Age is Not a Number, It's an Attitude

Do you base how old you are on the dates of the calendar? Or when you receive your old age pension check? Or do you believe age is all about attitude?

There are people I know who are ready to jump in to old age with both feet, quickly proclaiming that they're too old to do this or for that. As a result they look older than their age and they act even older. They have become sedentary, they seem to have lost interest in things and they're zest for living is gone. Why I wonder are they so quick to link arms with old age and welcome it as their long-lost friend.

But other people I know of the same age would never let the words, 'I'm too old' pass their happy, smiling lips. They continue to be active, have interests and their days are never long enough for them. Their zest for life is unlimited and they almost without exception look younger than their age.

I believe that old is an attitude and our attitudes are reflected in our behavior. Are we spontaneous and do we enjoy having fun? It is about being optimistic, positive, being able to effectively cope with what life throws our way and still be happy. Happiness is a decision. We can decide to be happy or we can decide that life is really just a barrel full of rotten apples and grumble our way through life. I read once that by the time a person reaches the age of fifty, they have got the face they deserve to have.

Part of a youthful attitude is enthusiasm, not somberness. It is having goals and a specific purpose in life. In order to stay young, we must not accept negative concepts on aging because this negativity will shape our attitude and our behavior. Life should be enjoyed in the moment. We should throw away all of our past anger and resentment and refuse to live in the past because the present is here to enjoy and the future will come soon enough. I hate to see Over the Hill decorations at a fortieth birthday – at forty we're still learning, we've barely begun our journey in life.

Socializing is important as well as having interests and hobbies. The art of staying young is being interested in learning new things, learning an instrument, taking a university course, spending time with younger friends and having an 'I can do it' type of attitude.

Do you enjoy doing some of the things your grandchildren like to do? If not, perhaps give it a try and they might begin calling you their cool grandparent. Being active, both physically and mentally, will increase your feelings of youthfulness and any ideas of being old will evaporate like a Scotch mist on a windy day – while you are on the beach flying your kite.