Don’t Just Get Old. Get Happy.
How to boost our healthspan. Not just our lifespan.
If you have the aspiration of kicking ass when you’re 85, you can’t afford to be average when you’re 50.— Peter Attia.
I love this statement because it sets a goal—kicking ass when we’re 85. In my whole life, I’ve never accidentally accomplished something worthwhile without having an intention.
And if I’m planning to be that 85-year old I need to get busy now.
Attia describes lifespan as different from healthspan. Lifespan is the number of years you live, or how long you avoid dying from an accident or disease.
On the other hand, healthspan refers to the number of years you’re able to participate in the activities you love.
Personally, I agree with Andrew Weil whose states in his book Healthy Aging that his goal is to have only a short downturn of about six months at the end of life.
My son is co-owner of The Maha Project. He helps people achieve function to use their bodies effectively to achieve their personal goals. For example, if you plan to run a marathon, you have different fitness needs than I may have.
But if we have no picture of what we’d like to do, we will not improve.
He always begins by asking a client, What do you want to be able to do? What can’t you do now that you’d like to be able to do?
We can use those questions to set our healthspan intentions.
We all agree humans have a body, mind, and spirit.
Some people refer to the spirit as a soul, our emotions, or some other word to describe the feeling part of themselves.
To have our healthspan closely match our lifespan, we need to be attentive to all three parts of ourselves. And we need to spend some time thinking about how to make that happen.
Attia identifies three essentials to achieving healthspan. They are:
Cognitive — executive function, processing speed, and memory
Physical — stability, flexibility, mobility, strength, muscle mass, bone density, aerobic function, anaerobic function, functional movement, freedom from pain, and sexual function
Emotional — mindfulness, social support, sense of purpose, fulfillment, and relationality
Let’s take time to imagine ourselves at 85.
I know I’ll be more wrinkled, a bit saggier, and a few more sunspots will decorate the backs of my hands, so that’s not a problem. My looks aren’t too important to me, I admit.
- Mind. What I want to fix in my mind’s eye firmly is myself with my mental abilities as sharp as they are today.
- Body. I not only can get up easily from a chair without using my hands, but I can also easily get up from the floor. Balancing on one leg for 20 seconds is not a problem; I’m strong enough to carry 15 pounds of groceries up a flight of stairs and walk two miles in no more than 45 minutes. I don’t groan when I wake up, and I don’t need to rely on daily pain management.
- Spirit. Life is still fun, and I have many activities I enjoy. I have people of many ages I enjoy spending time with and a purpose to my days.
Most importantly, I feel well enough that I’m happy to be alive.
Set goals based on reality but a bit challenging.
Fortunately, I’m blessed to have no chronic disease, and I’m in good health, so these are reasonable goals for myself. Yet, I know my aging knees will not allow me to become an excellent tennis player, heck, maybe not even a pickleball player. So the important thing is to think about your future self.
I admit that I’ve not always done this. When I was young and naive, I somehow expected that life would work itself out in my favor. Somehow I was just too busy to think about exactly how that would happen. And just like home repair, auto maintenance, our savings plan, and so much else—ignoring the future isn’t a great idea.
If you need help figuring out what’s possible, I suggest online research and talking to your health practitioner or a movement specialist.
After creating our vision of our older self, we must look at where we are today in relation to that future picture. Then we can start making a plan to get there.
Resources to inspire you to be your best.
Cultivate friendships with people who value healthy living.
The people you surround yourself with influence your behaviours, so choose friends who have healthy habits.—Dan Buettner
Read encouraging books like:
- Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?: The Path of Purposeful Aging by Richard J. Leider and David Shapiro.
- Learn more about maintaining health and optimizing nutrition with books such as Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being by Dr. Andrew Weil.
- Find out how strong social networks will help in Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100 by Marta Zaraska.
Listen to experts like Dr. Peter Attia on podcasts.
Develop a mindfulness practice.
Spend time finding your life’s purpose.
Find new ways to connect to your community by forming a fitness friend group, becoming a volunteer, or joining an intergenerational group.
We can use the Courage, Curiosity, and Commitment we’ve developed through life to set an intention: Don’t just get old, get happy.
What do you find helps you become your happiest self? Please share—that’s what Middle-Pause is all about.
Nature and learning inspire Cindy. People and writing make her happy. To get her Writer Weekly from Dripping Springs, Texas, sign up here.
