Do I Really Want to Work this Hard? – Proactive Anti-Aging

 

Looming in the background is first retirement and then second that time when I am no longer able to work. Years ago I set a goal for myself and have yet to achieve it. There are many reasons why I didn’t achieve this goal. Some are circumstances and some are my own foolish notions. My goal is still not unachievable. It’s just that I’m not sure I want to work that hard. It is easy to get lazy when you don’t need to survive, but rather can ride on the crest of the good life.

Like many people my age I am beginning to deal with aging parents. I am also trying to help my children with the grandchildren. My husband is retired and pulling me in that direction. But I still have that goal looming over my head. I want to achieve it, but I am not sure I want to work that hard.

Pacing is the magic word. If I pace myself I will achieve my goal. To pace means to take the steps forward with a comfortable stride. It also means to walk back and forth in a state of anxiety.  Stepping in a comfortable stride is exactly what I must do. Pacing with anxiety is not for me; I am too old for that. That would be a foolish notion.

 Life’s fulfillment comes from setting and achieving goals. Satisfaction is wonderful, however it has been said that satisfaction is an illusion. As soon as we begin to feel satisfied we suddenly want more. This is human nature. It is good to desire, but not to obsess. I will keep my goals and work towards them with this in mind; if Mick Jagger can’t find satisfaction, neither can I. It would be a foolish notion to seek satisfaction when being happy with what I have achieved while pacing me to achieve the rest of my goals without the overwhelming need to work so hard should be fulfillment enough.

I am working towards my goal. I am striding not anxiously pacing.  I am not working so hard that I forget to stop and enjoy the moments.   Working too hard is a foolish notion. Enjoying the moments is being happy. That’s Proactive Anti-Aging!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlyn.com

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Happy To Have Gained Ten Years – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

 

In my fifties I imagined myself to be thirty-five. I felt thirty-five and somehow lost track of the years that I gained over those last couple of decades. I still did pretty much what I did at thirty-five accept that I was a little wiser or a little more cautious. I could predict things and see things that I would have missed if I was really thirty-five.

Now in my sixties I imagine myself to be forty-five. I really feel forty-five accept for the occasional aches and pains that remind me that I am not forty-five. But I do feel ten years older and am beginning to like being forty-five as opposed to thirty-five.

At forty-five you have a t lot more experience and you start to begin to let go of the angst of youth and embrace the stability of maturity. At forty-five you still look pretty damn good. In fact there are days when you even get mistaken for much younger. I really like forty-five and am so glad I have matured past thirty-five; at least in my mind’s eye.

Twenty years can seem like a long time, but really it goes by in a blink. Suddenly you are a forty-five year old trapped in a sixty year old body. The body and the psyche just don’t fit. So I’ve decide to only look at myself in a darkly-lit room, and fully clothed. I’ll take a brief look at this forty-five year old woman reminding myself that it’s not the body that determines your age. It’s the state of mind and in my mind I have gladly gained ten years and am happy to be forty-five.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

Selling My Mini Skirts - Proactive Anti-Aging

 

 

 

 

 

This week I decided to sell my miniskirts on e- bay. They have been sitting in my closet for quite a while. I reckon I will never wear them again. Now is that admitting my age or is that being proactive by letting go of something I no longer need? Some might say this is giving in to my age and others would say I am being sensible. A sixty plus woman in a mini skirt is not a pretty sight although you have to admire a middle age women who has the guts to still wear shorts and miniskirts.

But really now that I think about it, miniskirts never were very comfortable. If you bent over your butt was exposed. When you sit it rides up. When you get up you need to make sure it is pulled down. You can’t run, climb or lounge in a mini skirt. Legs need to be shaved and in perfect shape to pull off a miniskirt. That’s a lot of pressure and not a lot of fun.

It’s not that I’m giving them up because I feel old. It’s that I would rather be comfortable and enjoy my time not pulling, adjusting and worrying. I’d rather admire the young girls wearing miniskirts reminding myself that this time in life is fleeting. Enjoy it while you can, but when it is time to let go sell it on e-bay.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctotlynn.com

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I Took a Day Off - A Proactive Approach to Aging

 

 

 

About two weeks ago I shared with some of my students that I would love to have a day off where I could stay in my pajamas all day and not leave the house. A set of circumstances happened and two weeks later I found myself a day with nothing on my schedule. Normally I would take a walk and then do some weight lifting at the gym, but it was raining. “How lovely,” I thought, “a rainy day with nowhere to go.” So I stayed in my pajamas until noon. Then I took a shower and slipped into my sweats. I sent my husband out to get a roast chicken at the market for dinner. I didn’t leave the house.

Now I did pause to wonder if this was me getting old and wanting to slow down or was this me being wise. I must admit my body was tired. I have been teaching a lot of classes and working very hard the last few months. The wisdom that comes from learning to listen to your body does come with age. I guess I could say it’s a little of both; aging and wisdom.

I enjoyed my day off, but was up the next day ready to go. There was a time when I would feel guilty about taking a day off. Guilt just got replaced with entitlement. I have earned the right to take a break every once in a while. Aging come faster when stressed and over taxed. Taking a day off gives the body a rest, the mind a chance to refocus and well, does the soul good. Take a proactive approach to aging. Go ahead-take a day off. You’re entitled!

Doctor Lynn

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