Why Ageing is Optional

Hi Kids, I hope this finds you well.

Now, as you read today’s instalment, keep in mind that the following message is not a public display of wishful thinking from some rapidly-ageing delusional ex-bodybuilder-scientist-speaker-blogger-wannabe-teenager. No, there’s actually some truth, insight and science behind today’s message.

Surprisingly.

Mental Fitness

Yesterday, I was talking with one of my friends about the concept of mental fitness – one of my fave discussions. Do you ever feel like your mind is turning to mush? Like your brain has been sitting on the couch and eating cake for two decades? Well, if you said “yes” to those questions then (1) you’re not alone and (2) you can turn it around if you’re prepared to do the work.

I’m not sure what the books say but when I talk about my mental fitness, I’m talking about my ability to think clearly, to process information, to stay focused, to communicate effectively with others, to remember things, to problem solve, to be creative, to complete mathematical tasks, to understand new concepts, to learn new things, to deal with pressure and to express my feelings, thoughts and ideas in a meaningful way.

Better With Age?

In all honesty, I can say that at forty-seven my mind has never been ‘fitter’. I’ve never had more clarity, never had a better memory, never been more creative and I’ve never been able to focus and concentrate more effectively than I do right now. So, why is that? Is it genetic? Does it run in the family? Is it luck? No, it’s because my mind ‘works out’ every day. That is, I consciously train my brain to keep it in shape and, more importantly, to get in better shape.

I’m always reading, writing, researching, solving problems and putting myself in situations where I must learn. Where I’m required to explore my potential. To tap into the untapped. To get uncomfortable. Even maintaining this blog and producing interesting, stimulating and relevant articles is a constant workout for my mind. I also hang out with people who are smarter than me, who teach me, who challenge me, who argue with me and who have stimulating conversations with me. I constantly ask questions that require me to work for an answer. I’m committed to developing and becoming better at what I do and I understand that, in order to do that, it’s advantageous if my mind is not fat, lazy and unfit.

Physical and Mental Stimulation

Just like our muscles need exercise, so too do our brains need to be stimulated, challenged and trained if we want them to function optimally. If we want them to adapt. To improve. To become more efficient. The cognitive degeneration we see in many people is more about lack of cerebral stimulation (using their brain) than it is about chronological age – some numbers on a calendar. I’ve long been of the opinion that most people succumb unnecessarily to the idea of age. That is, they age prematurely. I say the ‘idea of age’ because in many ways, it is more of a concept than it is an inevitable reality. It’s clear that some people think, talk, choose and behave their way to old age.

We’ve all met people who are old at forty and people who are young at seventy.

What Age Isn’t

Yes my friends, there is a vast body of research to suggest that, in many ways, ageing as we experience it on a practical level is more about choices, behaviours, reactions, habits, lifestyle and diet than it is about the accumulated number of years between when we came screaming into the world and this moment in time. It’s much more than some inevitable and unavoidable consequence of a constantly ticking clock.

Some fifty year-olds have old bodies not because they’re fifty but because they have abused and neglected their only irreplaceable resource for far too long. For many people, their physical decline is not about genetic destiny but, rather, genetic mismanagement. Through their own stupidity, they have aged unnecessarily. Here’s the scientific correlation:

“Treat your body like shit and you’ll look, feel and function like shit.”

Of course, we will experience a degree of degeneration over the course of time but in the pursuit of our best life, the question we need to ask ourselves as intelligent, conscious beings is: how much of that degeneration is unavoidable and how much of it is self-inflicted? It’s been my observation and experience that most of us accelerate the ageing process via our thinking, beliefs, behaviours, choices and habits. And when I say ‘ageing’ I mean physically and mentally.

If ageing is only about some numbers on a calendar then no, folks, it is not optional. But if ageing is about the way we look, feel and function (mentally and physically) then, yes, it is optional. If ageing is about how fit, lean, strong and healthy we are then, yes, it is optional. If ageing is about how we think, behave, react, choose, communicate, exercise, eat and live then, yes, it is optional.

Peace.

*Of course, some health conditions are genetic, pre-determined and unavoidable. Those medical conditions and that kind of degeneration is not what I’m talking about today.

* Don’t forget my new kid’s book (The Angry Ant) is out now! Love this article? Sign up for my FREE Email Newsletter today to receive more articles like this, and get my FREE Ebook!