taking us – to the land of OLD – that we’re pre-programmed to hate it, and to fight its every intrusion into our middle-aged lives?

Personally, I don’t know.

What I do know is that whatever else we have to say about aging, two things are certain:

1. Ours is a culture of and about youth (hence our issues with “OLD”); and

2. OLD has little to recommend it according to our general scale of values.

The sad fact is that we fail to recognize something else that is just as important:

1. According to the 2000 Census, more Americans are older than ever before; and

2. The United States has one of the most rapidly aging populations in the world.

That means, like it or not, that all of us in our middle years are heading for OLD.

Like I said before, it’s kind of how life works.

So, here you are.

In your middle years;

Doing what you and your body were made to do (i.e., aging, growing older);

Determined to fight it every step of the way.

After all, this is America . . land of the young and the free. (The Constitution says nothing at all about having to succumb to the ravages of age . . the hard of ending up OLD.)

There must be options, right?

You bet!

So how does one go about staying young, no matter – or maybe in spite of – their age?

It really isn’t as difficult as you might think. But you have to break things down just a bit more to get where you want to go.

What Do We Mean By “YOUNG”?

First, no one can blame you for wanting to stay young. Young is great! In the best of all worlds, young is healthy. It’s vibrant. It’s alert and moving. It challenges the status quo. It’s everything “OLD” is not.

The thing is, though:

In order to wrap our minds around the possibilities for staying young, we first have to figure out how old young is. Is young 15, 25, 50, or maybe even 70 on a good day?

How old is young in your picture of the world?

If you don’t know where you’re aiming, it’s kind of hard to get there.

Next: Does the “Young” you seek have an entirely physical frame of reference? The whole anti-aging movement grew up around the desire to keep our bodies healthy, young-looking and young-feeling. (Of course, like many other things, it was blown out of perspective. But the premise was a good one.)

Is your goal to keep your body young . . to keep it from aging and breaking down as we so often see happening in those we love? (If you never cared about your body before, and have fully abused it over the years, good luck with that.) Of course, any time you start is better than never. Luckily, our bodies are fairly forgiving.

Next: Is it possible the image you hold of “Young” has nothing specific to do with age at all? Is your definition of “Young” a state of being, or a frame of mind? And, if so, how does that differ from your opposite definition of all things “OLD”?

Then again: Is “Young” something completely intangible for you? Is it a feeling? Is it a world view? Is it a self image, or a belief system that can only apply in the framework of youth?

Finally: Is “Young” even real to you? Is it something you can reach for? Or, has it escaped your grasp forever? Are you yearning for something that no longer exists inside what you see as being possible for yourself? If that’s the case, why are you tormenting yourself?

Difficult questions, but necessary for our purposes.

How To Stay Young No Matter Your Age

So, you want to know how to stay young no matter your age.  And you’ve figured out what “Young” means to you, and why that is so important to how you fit into your picture of the world. Okay.

I’ll be the first to admit that I break completely from the anti-aging group in my approach to staying young. I think it’s important for you to know that so you can make an informed decision when it comes to forming your own opinions.

That being said, I believe that only one thing separates “Young” from “Old”.

It has nothing to do with age, or aging.

It has nothing to do with physical changes or any losses in physical ability that might come with age.

No matter how old you are – or how old you become – the only real way to stay young is to think young.

That’s right. Staying young is all about how we approach life, the world, and our place in that world. And the key to staying young lies in your heart, not you head. It has far less to do with what you think than what you believe and feel.

Let me explain. There are seven small requirements. These include:

1. Laugh often. Don’t take anything – particularly yourself or politics – too seriously.

2. Trust yourself, your knowledge, your wisdom, and your good sense to see you through.

3. Spend more time with kids than with adults. Play. Challenge yourself on their terms. Learn from them, and share yourself with them.

4. Keep learning. Try new things. All you have to risk is your self esteem, and what can that buy you anyway?

5. Never give up. There is no such thing as failure when it comes to aging well. And let’s face it: No one has ever lived your life before you. It’s all new. There is no way to fail.

6. Open yourself to the unexpected. When we get bored, and we stop being excited about the unknown, we get OLD. Simple formula. Your choice.

7. Follow your dreams. Real, imaginary, it doesn’t matter. They’re your dreams.  Turn them into whatever you choose. Give them life and see where they take you. It’s all good.

.   .   .   .   .

So, there you have it: Seven simple requirements for staying young. Not so hard, really, do you think?

And I promise you, they do work. Give them a try.

I can hardly wait to hear your results!

Keep growing my friend,

Gail

Tagged as: Aging, anti-aging, growing older, middle years, middle-aged, Midlife, Old, young