Over the hill. Old. Ready for retirement. What the heck is in these terms? Nothing, as far as I’m concerned. Aging is a state of mind. No doubt time moves forward, but does that mean life slows down? For some, maybe; but plenty of people are taking their lives to the next level–the next experience–as they age. Rock on! That’s the way I’m gonna do it, for sure.
Baby boomers are taking these sentiments to heart: This generation is the first to take an active lifestyle into older age. I commend them. Keep truckin’ baby boomers. Just make sure you learn to partake in your activities in the right way. Learn how to train properly. Take a yoga or Pilates class and master the form. You’ll keep truckin’ for years to come that way.
And younger generations take heed. You’d be wise to look to the boomers for inspiration. Looking to generations earlier than boomers might just land you in the rocking chair. Start exercising and taking care of your health now, today. Eat well, get plenty of rest, and never, ever stop training your mind–it’s imperative to keeping your wits and staying youthful. And don’t ever fall into the, “I’m too old for that” trap. Believe you can and you will–guaranteed. Don’t think so? Look at these young middle-agers and their extraordinary accomplishments:
Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres–at 41, Torres is heading for her fifth Olympics, despite taking several years off, giving birth just two years ago and undergoing two surgeries within the past eight months.- Barry Bonds–at 44, broke the major league home run record held by Hank Aaron for 33 years (which Aaron, himself, broke at age 40). Bonds also won a batting title at 38 (considered old for baseball!).
- George Foreman–in 1994, at age 45, Foreman captures the IBF and WBA championships to become the oldest champion in any weight class.
- Jack Nicklaus–in 1986, Nicklaus wins the Masters at age 46.
- Leonid Hurwicz–in 1997, became the oldest person at 90 to win the Nobel Prize for his work in economics.
- George Burns and Jessica Tandy–oldest competitive Oscar winners for their work in The Sunshine Boys (1975) and Driving Miss Daisy (1989) respectively.
- Min Bahadur Sherchan–at 76, the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Understand? If you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it, no matter what your age. Nuff said.
