Think and Grow Young

Are you as old as you look or as old as you feel?

If you consider the sales of face creams and the like, many of us seek to look younger than we are. However, research shows that subjective age — how young or old you feel — rather than how you look, has a lot more to do with how well you age.

This research found that people who feel approximately 10–15 years younger than their biological age tend to be healthier and live longer that those who feel fully their biological age.

This is a relief to me because I am the proud recipient of what I choose to call “character lines”, which has taken me many years to develop.

In practical terms, this means that individuals who feel younger than their years tend to engage in more vigorous or complex physical activity. This complexity of activity — mental or physical — dictates a large part of what keeps us youthful.

Those who feel younger are more willing to engage in new mental and physical pursuits. Learning new things is also a critical key to staying youthful. Individuals who feel younger continue to develop meaningful relationships with others. People who stay engaged socially do better mentally and physically over the long term.

So how do you feel younger? When I look in the mirror and see “character lines”, or feel that knee pain, or attend the funeral of a friend, how can I possibly feel younger?

It turns out it’s all in how we think about ourselves and others, which is directly reflected in how we talk to ourselves.

If every time I see those wrinklers, I say to myself, “I’m getting old”, if every time I feel a pain in a joint, I say, “I hate getting older”, or attend a funeral only to say, “I’m losing all my friends,” then yes, I am literally conditioning my brain — and with it every cell in my body — to feel “old” and accept all the misery and decline I associate with it.

It is a fact that people pass away at all ages, so there is no need to attribute the loss of friends to old age. I try to continue to create new friendships, as different as they may be.

However, if I see my wrinkles and say to myself, “character lines!” or “Wow, I still have that smile!”, I am conditioning myself to youthfulness. Notice I didn’t say “youth”.

If when I feel joint pain, I say, “Yep, I remember feeling sore in my 40’s when I worked out”, I am no longer attaching “old” to the pain. It’s just pain. We experience aches and pains at any age — why do you thing babies cry?

“You’re only as old as you feel” is not just a cute saying, it’s amazingly true.

Pay attention to how you talk to yourself and how you think of yourself and others in your age group and “youthen up”! Wrinkles, funky knees and all!