Several years ago, I was seeing a chiropractor for issues with my knee. I had been experiencing some intense pain in my right knee which made walking difficult. As a result, I walked with an uneven gait. One day I told my chiropractor that I felt like I walked like an old person.
He jumped on that and told me, “No, you’re not walking like an old person. You’re walking like someone with arthritis.”
Point taken. And that may have been the beginning of my campaign to stop talking about age and being old. You hear it all the time, right? People blame their memory, their weight, their poor health, their slowness, their loss of strength, and more on their age. It’s an excuse. A crutch. And it just isn’t true. Or it doesn’t have to be.
Do we stop moving because we grow old?
OR, do we grow old because we stop moving?
— Barbara McNeely
Check your thoughts
So I say stop thinking of yourself as old. Banish that word old from your vocabulary. Our thoughts become things, so let’s stop thinking and talking about being old.
We grow old when we slow down, gain weight, lose strength and stop having fun. Not vice versa! #happyhealthypositive Click To TweetAfter all, we don’t slow down or gain weight or lose strength or stop having fun because we grow old. In fact, we grow old because we slow down and gain weight and lose strength and stop having fun.
Many people are in excellent shape in spite of what you may consider their age. I have a friend who celebrated his 80th birthday last year. Recently, he ran a half marathon and came in second for his age group. He is active in many things. I talked with him recently and his key to staying young is to not accept the version of ‘old’ that our society puts on people.
A Challenge
Here’s your challenge: Don’t accept that you are less just because you are older. Celebrate that you are still alive and kicking. If you have issues that slow you down, then address them. Start moving. Even if it’s slow at first.
And don’t worry about that upcoming birthday. After all:
“Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that people who have the most live the longest!” — Larry Lorenzoni
Tell me in the comments, what is slowing you down and how can you turn that around?
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