Showing posts with label age is just a number. Show all posts
Showing posts with label age is just a number. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2018

Age is just a Number—not a Bummer

So often when we think about the aging process, we associate it with a negative vibe: More wrinkles, more gray hair (or no hair), loss of memory, a decline in health, a decrease in energy, etc.

But how different would our perspective be if we looked at age as just a number rather than a bummer?

I realize there are always going to be circumstances that shatter our outlook on life, where we drift in and out of periods filled with fear, disappointment, and frustration. However, if we can adapt to each stage and understand the changes and limitations it poses to our well-being, it will, in time, enable us to look through a different and more positive lens.

It's a proven fact that the mind has a great deal of power over how we age. It can give us the ability to age gracefully, or it can provide us with the potential to speed up the process, mainly aging us long before our time. That's why it's so important that we not only strive to live a healthy lifestyle, but we must find ways to de-stress and banish the negative mindset as well.

I turned 59 in February, and I can honestly say I feel younger than I did ten years ago. Retiring early—almost four years ago now—and cutting out work-related stress has helped, but my most significant change revolves around a more positive outlook. Thank you, Jesus!

And while faith is (no doubt) the engine that drives my new outlook on life, delving into self-education topics relating to the human psyche has made me aware of just how much my past had caused me to live in a cynical mindset.

On the whole, I was someone who saw the glass half-empty. But thankfully, I am now someone who has evolved into seeing the glass half-full, and recounting my past isn't a bummer anymore; it's merely a reference point to the path that I now find myself on.

None of us know what the future holds. But—in the grand scheme of things—we know that God is the healer of old wounds, the keeper of the "book of life" in which age is just a number. So until the Creator calls us home, let's not age before our time; instead, let's strive to age gracefully in body, mind, and spirit.